Christian Erich Hermann von Meyer
Christian Erich Hermann von Meyer (
September 3,
1801 -
April 2,
1869),
German palaeontologist, was born at
Frankfurt am Main.
In
1832 he issued a work entitled
Palaeologica, and in course of time he published a series of memoirs on various fossil organic remains:
molluscs,
crustaceans,
fishes and higher
vertebrata, including the Triassic predator
Teratosaurus, the earliest bird
Archaeopteryx lithographica (
1861), the
pterosaur Rhamphorhynchus, and the
prosauropod dinosaur
Plateosaurus.
In
Palaeologica, von Meyer proposed a classification of fossil reptiles into four major groups based on their limbs:
*Saurians with Toes Similar to those of Living Species (e.g.
Teleosaurus,
Protorosaurus,
Streptospondylus)
*Saurians with Limbs Similar to Heavy Land Mammals (
Iguanodon,
Megalosaurus)
*Saurians with Limbs for Swimming (e.g.
Plesiosaurus,
Mosasaurus)
*Saurians with Flying Limbs (
Pterodactylus)
His second group he belatedly termed
Pachypodes in 1845, later revising to
Pachypoda, from the
Greek "pachy-/παχυ-" "stout" and "pous/πους" "foot". It is interesting to note the relation of this group to
Dinosauria, coined a few years earlier by
Richard Owen.
His more elaborate researches were those on the
Carboniferous amphibia, the
Permian reptiles, the
Triassic amphibia and reptiles, and the reptiles of the Lithographic slates; and the results were embodied in his great work
Zur Fauna der Vorwelt (1845-1860), profusely illustrated with plates drawn on stone by the author.
He was associated with W Dunker and
KA Zittel in the publication of the
Palaeontographica, which began in 1851. He was awarded the
Wollaston medal by the
Geological Society of London in 1858.
* Meyer, H. von (1861):
Archaeopteryx litographica (Vogel-Feder) und
Pterodactylus von Solenhofen.
N. Jhb. Mineralogie, Geognosie, Geologie und Petrefakten-Kunde 1861: V + 678 - 679 [Article in German].
* Creisler B (1995): "Pondering the Pachypoda: Von Meyer and the Dinosaur"
The Dinosaur Report Winter 1995. 10-11.
