Sigismund Ernst Richard Krone was a German naturalist,

zoologist Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and d ...

, spelunker, archaeologist and

researcher Research is "creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness t ...

born on 18 June 1861 in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Having been the discoverer of the Devil's Cave in 1891, together with the

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

naturalist

Peter Wilhelm Lund Peter Wilhelm Lund (14 June 1801 – 25 May 1880) was a Danish paleontologist, zoologist, and archeologist. He spent most of his life working and living in Brazil. He is considered the father of Brazilian paleontology as well as archaeology. He ...

(1801-1880) he explored and studied the endokarst region of southeast Brazil, making both

paleontological Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of foss ...

and archaeological discoveries in 41 of

Iporanga Iporanga is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population is 4,199 (2020 est.) in an area of 1152 km². The elevation is 81 m. Iporanga contains parts of the Alto Ribeira and Baixo Ribeira sub-basins of the Ribeira de Iguape ...

's caves, which he examined between 1895-1906.

Life

He was a descendant of a local traditional

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

family. His father was

Hermann Krone Hermann Krone (14September 182717September 1916) was a photographer from Saxony, Germany, who was born in Breslau. His father was a lithographer and he began an apprenticeship with him 1843. He produced his first calotype and daguerreotype photog ...

and his mother, Clementine Blochmann, was lieutenant of the Dresden Technical School. He began to study pharmacy in 1877, graduating in 1880. During this period, he also graduated in

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

. At the age 19, he joined the German navy and went on journey to several countries, arriving in the municipality of Iguape,

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, in 1884. where he worked as pharmacist, portrait painter, archaeologist, paleontologist, ornithologist, in addition to serving in a public office in the city. Among the works in which he engaged, there is the construction of the railway Sorocaba, where he served as engineer. At the docks in the harbor of Iguape, he worked as surveyor for a major agricultural company. He then established himself as a pharmacist founding his ''Farmacia Popular'', gaining thus the esteem of the entire population and projecting himself in the local society. He married Thomázia Krone, being the father of Ernesto and Ana Maria Martins Krone. He was also the father of artist Olavo de Almeida. He lived in

Iguape Iguape is a municipality located into the Ribeira Valley in the southern portion of the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The population is 30,989 (2020 estimate) in an area of , making it the largest municipality area in São Paulo state. The city was ...

for 30 years, dying on 9 September 1917 to be buried in the municipal cemetery of the city.

Discoveries

Krone was the discoverer of the famous Iporanga-blind catfish, which was named

Pimelodella kronei ''Pimelodella kronei'' is a species of three-barbeled catfish endemic to Brazil. Discovered by the German naturalist Sigismund Ernst Richard Krone, it was the first troglobitic fish described in Brazil, but several others have been described lat ...

, a troglobitic fish species unique to the waters of some caves in the region and somewhat of Brazilian speleology. He also found the ''Casa de Pedra'' cave, whose portic of approximately 216 meters is one of the largest in the world. By 1906, when searching the ''sambaqui'' ( Tupi: ''Tamba'ki'' = pile of shells) ''Morro Grande'', situated between Rio das Pedras and Rio Comprido located within the Juréia Ecological Reserve, Krone found a very curious stone statue known in scientific circles as the Iguape Idol. He believed that this piece of stone would have been carved by some indigenous people in the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

, ending up in the ''sambaqui'' after a long immigration. Its age was estimated between 5,000 and 25,000 years through radiocarbon dating method.

Literary works

Richard Krone was part of scientific societies of Europe and the USA, having written several works on the Iguape middens and the pre-historic caves of the

Ribeira de Iguape River The Ribeira de Iguape River ( pt, Rio Ribeira de Iguape), or simply the Ribeira River ( pt, Rio Ribeira), is a river of Paraná and São Paulo states in southeastern Brazil. It flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Iguape. The river is home to sever ...

valley. *Krone, Richard: ''Exploração do Rio Ribeira de Iguape,'' Comissão Geograficáfica e Geológica (1914) *Krone, Richard: ''As Grutas Calcárias de Iporanga'' (1898)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Krone, Sigismund Ernst Richard 19th-century German zoologists German naturalists Archaeologists from Dresden 1861 births 1917 deaths Scientists from Dresden German emigrants to Brazil People from São Paulo (state)

Life

Discoveries

Literary works

See also

References