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Hans-Peter Schultze, a Great Paleoichthyologist for Whom Work Is Synonymous with Enjoyment

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Mitt. Mus. Nat.kd. Berl., Geowiss. Reihe 5 (2002) 5-17 10.11.2002 Hans-Peter Schultze, a great paleoichthyologist for whom work is synonymous with enjoyment Richard Cloutierl With 4 figures and 2 tables In the summer of 1982, Hans-Peter Schultze and above all by his simplicity and friendliness. Two Gloria Arratia were invited to a small museum years later I started my PbD. at The University located on a fossiliferous site of the Devonian of Kansas, under the supervision of Hans-Peter. Escuminac Formation in Miguasha, Quebec, Compared to his long career, these two weeks eastern Canada. Hans-Peter was to work with that Hans-Peter spent in Miguasha represent an Marius Arsenault, the director of the Miguasha extremely short period of time. Some might say Museum, on the skull of the elpistostegalid EZ- that this little anecdote is insignificant when in- pistostege watsoni, a species closely related to ba- troducing a vertebrate paleontologist (Fig. ZA) sal tetrapods. In addition, he went through the who published 132 papers and books (a total of collections to describe and measure numerous 2977 published pages) in addition to more than juvenile specimens of the osteolepiform Eusthe- 80 abstracts, book reviews and obituaries. How- nopteron foordi. As expected, these two projects ever, this brief story is representative of Hans- turned out to be important contributions in low- Peter’s personality and contributions. He is a er vertebrate paleontology and systematics: one great scientist with numerous interests in science, on the origin of tetrapods (1985), and the second art, and history. Hans-Peter enjoys digging for one on growth patterns of a Late Devonian fish fossils, looking at fossils and describing fossils, (1984). During his visit to Miguasha, Hans-Peter and he loves sharing his knowledge and experi- also spent time digging for fossils and drawing ences with people, independent of their aca- numerous specimens in the collection. In addi- demic training. tion, in order to help the personnel of the mu- seum to identify some of the Escuminac fishes, he created an identification key based on the Pre-retirement years gross morphology of the scales. For a small group of undergraduate students, hired at the Hans-Peter was born in 1937 in the small coastal museum during the summer as naturalists, it was town of Swinemiinde, in northern Germany a unique opportunity to discuss paleontology (now Poland). His childhood was in a turbulent with a leading researcher. We were amazed by economic, political and historical period - World his willingness to talk to us, even if then most of War 11. Initially, he attended elementary school us only spoke French! For the first time, we in Thorn/Westprussia (now Poland) and then in were exposed to Hennigian methodology and its Ernsleben, Harz, which was in the Soviet Zone usage in vertebrate paleontology during an eve- at that time. In 1949, his mother and four chil- ning lecture that Hans-Peter prepared for us. His dren moved to West-Germany, taking up resi- lecture was delightful; it was an intensive course dence in Offenburg, Baden-Wurttemberg, where in lower vertebrate anatomy, and an intellectual Hans-Peter attended high school, finishing the journey among the philosophers Karl Marx and German “Abitur”, in 1956. Karl Popper, the entomologists Willy Hennig From 1956 to 1958, Hans-Peter studied geol- and Lars Brundin, and “The Band of Four” ogy at the University of Freiburg im Breisgau, (Rosen etal. 1981). It was for most of us our Germany, completing his Diploma (M.Sc.) in first exposure to science, as it should be done. geology at the University of Tubingen in 1962. We were all impressed by his knowledge and In 1965, Hans-Peter was awarded a Ph.D. at the DCpartement de Biologie, UniversitC du Quebec B Rimouski, 300, allee des Ursulines, Rimouski, QuCbec, Canada. 0 2002 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim 1435-1943/02/0511-0005$17.50+.50/0 6 Cloutier, R., Laudatio for Hans-Peter Schultze Fig. 1. Hans-Peter Schultze at work in his office in the Institut fir Palaontologie der Humboldt University, Berlin, May 2000 (Photo W. Harre) (A), and with the staff of the Institut, Winter 2001 (Photo C. Radke) (B). Abb. 1. Hans-Peter Schultze in seinem Arbeitszimmer im Institut fur Palaontologie der Humboldt Universitat zu Berlin, Mai 2000 (Foto W. Harre) (A) und mit den Mitarbeitern des Instituts, Winter 2001 (Foto C. Radke) (B). Mitt. Mus. Nat.kd. Berl., Geowiss. Reihe 5 (2002) I University of Tubingen, for his project on the broad scope of the Handbook while maintaining morphology and histology of Mesozoic actinop- a rigorous framework. Indeed, his tenacity and terygian scales, a continuation of the work begun dedication are crucial to the realisation of this by his supervisor Prof. Dr. Walter R. Gross