Christian Ferdinand Friedrich Krauss

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Christian Ferdinand Friedrich Krauss (Stuttgart, 9 July 1812 – 15 September 1890), was a German scientist, traveler and collector.

Early life

He was an apothecary's apprentice and worked as a pharmacist for a while, but then took up the study of mineralogy, zoology and chemistry at Tübingen and Heidelberg, where he excelled academically and was awarded a PhD summa cum laude in 1836.

South Africa

Cape Province 7 May 1838 - 2 June 1839

The following year

Port Elizabeth
and Cape Recife, visiting the botanist and retired major Friedrich von Buchenröder on the Swartkops River.

While in Port Elizabeth, Krauss heard many reports about Natal that piqued his interest. He determined to go there, but first ventured north into the Karoo. He followed the course of the Coega River to Elandshoorn and ascended the Groot Winterhoekberge. From there he went on to the Gamtoos River, following it to where it breaks through the Groot Winterhoekberge as the Grootrivier, and further north to the Springbokvlakte. At this point grazing was so poor that he returned on 20 May to Dr. Jones' farm in the Groot Winterhoekberge. On 2 June 1839 he sailed from Port Elizabeth to Natal on the "Mazeppa".

Natal 2 June 1839 - 5 February 1840

Krauss enjoyed the company of 2 other naturalists for the eight-day voyage to

Umdhloti and Umvoti Rivers. On his return Krauss again stayed at Congella. His geological interests sent him on a short excursion to some coalfields near Karkloof and lying between the Bushmans and Blaauwkrantz Rivers. He returned to Pietermaritzburg and delivered a report to the Volksraad. Back at the Umlaas
camp on 19 January, he resumed his collecting and made preparations for his departure.

He sailed from Port Natal on 5 February and was back in Cape Town two weeks later.

Cape Town 19 February 1840 - 22 April 1840

In Cape Town Baron von Ludwig once again extended his hospitality. Krauss made some short daytrips into the mountains between Table Mountain and Muizenberg, and considered a journey to Namaqualand, but the offer of employment in Stuttgart could not be postponed. With his collections taking up 16 crates, he left Cape Town on 22 April 1840 aboard the "Vernon", a new type of ship sporting an auxiliary engine. Getting back to England, he sold 500 of his plant specimens to the British Museum.

Germany

Back in Stuttgart, Krauss was appointed to the Natural History Museum of which he became director in 1856, partly because of the reputation he acquired from his published works. In 1880 he was honoured with a decoration entitling him to be called Dr. Ferdinand von Krauss. His factual and rather dry accounts provided an accurate record of conditions in the Cape, in particular his description of the Zulus and their way of life has been found most reliable. Some of his collections were worked out and published by

Theodor Ludwig Wilhelm Bischoff, Karl Wilhelm Ludwig Bruch, Hering, Eduard von Martens, Gustav Kunze (1793–1851) and Johann Bernhard Wilhelm Lindenberg (1781–1851). From a summary given in Flora vol. 29 pp 216–19, Krauss collected 2,308 species (mostly flowering plants) of which 340 species and 34 genera were new to science. Not all were upheld, but many were named for him - Kraussia Harv., Combretum kraussii Hochst., Cussonia kraussii Hochst., Adenandra kraussii Meisn., Vernonia kraussii Sch.Bip., Pavonia kraussiana Hochst., Aspalathus kraussiana
Meisn. and many more.

In 1878 a species of African amphisbaenian, Cynisca kraussi, was named in his honor by German herpetologist Wilhelm Peters.[2]

Krauss' specimens are lodged with the

Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, Museo di Storia Naturale di Firenze, Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques de la Ville de Genève, Biozentrum Klein-Flottbek
, and many more herbaria.

The standard author abbreviation C.Krauss is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name.[3]

See also

References

  1. ^ Krauss (1848), Die südafrikanischen Mollusken, ein Beitrag zur Kenntniss der Mollusken des Kap- und Natallandes und zur geographischen Verbreitung derselben, mit Beschreibung und Abbildung der neuen Arten; Stuttgart,Ebner & Seubert,1848.
  2. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5
    . ("Krauss", p. 146).
  3. ^ International Plant Names Index.  C.Krauss.
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