Johann Heinrich Linck the elder (17 December 1674 – 29 October 1734) was a German apothecary and naturalist. He grew the family natural history cabinet and took an interest in starfish and some fossils. His classification of starfish into two major groups based on the presence or absence of an ambulacral groove into

Asteroidea Starfish or sea stars are star-shaped echinoderms belonging to the class Asteroidea (). Common usage frequently finds these names being also applied to ophiuroids, which are correctly referred to as brittle stars or basket stars. Starfish ...

and

Ophiuroidea Brittle stars, serpent stars, or ophiuroids (; ; referring to the serpent-like arms of the brittle star) are echinoderms in the class Ophiuroidea, closely related to starfish. They crawl across the sea floor using their flexible arms for locomot ...

continues to be used in modern taxonomy. His son Johann Heinrich Linck the younger (1734 – 1807) also became a naturalist and documented the collections of his father.

Life and work

Linck was born in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

where his father, Danzig-born Heinrich Linck (1638–1717), ran the family pharmacy known as "Goldenen Löwen"/"The Golden Lion". His mother Benigna was the daughter of a goldsmith. His early training was at his father's pharmacy and in 1690 he went to Copenhagen to study under the pharmacist J.G. Becker. In 1693 he made a trip to Sweden and in 1696 he visited Danzig where J. Breyn and J.T. Klein inspired his future work in natural history. He then made another tour around Europe and England in which he met

Hans Sloane Sir Hans Sloane, 1st Baronet, (16 April 1660 – 11 January 1753), was an Irish physician, naturalist, and collector. He had a collection of 71,000 items which he bequeathed to the British nation, thus providing the foundation of the British ...

. From 1706 he worked at this father's pharmacy in Naumburg and from 1710 he went back to Leipzig and worked with his brother. Alongside his interest in medical and chemical studies he began to study starfish. He wrote a treatise on

sea star Starfish or sea stars are Star polygon, star-shaped echinoderms belonging to the class (biology), class Asteroidea (). Common usage frequently finds these names being also applied to brittle star, ophiuroids, which are correctly referred to ...

s, ''De stellis marinis liber singularis'' (1733). In this he created a major systematic division of the asteroids and ophiuroids based on the presence or absence of the ambulacral groove. The genus ''

Linckia ''Linckia'' is a genus of sea stars found mainly in the Indo-Pacific region. They are known to be creatures with remarkable Regeneration (biology), regenerative abilities, and capable of defensive autotomy against predators. They reproduce asexua ...

'' of sea stars and a fossil ''

Protorosaurus linckii ''Protorosaurus'' (from , 'earlier' and , 'lizard') is an extinct genus of reptile. Members of the genus lived during the late Permian period in what is now Germany and Great Britain. Once believed to have been an ancestor to lizards, ''Protoro ...

'' are named after him. He was inducted into the Leopoldina academy in 1722 and was a member of the Royal Society of London. Linck was married to Maria Elisabeth née Döring. His namesake son was born just a month after his death. The family pharmacy was run by Lincks wife and later by their son. The natural history cabinet was also maintained and managed by the son along with the Leipzig physician Johann Ernst Hebenstreit. Linck's natural history cabinet was considered to be among the largest in the 18th century. Linck had a network of correspondents with whom he exchanged specimens. He examined the collections of

Seba Seba or SEBA may refer to: Places * Seba, Indonesia, on the Savu Islands *Seven Brothers Islands, also known as the Seba Islands, part of the Republic of Djibouti Institutions * Secondary Education Board of Assam, India * Systematic and Evolutiona ...

in Amsterdam, Klein in Danzig and Sloane's in London. Some remnants of the collections have survived and are now part of the Museum Waldenburg. Linck may have maintained some of the oldest-known snake specimens in alcohol.

References

External links

De stellis marinis liber singvlari
(1733) 1674 births 1734 deaths Fellows of the Royal Society {{Germany-scientist-stub