Józef Razowski (born 4 April 1932) is a Polish

entomologist Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...

and

lepidopterist Lepidopterology ()) is a branch of entomology concerning the scientific study of moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies. Someone who studies in this field is a lepidopterist or, archaically, an aurelian. Origins Post-Renaissance, t ...

specializing in Tortricidae. He is an honorary member of the Polish Entomological Society and a working member of the

Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences The Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences or Polish Academy of Learning ( pl, Polska Akademia Umiejętności), headquartered in Kraków and founded in 1872, is one of two institutions in contemporary Poland having the nature of an academy of scien ...

(PAU). From 1988 to 1997, Razowski headed the Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals.

Biography

Józef Razowski was born in Milówka, a village in the southern part of Poland. After finishing engineering studies at the

Tadeusz Kościuszko University of Technology Cracow University of Technology ( pl, Politechnika Krakowska im. Tadeusza Kościuszki) is a public university located in central Kraków, Poland, established in 1946 and, as an institution of higher learning granted full autonomy in 1954. Over 37 ...

in 1953, he started working at the Faculty of the Systematic Zoology of the

Polish Academy of Sciences The Polish Academy of Sciences ( pl, Polska Akademia Nauk, PAN) is a Polish state-sponsored institution of higher learning. Headquartered in Warsaw, it is responsible for spearheading the development of science across the country by a society of ...

(PAN) a year later, of which he was director from 1988 to 1997. The Institute was later renamed the Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals In the meantime, he pursued further studies at

Jagiellonian University The Jagiellonian University (Polish: ''Uniwersytet Jagielloński'', UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and the 13th oldest university in ...

, getting his master's degree in 1958 and a PhD in 1961. Razowski then received habilitation in 1966 and was given the title of professor in 1973. In 1975, he founded the Lepidopterology Section of the Polish Entomological Society, which he directed for five years. Razowski retired in 2003. Razowski specialises on

anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having its ...

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines *Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts *Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies, ...

systematics Biological systematics is the study of the diversification of living forms, both past and present, and the relationships among living things through time. Relationships are visualized as evolutionary trees (synonyms: cladograms, phylogenetic tre ...

, and

ecology Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

s and

butterflies Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

of the

Palearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Sibe ...

and

Neotropical realm The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In bioge ...

s, with a focus on

tortrix moths The Tortricidae are a family of moths, commonly known as tortrix moths or leafroller moths, in the order Lepidoptera. This large family has over 11,000 species described, and is the sole member of the superfamily Tortricoidea, although the genus ...

, and is credited with the creation of new concepts of the classification of ''

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order (biology), order of insects that includes butterfly, butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 Family (biology), families and 46 Taxonomic r ...

.'' Between 1953 and 2006, he has described 1744 Lepidopteran taxa and has written about 20 books and monographs on entomology. For his contributions in biology, he received some awards, including the of Second Degree and the

Ignaz Schiffermüller Ignaz Schiffermüller (born 2 October 1727 in Hellmonsödt; died 21 June 1806 in Linz) was an Austrian naturalist mainly interested in Lepidoptera. Schiffermüller was a teacher at the Theresianum College in Vienna. His collection was presented ...

medal.

Selected publications

* ''World fauna of the Tortricini: '(Lepidoptera, Tortricidae),

Polish Scientific Publishers Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN (''Polish Scientific Publishers PWN''; until 1991 ''Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe'' - ''National Scientific Publishers PWN'', PWN) is a Polish book publisher, founded in 1951, when it split from the Wydawnictwa Szkolne i P ...

, Kraków 1966, 658 p. * ''The type specimens of the species of some Tortricidae (Lepidoptera)'',

, Kraków 1971 * ''Lepidoptera of Poland, Volume 1'', Washington D.C. 1976

Notes

References

External links

Biodiversity Library

UN Food and Agriculture Organisation

Profile on the ''Nauka Polska'' platform
* Data page on Wikispecies 1932 births Living people Jagiellonian University alumni Polish entomologists Polish lepidopterists {{Poland-scientist-stub