Wolfgang Klausewitz (20 July 1921 – 31 August 2018) was a German

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, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

ichthyologist Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish ( Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 33,400 species of fish had been described as of Octobe ...

marine biologist Marine biology is the scientific study of the biology of marine life, organisms in the sea. Given that in biology many scientific classification, phyla, family (biology), families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others th ...

and biohistorian.

Early life

Klausewitz was born in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. He attended school in Berlin, then, in 1941, was sent as a soldier to North Africa, France, and Italy. He was captured by U.S. forces in 1945. From 1946 to 1947 he worked for the Field Investigations Agency.

Professional career

Between 1947 and 1952, he studied zoology, botany, anthropology, and psychology at the University of Frankfurt receiving his Ph.D. 1952 supervised by the

herpetologist Herpetology (from Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians (gymnophiona)) and rept ...

Robert Mertens Robert Friedrich Wilhelm Mertens (1 December 1894 – 23 August 1975) was a German herpetologist. Several taxa of reptiles are named after him.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore ...

. In 1948, he married Rita Willmann, who died in 1995. In 1954, he was put in charge of the fish section of the

Naturmuseum Senckenberg The Naturmuseum Senckenberg is a museum of natural history, located in Frankfurt am Main. It is the second-largest of its type in Germany. The museum contains a large and diverse collection of birds with 90,000 bird skins, 5,050 egg sets, 17,0 ...

. In 1971 he became head of the department zoology I (vertebrates) and 1980 deputy director of the Museum. He retired 1987 but remained active as an

emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

in the field of

ichthyology Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish ( Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 33,400 species of fish had been described as of Octob ...

and history of natural science. Klausewitz participated in several expeditions, including the 1957 " Xarifa" expedition under

Hans Hass Hans Hass (23 January 1919 – 16 June 2013) was an Austrian biologist and underwater diving pioneer. He was known mainly for being among the first scientists to popularise coral reefs, stingrays, octopuses and sharks. He pioneered the making of ...

. He was president of the Deutscher Museumsbund from 1975 to 1983. Klausewitz died on August 31, 2018.

Legacy

Two eels are named after him. Klausewitz's garden eel ''

Gorgasia klausewitzi The Klausewitz's garden eel (''Gorgasia klausewitzi'') is an eel in the family Congridae (conger/garden eels).Heteroconger klausewitzi The Galapagos garden eel (''Heteroconger klausewitzi'') is an eel in the family Congridae (conger/garden eels).

''. The sea bass '' Plectranthias klausewitzi'' Zajonz, 2006; a fresh water Leporinus '' Leporinus klausewitzi''

Géry Géry () is a commune in the Meuse department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. See also *Communes of the Meuse department The following is a list of the 499 communes of the Meuse department of France. The communes cooperate in the fo ...

, 1960 are named in his honor.

References

1920s births 2018 deaths Scientists from Berlin German ichthyologists {{Germany-zoologist-stub