Otto Andreas Lowson Mörch (his last name also spelled Mørch) (17 May, 1828 – 25 January, 1878) was a Danish

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 ...

who was known for his work in

malacology Malacology, from Ancient Greek μαλακός (''malakós''), meaning "soft", and λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is the branch of invertebrate zoology that deals with the study of the Mollusca (molluscs or mollusks), the second-largest ...

, the study of molluscs. He described numerous species both of fossil and extant molluscs.

Life and work

Mörch was born in

Lund Lund (, ;"Lund"
(US) and ) is a city in the provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, southern Swed ...

where his father Otto Josias worked as a gardener at the university botanical garden. His mother Dorothea Juliane née Sjobeck came from a Swedish family while his father was of a Danish lineage with most of his ancestors being priests. Their grandfather Andreas Lowson Mørch was parish priest at

Dronninglund Dronninglund is a town with a population of 3,688 (1 January 2025)Henrik Henriksen Beck Henrik Henriksen Beck (1799-1863) was a Denmark, Danish geologist, conchologist, and natural history, naturalist. He wrote ''Index molluscorum praesentis aevi musei principis augustissimi Christiani Frederici'' (1837) in which several new species ...

in 1844 at the Copenhagen museum. Beck found Mörch so much more knowledgeable and capable that he felt threatened. In 1847, Mörch was offered a position at the University Museum by professor

Japetus Steenstrup Johannes Japetus Smith Steenstrup FRS(For) HFRSE (8 March 1813 – 20 June 1897) was a Danish zoologist, biologist, and professor. Life Born in Vang, Thy on 8 March 1813, he held a lectorate in mineralogy in Sorø until 1845 when he became a ...

whose lectures he attended as well. He did not have to join military service due to short sight. He worked on the fossil mollusc collections under

Johan Georg Forchhammer Johan Georg Forchhammer (26 July 1794 – 14 December 1865) was a Denmark, Danish mineralogist and geologist. Early life and education Forchhammer was born at Husum, Germany, Husum, Schleswig. He studied at the universities of University of Ki ...

and in 1887, Johannes Frederik Johnstrup put him in charge of examining the Faxekalken molluscs. In 1853, he visited

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, in 1854

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and in 1856, he visited

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 ...

, and

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, examining numerous collections there. In 1869, he took up residence in Nice in France for his health with visits home each year. He died at

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million 43
48. * ''

Oxynoe antillarum ''Oxynoe antillarum'' is a species of small sea snail or sea slug, a bubble snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Oxynoidae. Distribution The type locality for this species is Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.Jensen K. R. (Novemb ...

'' Mörch, 1863
on page 46
1864 Mörch O. A. L. (1864). "Fortegnelse over de i Danmark forekommende land- og ferskvandsblöddyr". ''Videnskabelige Meddelelser fra den Naturhistoriske Forening i Kjöbenhavn'' (2)1863(17-22): 265–367. * ''

Valvata macrostoma ''Valvata macrostoma'', also known as the large mouthed valve snail, is a species of small freshwater snail with an operculum, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Valvatidae, the valve snails. Distribution This species occurs in the fo ...

'' Mörch, 1864 *

Zonitidae Zonitidae, common name the true glass snails, are a family of mostly rather small, air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Zonitoidea. Zonitidae is the only family in the superfamily Zonitoidea. T ...

Mörch, 1864, also known as the "true glass snails".

Taxa named after Mörch

* ''

Glossodoris moerchi ''Glossodoris moerchi'' is a species of sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusk in the family Chromodorididae. Distribution The type locality for this species is Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Caribbean Sea ...

'' (Bergh, 1879) * ''

Turbonilla mörchi ''Turbonilla mörchi'' is a species of small sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Pyramidellidae, the pyrams and their allies.Rosenberg, G. (2011). ''Turbonilla morchi''. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http ...

'' Dall & Bartsch, 1907

References

External links

* 1828 births 1878 deaths Danish malacologists {{Biologist-stub