Franz Eilhard Schulze (22 March 1840 – 2 November 1921) was a German

anatomist Anatomy () is the branch of morphology concerned with the study of the internal structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old scien ...

and

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 ...

born in Eldena, near

Greifswald Greifswald (), officially the University and Hanseatic City of Greifswald (, Low German: ''Griepswoold'') is the fourth-largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rostock, Schwerin and Neubrandenburg. In 2021 it surpa ...

Biography

He studied at the Universities of

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

and

Rostock Rostock (; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Roztoc''), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (), is the largest city in the German States of Germany, state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the sta ...

. In 1863, he received his doctorate from Rostock, where he subsequently became a lecturer of

anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of morphology concerned with the study of the internal structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old scien ...

(1864) and an associate professor of

comparative anatomy Comparative anatomy is the study of similarities and differences in the anatomy of different species. It is closely related to evolutionary biology and phylogeny (the evolution of species). The science began in the classical era, continuing in t ...

(1865). In 1871 he established the zoological institute at the University of Rostock.See entry o
Franz Eilhard Schulze
in Catalogus Professorum Rostochiensium Later on, he served as a professor at the Universities of

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

and

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. In 1872, he took part in the "Pomerania" expedition to the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

. For several years during the 1890s, he was president of the German Zoological Society (''Deutsche Zoologische Gesellschaft''). He made contributions in his studies on the

and developmental history of

invertebrates Invertebrates are animals that neither develop nor retain a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''spine'' or ''backbone''), which evolved from the notochord. It is a paraphyletic grouping including all animals excluding the chordate subphylum ...

, in particular, his research and publications in regards to sea-

sponge Sponges or sea sponges are primarily marine invertebrates of the animal phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), a basal clade and a sister taxon of the diploblasts. They are sessile filter feeders that are bound to the seabed, and a ...

s. He was especially interested in a class of sponges known as Hexactinellida, of which he studied from collections taken from the U.S. "Albatross Expedition" and the British "

Challenger Expedition The ''Challenger'' expedition of 1872–1876 was a scientific programme that made many discoveries to lay the foundation of oceanography. The expedition was named after the naval vessel that undertook the trip, . The expedition, initiated by W ...

" (1873–76). Schulze also conducted important investigations of delicate sponge-like

protozoans Protozoa (: protozoan or protozoon; alternative plural: protozoans) are a polyphyletic group of single-celled eukaryotes, either free-living or parasitic, that feed on organic matter such as other microorganisms or organic debris. Historically ...

known as xenophyophores. In 1883, Schulze was the first to describe

Trichoplax adhaerens ''Trichoplax adhaerens'' is one of the four named species in the phylum Placozoa. The others are ''Hoilungia hongkongensis'', ''Polyplacotoma mediterranea'' and ''Cladtertia collaboinventa''. Placozoa is a basal group of multicellular animals, p ...

, one of the most basal multicellular animals and member species of the phylum

placozoa Placozoa ( ; ) is a phylum of free-living (non-parasitic) marine invertebrates. They are blob-like animals composed of aggregations of cells. Moving in water by ciliary motion, eating food by Phagocytosis, engulfment, reproducing by Fission (biol ...

Selected works

* ''Amerikanische Hexactinelliden nach dem Materiale der Albatross-Expedition''.

Jena Jena (; ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 in ...

1899. * ''Hexactinellida''. Jena: G. Fischer, 1904. * ''Die Xenophyophoren der Siboga-Expedition''.

Leiden Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...

: Brill, 1906.

Notes

References

* "This article incorporates translated text from an equivalent article at the German Wikipedia".

External links

* German anatomists 19th-century German zoologists 1840 births 1921 deaths University of Rostock alumni University of Bonn alumni Academic staff of the University of Graz Academic staff of the Humboldt University of Berlin Corresponding members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences Members of the Royal Society of Sciences in Uppsala Recipients of the Cothenius Medal {{Germany-zoologist-stub