Contributions to Zoology 90 (2021) 318-343 CTOZ Paul Kammerer and epigenetics – a reappraisal of his experiments Michael Nahm Chair of Forest Growth and Dendroecology, Albert Ludwigs-University Freiburg, Tennenbacher Str. 4, 79106 Freiburg, Germany Institute for Frontier Areas of Psychology and Mental Health, Wilhelmstr. 3a, 79098 Freiburg, Germany
[email protected] Abstract During recent years, the scientific interest in the work of Austrian biologist Paul Kammerer (1880‒1926) has risen again. This development can largely be attributed to advances in the fields of epigenetics and epigenetic inheritance, and it resulted in provocative discussions. This article contributes to enhancing the knowledge about Kammerer’s publications in two respects. First, I provide a brief overview and contextualization of Kammerer’s main works on phenotypic plasticity and its inheritance, some of which seem little known at present. Thereafter, to ensure an accurate transmission of the historical record, I comment on recently published suggestive information about what Kammerer did and wrote, chiefly referring to Kammerer’s original writings on fire salamanders (Salamandra salamandra) and cave salamanders (Proteus anguinus). Although the exact contents of Kammerer’s writings remain controversial and must be regarded with caution, his writings need to be treated objectively and accurately to avoid historical record distortion and to render the performance of adequate replications of his experiments possible. Keywords cave salamander ‒ fire salamander ‒ historical record distortion ‒ Midwife toad ‒ Paul Kammerer ‒ replication Introduction During recent decades, the interest and the knowledge regarding phenotypic adaption to envi- ronmental change and epigenetics have increased enormously. These discoveries also sparked © Michael Nahm, 2021 | doi:10.1163/18759866-bja10019 This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the cc-by 4.0 license.