History

Section Evertebrata varia

The section Evertebrata varia has existed since 1999. It was formed by the fusion of the former section Echinodermata with the coelenterate and “vermes” collection and the incorporation of all other non-molluscan and non-arthropodan evertebrates.

The very base of the collections is formed by marine material from Japan. Most of this has been accumulated by the expedition of Franz Doflein (1873-1924) to East Asia (1904/1905) and collecting activities by K.A. Haberer during his stays in Japan (1898-1904). Originally the material consisted of about 6000 samples of all marine taxa, most of which was collected in the Sagami Bay near Tokyo/Yokohama. By subsequent scientific activities material of many important oceanographic expeditions – most worth mentioning the German deep sea expedition (Valdivia) (1898/1899) – became incorporated in the collection.

The Cnidaria-Hydrozoa represents an outstanding part of the collection. It is based upon material accumulated by Prof. Dr. Eberhard Stechow (1883-1959). Stechow described over 100 new species and thus is fourth in ranking among describers of hydrozoan species. Consequently his legacy of type material is vast. He had been working at the ZSM for longer than 40 years, where he became “Konservator” (= “curator”) in 1927. In 1937 he was appointed head of the department Evertebrata. During his area important material of other cnidarian taxa, like types of Anthozoa described by for example R.A. Kölliker or W. Kükenthal, were deposited in the collection. After the times of Stechow the cnidarian collection received type and voucher material of several investigations (e.g. Dr. A. Svoboda, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Dr. V. Häussermann, Huinay Station, Chile). Recently a conspicuous collection of sea anemones from the Chilean coast was purchased from V. Häussermann.

The most important taxon of the collection is the Echinodermata. The majority of the material stems from the investigations of Ludwig Döderlein (1855-1936), part of which was collected by himself during a stay in Japan (1879-1881). After the First World War, Döderlein was forced to leave Strasbourg, where he was director of the zoological Museum. He moved to Munich and managed to bring part of his valuable material, mainly echinoderms collected in Japan, to the ZSM. He became had of the ZSM in his old age from 1923-1927. During the time when Dr. H. Fechter was in charge of the Section Echinodermata (1964-1999), the collection received material from the Red Sea, the Mediterranean Sea and the north-eastern Atlantic Sea.

In recent times all systematic areas of the section Evertebrata varia were enlarged by material from excursions to marine biological stations on European coasts and marine biological research cruises (Antarctic, South Atlantic Ocean) by scientists of the ZSM.