Ludwig Doederlein (1855-1936): Some aspects of his life, research, and legacy

The German zoologist and palaeontologist Ludwig Heinrich Philipp Doederlein (1855-1936) was one of the foremost echinoderm researchers of his time. Self-taught in many subjects of natural science, he had risen from provincial obscurity to international fame. Thanks to the efforts of a Japanese research team, it has become apparent that Doederlein was probably the most important pioneer of marine biology research in Japan. After his 1879-81 stay at the University of Tokyo, ge remained internationally well-connected throughout his professional life. Yet, in his last two decades, he looked back on his early struggles not with self-satisfaction but with bitterness. He spent much of the rest of his life trying to regain the collections he had to leave behind when he was forced to leave Strasbourg in 1919. This article is not a comprehensive study of the life and work of Ludwig Doederlein. We present some aspects of: a) his life history; b) his echinoderm research; c) his contributions to evolutionary biology, with the coral genus Fungia as an example; and d) his achievements in building up and promoting biological collections. The latter is illustrated by the Bavarian State Collection of Zoology (ZSM), being second only to the Zoological Museum of Strasbourg in the diversity of Doederlein specimens that survived the perils of two world wars. This all is supplemented bv the first comprehensive bibliography of studies bv Doederlein.