Nagyszebentől Kalkuttáig – Leopold von Fichtel erdélyi természetbúvár, mikropaleontológus életútja
From Hermannstadt to Calcutta – The Life and Work of Leopold von Fichtel, Naturalist, Micropalaeontologist

Summary/Abstract: Two pioneers of micropalaeontology, the Transylvanian Leopold von Fichtel (1770-1810) and the Bavarian Johann Carl Paul von Moll (1735-1812) had been attracted to the scientific glamour of Enlightenment Vienna at the turn of the 18th and 19th century. Both engaged in collecting and arranging specimens for the imperial Natural History Museum. Fichtel was collector for the museum in both Europe and India, and bought major collections at auctions for the museum. Their joint work, the richly illustrated Testacea microscopica (1798, 1803) was probably one of the most important early studies on microscopic unicellular animals, the foraminifera. The high quality, very modern description of each species and the exceptional quality and beauty of copperplate illustrations made it suitable for erecting the first major genera. Two hundred years later a modern revision, based on the original collection preserved in the museum, showed the exceptional quality of the original work.

• Details
• Contents