Famous German Zoologists

Ernst Haeckel had initially practiced medicine before he gained an interest in Charles Darwin’s theory and began exploring zoology and related fields. He not only coined terms such as ecology, but also named numerous species and created a genealogical tree. He drew numerous figures of animals and sea creatures, too.

Nobel Prize-winning ethologist Karl von Frisch is best remembered for his research on communication among bees. He was the first to observe that bees communicate the location of food to other bees by a form of “dance.” He penned down his studies in books such as The Dancing Bees.

Friedrich Ratzel was a German ethnographer and geographer. He was the first person to use the term Lebensraum, which would later become an important and popular word among the National Socialists. Also an influential writer, Friedrich Ratzel's works served as a justification for imperial expansion. 

German naturalist Peter Simon Pallas was born to a professor of surgery and had, by age 15, formulated classifications of several animal groups. He chiefly worked in and around Russia, and is remembered for his 3-volume geological study, Journey Through Various Provinces of the Russian Empire.

German-born zoologist and botanist Georg Wilhelm Steller traveled to Russia on a troop ship. He was later part of the Great Northern Expedition, aboard the St. Peter, aimed at locating a sea route from Russia to North America. The Steller’s sea cow, discovered by him, went extinct later.

Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg was a German zoologist, naturalist, geologist, microscopist, and comparative anatomist. Regarded as one of the most popular and productive scientists of his generation, Ehrenberg was honored with several prestigious awards including the first Leeuwenhoek Medal in 1877.

Max Schultze was a German microscopic anatomist best remembered for his work concerning cell theory. He is credited with coining many botanical names and the author abbreviation M.Schultze is generally used to indicate Max Schultze as the author when citing a named coined by him.

German zoologist Fritz Schaudinn is remembered for co-discovering the cause of the sexually-transmitted infection syphilis, Treponema pallidum. Additionally, he made a pioneering distinction between Entamoeba histolytica, which causes amoebic dysentery, and the harmless Entamoeba coli. He also confirmed that hookworm affects one through the skin.

German paleontologist Karl aAlfred, knight von Zittel had been a professor at Karlsruhe Polytechnic and the University of Munich. Following an expedition to Libya, he proved that the Sahara had not been submerged in water during the Pleistocene Ice Age. One of his best-known works is Handbuch der Palaeontologie.

Karl Theodor Ernst von Siebold was a German zoologist and physiologist. He is best remembered for introducing the taxa Rhizopoda and Arthropoda and defining the taxon Protozoa, especially for single-celled organisms. Karl Theodor Ernst von Siebold is also remembered for his best-known work, Manual of Comparative Anatomy.