Alf Wollebæk (8 January 1879 – 9 March 1960) was a Norwegian

zoologist Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...

and

curator A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...

who made contributions to the study of marine and Arctic

fauna Fauna (: faunae or faunas) is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding terms for plants and fungi are ''flora'' and '' funga'', respectively. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively ...

. Born in

Lier, Norway Lier is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Buskerud Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Lierbyen. The municipality of Lier was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannsk ...

, to a military father, Wollebæk spent most of his professional career at the

Natural History Museum at the University of Oslo The Natural History Museum at the University of Oslo (, NHM) is Norway's oldest and largest museum of natural history. It is situated in the neighborhood of Tøyen in Oslo, Norway. It traces its roots to the University Botanical Garden, which w ...

, where he worked from 1908 until his retirement in 1949. He is particularly renowned for leading the Norwegian Zoological Expedition to the

Galápagos Islands The Galápagos Islands () are an archipelago of volcanic islands in the Eastern Pacific, located around the equator, west of the mainland of South America. They form the Galápagos Province of the Republic of Ecuador, with a population of sli ...

in 1925, during which he collected over 500 specimens and established the archipelago's first biological station on

Floreana Floreana Island () is a southern island in Ecuador's Galápagos Archipelago. The island has an area of . It was formed by volcanic eruption. The island's highest point is Cerro Pajas at , which is also the highest point of the volcano like most ...

island. Throughout his career, Wollebæk published numerous scientific papers and popular books on Norwegian wildlife, including works on reptiles, mammals, and fish, while also maintaining a regular column in a scientific magazine. His contributions to zoology were recognized internationally, with the

Galápagos sea lion The Galápagos sea lion (''Zalophus wollebaeki'') is a species of sea lion that lives and breeds on the Galápagos Islands and, in smaller numbers, on Isla de la Plata (Ecuador). Being fairly social, they are often spotted sun-bathing on sand ...

being named ''Zalophus wollebaeki'' in his honour, and he received several prestigious awards including the

King's Medal of Merit The King's Medal of Merit (Norwegian: ''Kongens fortjenstmedalje'') is a Norwegian award. It was instituted in 1908 to reward meritorious achievements in the fields of art, science, business, and public service. It is divided in two classes: gold ...

in gold in 1959, just a year before his death in

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

Personal life

Wollebæk was born in Lier to colonel Sigurd Polidor Wollebæk (1835–1920) and his wife Anine Julie Augusta Dahl (1834–1912). His elder brother was jurist and diplomatist

Johan Wollebæk Johan Herman Wollebæk (16 November 1875 – 24 October 1940) was a Norwegian jurist and diplomatist. He worked with international law, and is known for his time as leader of the Norwegian legation in Stockholm from 1921 to October 1940, a period ...

(1875–1940). He was married twice; first in 1903 to Agnes Hanssen (1879–1930; sister of sports executive

Carl Frølich Hanssen Carl Frølich Hanssen (8 January 1883 – 6 January 1960) was a Norwegian military officer and sports executive. He was head of the Norwegian Nazi Labour Service during the Second World War. He born in Fredrikshald (Halden). Before the Sec ...

), and in 1932 to Ruth Jensen (1891–1958).

Career

After graduating in Fredrikstad in 1898, he received a job at the experimental station in

Drøbak Drøbak is a town and the centre of the municipality of Frogn, in Akershus county, Norway. The city is located along the Oslofjord, and has 13,409 inhabitants. History Drøbak and Frogn was established as a parish on its own through a royal d ...

with marine biologist

Johan Hjort Johan Hjort (18 February 1869 – 7 October 1948) was a Norwegian fisheries scientist, marine zoologist, and oceanographer. He was among the most prominent and influential marine zoologists of his time. The early years Johan Hjort was the ...

(1869–1948). From 1900 to 1907 he was a zoologist at the Society of Norwegian Fisheries Promotion in Bergen. Wollebæk was assigned with Bergens Museum from 1907, and with the

from 1908 to 1949. By the end of 1925, Wollebæk's team had amassed over 500 Galápagos specimens, including 239 bird skins (38 species), 84 reptiles (

tortoise Tortoises ( ) are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin for "tortoise"). Like other turtles, tortoises have a shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, and like o ...

iguana ''Iguana'' (, ) is a genus of herbivorous lizards that are native to tropical areas of Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. The genus was first described by Austrian naturalist Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti, J.N. Laurenti in ...

lizard Lizard is the common name used for all Squamata, squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most Island#Oceanic isla ...

s and

gecko Geckos are small, mostly carnivorous lizards that have a wide distribution, found on every continent except Antarctica. Belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, geckos are found in warm climates. They range from . Geckos are unique among lizards ...

s) and a vast array of invertebrates (

crustacean Crustaceans (from Latin meaning: "those with shells" or "crusted ones") are invertebrate animals that constitute one group of arthropods that are traditionally a part of the subphylum Crustacea (), a large, diverse group of mainly aquatic arthrop ...

mollusc Mollusca is a phylum of protostome, protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant taxon, extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum ...

insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...

arachnid Arachnids are arthropods in the Class (biology), class Arachnida () of the subphylum Chelicerata. Arachnida includes, among others, spiders, scorpions, ticks, mites, pseudoscorpions, opiliones, harvestmen, Solifugae, camel spiders, Amblypygi, wh ...

s and more), which greatly enriched the Zoological Museum’s holdings in Oslo. His publications centered on marine and Arctic fauna. In 1922 he started publishing a column in the magazine ''Nyt Magazin for Naturvidenskaberne'' ("Contributions from the Zoological Museum"). His books include ''Norges krybdyr og padder'' (1918), ''Norges pattedyr'' (1921), ''Norges fisker'' (1924), ''På tokt til Vestindia'' (1932), and ''De forheksede øer'' (1934). He was decorated Commander of the Latvian

Order of the Three Stars Order of the Three Stars () is the highest civilian order awarded for meritorious service to Latvia. It was established in 1924 in remembrance of the founding of Latvia. Its motto is ''Per aspera ad astra'', meaning "Through hardships towards the ...

in 1937, and with the

in gold in 1959.

Galápagos expedition

In 1925, Wollebæk was appointed director of the Norwegian Zoological Expedition to the Galápagos Islands, together with the museum preparator Erling R. Hansen. After exploring the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

and mainland Colombia, the expedition spent five months (July–December 1925) making detailed biological observations on five Galápagos islands. Wollebæk and his team collected over 500 specimens, published more than 20 papers and books on their findings, and described or reclassified a number of new taxa, most famously the

, ''Zalophus wollebaeki'', which was named in his honour. The expedition also erected what proved to be the archipelago's first biological station at Post Office Bay on

Floreana Island Floreana Island () is a southern island in Ecuador's Galápagos Archipelago. The island has an area of . It was formed by volcanic eruption. The island's highest point is Cerro Pajas at , which is also the highest point of the volcano like most ...

. Built of local

lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a Natural satellite, moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a Fissure vent, fractu ...

blocks (walls two to three blocks thick enclosing a 3 × 4 metre laboratory), the "lava house" was intended as a permanent

field station Field research, field studies, or fieldwork is the collection of raw data outside a laboratory, library, or workplace setting. The approaches and methods used in field research vary across disciplines. For example, biologists who conduct fiel ...

and repository for specimens; its ruins still stand.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wollebak, Alf 1879 births 1960 deaths People from Lier, Norway 20th-century Norwegian zoologists Norwegian curators Directors of museums in Norway Academic staff of the University of Oslo Norwegian columnists Recipients of the King's Medal of Merit