Christoph Gustav Ernst Ahl (1 September 1898 – 14 February 1945) was a German zoologist, born in Berlin. He was the director of the department 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

herpetology 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 ...

in the Museum für Naturkunde. He was also the editor in chief of the review ''Das Aquarium'' from 1927 to 1934. During World War II, Ahl fought in the ranks of the Wehrmacht - in Poland, North Africa and later Yugoslavia. He was executed while in refuge in Yugoslavia, after the partisans found out he was a German. He performed one of the first studies on bearded dragons determining what genus they belong to. Ahl is commemorated in the scientific names of two species of lizards: '' Anolis ahli'' and ''Emoia ahli''.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("Ahl", p. 3). The latter is a synonym of ''

Emoia battersbyi Battersby's emo skink (''Emoia battersbyi'') is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is native to Oceania and Southeast Asia. Etymology The specific name, ''battersbyi'', is in honour of British herpetologist James Clarence ...

''.

References

*Paepke, Hans-Joachim (1995). "''Über das Leben und Werk von Ernst Ahl'' About the Life and Work of Ernst Ahl. ''Mitteilungen aus dem Zoologischen Museum in Berlin'' 71 (1): 79–101. (in German). 1898 births 1945 deaths 20th-century German zoologists German herpetologists German ichthyologists Nazi Party members German military personnel killed in World War II Scientists active at the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin People killed by Yugoslav Partisans German Army personnel of World War II Nazis executed in Yugoslavia Sturmabteilung personnel {{Germany-zoologist-stub

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