Gerard Krefft

Johann Ludwig Gerard Krefft Gerhard Kreft ( born February 17, 1830 in Braunschweig, † February 19, 1881 in Woolloomooloo, Sydney ) was one of the first and most famous zoologist and paleontologist Australia.

Life

Gerard Krefft was born in Germany, went to the United States in 1850 and came to Australia in 1852.

He has published over 150 scientific publications, including Snakes of Australia ( 1869 ), A Catalogue of the Minerals and Rocks in the Australian Museum and A Short Guide to the Australian Fossil Remains in the Australian Museum (1870 ) and A Catalogue of the Minerals and Rocks in the Australian Museum (1873 ). Kreffts discovery of the Australian lung fish ( Neoceratodus forsteri, also known as Queensland Lungfish, Barramunda or Burnett Salmon known ) and its first scientific description in 1870 as well as its exploration of the Wellington Caves in 1866 and the descriptions of the fossils found there represent two of his most significant achievements.

From 1860 to 1861 was Gerard Krefft assistant curator at the Australian Museum and later his curator and secretary from 1861 to 1874. Krefft built the museum's collection, and came to international scientific reputation. He corresponded with Charles Darwin, Sir Richard Owen and Albert Gunther of the British Museum. He was an early supporter of Darwin's theory of evolution.