Carl Albert Oppel (19 December 1831 – 23 December 1865) was a German

paleontologist Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure geolo ...

History

He was born at Hohenheim in

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Province of Hohenzollern, Hohenzollern, two other histo ...

, on 19 December 1831. He first went to the

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (; ), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The University of Tübingen is one of eleven German Excellenc ...

, where he graduated with a Ph.D. in 1853. The results of his work was published in ''Die Juraformation Englands, Frankreichs und des südwestlichen Deutschlands'' (1856–1858). He went to the Palaeontological Museum at

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

in 1858 and became an assistant there. It was in 1860 that he became the Professor of Palaeontology at the

University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...

. Then, a year later, he became the director of the Palaeontological Collection. Of his later works, it can be said that the most important was ''Paläontologische Mittheilungen aus dem Museum des Königlichen Bayerischen Staates'' (1862–1865). He died on 23 December 1865 at the age of 34. The

wrinkle ridge A wrinkle ridge is a type of feature commonly found on lunar maria, or basalt plains. These features are low, sinuous ridges formed on the mare surface that can extend for up to several hundred kilometers. Wrinkle ridges are tectonic features ...

Dorsum Oppel Dorsum Oppel is a wrinkle ridge at in Mare Crisium on the Moon. It is long and was named after the German paleontologist Albert Oppel in 1976.- The ridge trends north from Yerkes (crater), Yerkes crater. Peirce (crater), Peirce and Swift (lu ...

on the Moon is named after him, as is the fossil

prawn Prawn is a common name for small aquatic crustaceans with an exoskeleton An exoskeleton () . is a skeleton that is on the exterior of an animal in the form of hardened integument, which both supports the body's shape and protects the intern ...

genus ''

Albertoppelia ''Albertoppelia'' is an extinct genus of Dendrobranchiata, prawn which existed during the Upper Jurassic, Late Jurassic period, named after Albert Oppel. It contains the single species ''Abertoppelia kuempeli''. Fossils of ''Albertoppelia'' were ...

''.

Studies

Oppel devoted his life to the study of fossils and the examination of the strata of the

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately 143.1 Mya. ...

period deposits. He is considered to have founded the study of zone

stratigraphy Stratigraphy is a branch of geology concerned with the study of rock layers (strata) and layering (stratification). It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks. Stratigraphy has three related subfields: lithost ...

and the use of

index fossil Biostratigraphy is the branch of stratigraphy which focuses on correlating and assigning relative ages of rock strata by using the fossil assemblages contained within them.Hine, Robert. "Biostratigraphy." ''Oxford Reference: Dictionary of Biology ...

s, a term which he created, to compare the different strata. He also established the

Tithonian In the geological timescale, the Tithonian is the latest age (geology), age of the Late Jurassic Epoch and the uppermost stage (stratigraphy), stage of the Upper Jurassic Series. It spans the time between 149.2 ±0.7 annum, Ma and 143.1 ±0.6 (mi ...

stage, for strata (mainly equivalent to the English Portland and Purbeck Beds) that occur on the borders of

and

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ...

. He was awarded the Chair of Paleontology at the

References

External links

* * * 1831 births 1865 deaths People from the Kingdom of Württemberg German paleontologists Science teachers Academic staff of the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich {{Germany-scientist-stub

History

Studies

See also

References

External links