Peter Weygoldt | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1933-04-24)24 April 1933 |
| Died | 23 October 2021(2021-10-23) (aged 88) |
| Occupation | German biologist |
Peter Johann Hennig Weygoldt (April 24, 1933 – October, 23 2021) was a German biologist specialising in arachnology and herpetology.
Biography
Weygoldt was born April 24, 1933 in Wilhelmshaven to Walter Weygoldt and Hanna Weygoldt (née Wien-holz).[1] Due to his father's military career he grew up moving between places including Bremen and Berlin in Germany and Kolberg in Poland, and changed schools over ten times.[1] His father died 1943 in Riga while serving as a lieutenant colonel during World War II.[1] He studied biology at the Christian-Albrechts-University in Kiel for six years from 1952, including one year at the Albert-Ludwigs-University in Freiburg.[1] He obtained his doctorate in early 1958 before moving into research.[1] He was working in Beaufort, North Carolina in 1966 when he met Sylvia Möhring who had an interest in wildlife and they married just a couple of months later.[1] They moved to Freiburg in 1967 where Weygoldt worked as a senior assistant in the University of Freiburg before being made an adjunct professor in December 1978.[1]
Although his work focused on Uropygi (whip scorpions), Amblypygi (whip spiders) and Pseudoscorpions, he also had an interest in frogs found in the tropics.[2] He published in academic journals as well as his work being found in scientific films and books.[2]
Weygoldt was known for studies of arachnid phylogeny including a seminal work that provided a scheme for arachnid inter-ordinal relationships.[3]
He retired in September 1995, but continued his research for many years with his last publication in 2013 on sperm transfer and maternal brood care in flagellate scorpions.[1]
In 2013 he received the Simon Award from the International Society of Arachnology for his life's work.[1]
When he died in 2021 he was survived by his wife and their two daughters and two sons.[1]
References
- Uhl, Gabriele. "Zoologie 2022 - Mitteilungen der Deutschen Zoologischen Gesellschaft - Nachruf auf Peter Weygoldt" (PDF). Zoologie: 101-106. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
- Haupt, Joachim (1 April 2003). "Peter Weygoldt - 70 Jahre". Arachnologische Mitteilungen. 25: 76. doi:10.5431/aramit2512. Retrieved 4 May 2026.
- Giribet, Gonzalo (1 March 2018). "Current views on chelicerate phylogeny—A tribute to Peter Weygoldt". Zoologischer Anzeiger. 273: 7–13. doi:10.1016/j.jcz.2018.01.004. Retrieved 4 May 2026.