series and many of us are very familiar with that (1935). Gross only accepted two graduate stu- famous line “So, when will you finish your part dents during his entire career: K. Fahlbusch, in of the handbook?” Berlin, and Hans-Peter in Tubingen. As a stu- In 1978, Hans-Peter left Germany in order to dent of Gross in the early 60s, Hans-Peter re- pursue his career in the USA. Lawrence, Kansas ceived training on the histology of scales and was to become his Land of Oz. He was pro- teeth of Paleozoic and Mesozoic fishes. The re- moted to the status of Associate Curator in the sults of his Ph.D. dissertation were published in Division of Vertebrate Paleontology at the Mu- 1966, in an impressive and widely cited mono- seum of Natural History and Associate Professor graph in which he demonstrated both the evolu- for the Department of Systematics and Ecology tionary change from rhombic to round scales in at the University of Kansas in 1981, and subse- halecostome actinopterygians and the systematic quently to Curator and Professor in 1987. From significance of the scales. 1988 to 1990, Hans-Peter occupied the position From 1965 to 1967, Hans-Peter spent a crucial of Chairman for the Department of Systematics period of his career at the Naturhistoriska Riks- and Ecology. During his many years in Law- museet in Stockholm, Sweden. During this time rence, he invested a great deal of time and en- he worked closely with Erik Jarvik (who was ergy in expanding the lower vertebrate paleonto- then the director), Erik Stensio, and Tor (drvig, a logical collection, increasing collection storage group of paleoichthyologists that eventually space, cataloguing the collection, and in having came to be referred to as the “Swedish School”. the collection computerized. In addition to his At that time, Stockholm was one of the leading teaching and research tasks, in 1990, he orga- centers for paleoichthyology and numerous re- nized the SOth Annual meeting of the Society of searchers were trained in the Department of Pa- Vertebrate Paleontology in Lawrence which in- leozoology. This group of researchers including cluded a symposium on phylogenetic relation- Hans-Peter, became friends, and have greatly in- ships in vertebrates, the first one in the history fluenced the field of lower vertebrate paleontol- of the society. ogy during the past 40 years. During his stay in Lawrence, Hans-Peter re- From 1967 to 1978, Hans-Peter was at the cruited a dynamic group of graduate students Geologisch-Palaontologisches Institut und Mu- and developed an active research program in seum of the University of Gottingen. During this lower vertebrate paleontology (Fig. 2). He taught period, he described material from the collection at both undergraduate (e.g., comparative anato- in Gottingen including placoderms from Iran, my) and graduate (e.g., lower vertebrate paleon- collected by Prof Dr. 0. H. Walliser (1973) and tology, structure and evolution of fishes, actinop- the Keuper sauropterygian Nothosaurus. He also terygian interrelationships, biology of dinosaurs) collected fossils in the Lower Devonian of Ger- levels. His courses (frequently team-taught with many. Hans-Peter then spent two years Linda Trueb, and occasionally with G. Arratia) (1970-1971) in the USA as a fellow of the Ger- were highly valued by the students and consid- man Academic Exchange Program. During this ered to be most stimulating and informative. An long journey he visited numerous vertebrate col- example of his enthusiasm is worth mentioning. lections throughout the country, drawing an im- In the spring of 1987, Hans-Peter and Linda pressive number of specimens and preparing his- were responsible for a graduate seminar series tological acetate peels that later were used in entitled Topics in Evolutionary Morphology. various publications. With a tremendous amount of effort they mana- In 1970, Hans-Peter took over the editorship ged to invite a series of prestigious paleontolo- of the prestigous Handbook of Paleoichthyology gists (John R. Bolt, Robert L. Carroll, Chang continuing the original work begun by Prof. Dr. Mee-Mann, Philip J. Currie, James A. Hopson, 0. Kuhn. Since he began his mission as editor, Nicholas Hotton 111, Farrish Jenkins, John H. Os- six volumes have been published and Hans-Peter trom, Alex L. Panchen, Samuel Tarsitano, and is currently contributing to volumes 1 (Agnatha) Emilia Vorobyeva) to present their ideas and hy- and 7 (Sarcopterygii 11) and writing volume 6 potheses on the origins of major groups of verte- (Sarcopterygii I: Dipnoi). Critically, Hans-Peter brates. As graduate students enrolled in this has played an important role in developing the seminar we were encouraged to question the 8 Cloutier, R., Laudatio for Hans-Peter Schultze Fig. 2. Hans-Peter Schultze and the staff members and graduate students of the Division of Vertebrate Paleontology, Univer- sity of Kansas, Lawrence, Winter 1989. From left to right, first row: J.
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