Manfred Reichel (1896–1984) was a Swiss

micropaleontologist Micropaleontology (American spelling; spelled micropalaeontology in European usage) is the branch of paleontology ( palaeontology) that studies microfossils, or fossils that require the use of a microscope to see the organism, its morphology and i ...

best known for his work on the morphology of foraminiferans, especially alveolinids. He taught as a professor at the University of Basel for almost forty years, where he became the school's first professor of paleontology in 1940.

Lukas Hottinger Lukas Hottinger (25 February 1933, Düsseldorf – 4 September 2011, Basel) was a paleontologist, biologist and geologist. Hottinger collaborated with the Natural History Museum of Basel (Switzerland). Hottinger was one of the major experts on pr ...

studied under him during this time. Trained in zoology, Reichel also had a keen interest in the flight mechanics of

birds Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

pterosaurs Pterosaurs (; from Greek ''pteron'' and ''sauros'', meaning "wing lizard") is an extinct clade of flying reptiles in the order, Pterosauria. They existed during most of the Mesozoic: from the Late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous (228 to ...

and bats, about which he published several papers. Reichel was also an accomplished artist, and his heavily detailed style lent itself well to illustrating complex foraminiferal structures. His pen and ink drawings of pterosaurs and the early bird ''

Archaeopteryx ''Archaeopteryx'' (; ), sometimes referred to by its German name, "" ( ''Primeval Bird''), is a genus of bird-like dinosaurs. The name derives from the ancient Greek (''archaīos''), meaning "ancient", and (''ptéryx''), meaning "feather" ...

'', rendered in lifelike poses, remain some of his most well-known work today. His ''Archaeopteryx'' illustrations in particular are well-regarded even by today's standards and are still considered to be highly accurate. He also translated Alfred Wegener's book on the origin of continents into French.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reichel, Manfred 1896 births Swiss paleontologists 1984 deaths Micropaleontologists