Eberhard Fraas (26 June 1862 – 6 March 1915) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

scientist,

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, alt ...

and

paleontologist Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of foss ...

. He worked as a

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

at the

Stuttgarter Naturaliensammlung Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the Swa ...

and discovered the

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...

s of the Tendaguru formation in then

German East Africa German East Africa (GEA; german: Deutsch-Ostafrika) was a German colony in the African Great Lakes region, which included present-day Burundi, Rwanda, the Tanzania mainland, and the Kionga Triangle, a small region later incorporated into Mo ...

(now

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

). The dinosaur '' Efraasia'' is named after him.

Life

Eberhard Fraas was born in Stuttgart, the son of

Oscar Fraas Oscar Friedrich von Fraas (17 January 1824, in Lorch (Württemberg) – 22 November 1897, in Stuttgart) was a German clergyman, paleontologist and geologist. He was the father of geologist Eberhard Fraas (1862–1915). Biography He studied theol ...

(1824–1897), a curator and professor at the geological and paleontological department of the

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Wür ...

Royal Natural Cabinet. After attending the Gymnasium, he studied at

Leipzig University Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...

with

Hermann Credner Carl Hermann Georg Credner (1 October 1841 – 21 July 1913) was a German earth scientist and the son of Carl Friedrich Heinrich Credner (usually given as Heinrich Credner). He examined the geology of Saxony and was influential in establishing ...

and Ferdinand Zirkel, and later in Munich under Karl Alfred von Zittel,

August Rothpletz Friedrich August Rothpletz (28 April 1853, in Neustadt an der Haardt – 27 January 1918, in Oberstdorf) was a German geologist and paleontologist. Biography From 1875 to 1880 he conducted geological mapping in Saxony as part of the ''Säch ...

(1853−1918) and

Paul Groth Paul Heinrich Ritter von Groth (23 June 1843 – 2 December 1927) was a German mineralogist. His most important contribution to science was his systematic classification of minerals based on their chemical compositions and crystal structures. Bi ...

. Here, he received his Ph.D in 1886 with a dissertation about

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The J ...

starfish. His geological work enabled him to publish the first coherent account about the history of the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, ...

. In July 1888, he received his

Habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including ...

(second Ph.D.) from Munich University, and in 1891 became an assistant at the State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart. In 1894, he became curator of its geological, paleontological and mineralogical departments. In that capacity, he was responsible for a multitude of geological maps of his native Swabia. Many of these were published in co-operation with Wilhelm Branco (who would later change his name to Wilhelm von Branca). Fraas was also curator of Friedrich Alfred Krupp's mineral collections, and taught him from 1898 to his death in 1902. Trips to

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label= Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label= Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, af ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

, the west of North America (1901),

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...

and Syria (1897 and 1906) and finally to

(1907) broadened his view and filled the museum with new acquisitions. His discovery of

s in East Africa would spawn many expeditions to the Tendaguru, first by the Berlin Museum für Naturkunde, and by British institutions once the Germans had lost control of the colony after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. Fraas died unexpectedly on March 6, 1915, in Stuttgart, from

dysentery Dysentery (UK pronunciation: , US: ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complication ...

which he had caught while in East Africa.

Legacy

Fraas is commemorated in the scientific name of a species of West Asian lizard, ''

Parvilacerta fraasii Fraas's lizard (''Parvilacerta fraasii'') is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. It is endemic to Western Asia. Etymology The specific name, ''fraasii'', is in honor of German paleontologist Eberhard Fraas.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael ...

''.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("Fraas", p. 93).

Works

* ''Die Asterien des Weissen Jura von Schwaben und Franken : Mit Untersuchungen über die Structur der Echinodermen und das Kalkgerüst der Asterien.'' Palaeontographica 32: 229 – 261, Stuttgart : E. Schweizerbart (Koch), 1886 * ''Die Labyrinthodonten der schwäbischen Trias.'' Palaeontographica 36: 1-158, Stuttgart: E. Schweizerbart (Koch), 1889 * ''Scenerie der Alpen.'' 325 S., Leipzig: Weigel, 1892 * ''Die Triaszeit in Schwaben ; Ein Blick in die Urgeschichte an der Hand von R. Blezingers geologischer Pyramide.'' 40 S., Ravensburg: O. Maier, 1900 * ''Die Meer-Crocodilier (Thalattosuchia) des oberen Jura unter specieller Berücksichtigung von Dacosaurus und Geosaurus.'' Palaeontographica 49 (1): 1-71, Stuttgart: E. Schweizerbart, 1902 * ''Führer durch das Königliche Naturalien-Kabinett zu Stuttgart Teil 1: Die geognostische Sammlung Württembergs im Parterre-Saal, zugleich ein Leitfaden für die geologischen Verhältnisse und die vorweltlichen Bewohner unseres Landes.'' 82 S., Stuttgart: E. Schweizerbart, 1903 * ''Neue Zeuglodonten aus dem unteren Mitteleocän vom Mokattam bei Cairo.'' Geologische und Palaeontologische Abhandlungen, N.F. 6 (3): 1-24, Jena: Fischer, 1904 * ''Der Petrefaktensammler: ein Leitfaden zum Sammeln und Bestimmen der Versteinerungen Deutschlands.'' 249, 72 S., Stuttgart: K. G. Lutz, 1910 * Branca, W., Fraas, E.: ''Das vulcanische Ries bei Nördlingen in seiner Bedeutung für Fragen der allgemeinen Geologie.'' Abhandlungen der Königlich Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin: 1-169 S., 1901 * Branca, W., Fraas, E.: ''Das kryptovulcanische Becken von Steinheim.'' Abhandlungen der Königlich Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin: 1-64, 1905 * ''Proteroehersis, eine pleurodire Schildkröte aus dem Keuper.'' Jahreshefte des Vereins für Vaterländische Naturkunde in Württemberg, 69, S. 13-90
Online verfügbar. Universität Frankfurt.

Literature

* * Stromer, Ernst Freiherr von Reichenbach: Eberhard Fraas. In: ''Centralblatt für Mineralogie, Geologie und Paläontologie'' 15 (1915) 12, S. 353-359 (in German) * Walther, J.: Eberhard Fraas. ''Verhandlungen der Gesellschaft Deutscher Naturforscher und Ärzte''. 87: 334-336, Leipzig : Vogel, 1922 (in German)

External links

Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart
(in German)

by Eberhard Fraas (1862–1915) from Scientific American 1893 United States

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fraas, Eberhard 1862 births 1915 deaths Sportspeople from Stuttgart German paleontologists People from the Kingdom of Württemberg Leipzig University alumni Academic staff of the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich Deaths from dysentery