Gaviria, S. (2008): in Monoculus (Newsletter of the World Association of
Copepodologists) 55: 7 - 9.
Löffler contributed importantly to taxonomy, especially
that of ostracods and copepods. As a result of his expeditions
to South America, Asia and Africa, he described 42 species
and subspecies of copepods (Table) collected in freshwater
and semiterrestrial environments. The major part of his work
in copepod taxonomy was done on harpacticoids. Based on
his systematic studies, he always tried to explain the
distribution of species in relation to their ecology and
evolution, as in the case of species of the genus
Maraenobiotus found in the high mountains of East Africa
and in the Himalayas: the variability of populations, existing
species and subspecies of the genus related to their
distribution in different (sometimes very closely located)
habitats, were used to explain speciation processes (Löffler
1965), and trends during recolonization and ecology (Löffler
1968). Another example in this matter is the way he tried to
explain evolution within the centropagids in freshwaters of
South America and the circum-Antarctic islands. Studying
the comparative morphology of the fifth leg of males and
females and the distribution of the species, he arrived at the
conclusion that the genera Pseudoboeckella and
Gladioferens are older representatives of the family, and had
their center of development in the southern corner of South
America (Löffler 1955), while Boeckella derived from a
group near those genera.
He found and described a great number of species of
copepods within the harpacticoid genus Attheyella (Löffler
1961a, 1961b, 1963, 1968, 1973) and several Elaphoidella
(Löffler 1963, 1968, 1973), among other Canthocamptidae,
two species of Ameiridae from Iran (Löffler 1959), and two
Cletodidae (Löffler 1961a, 1963). The intensive exploration
and sampling of lake sediments of the region of Valdivia in
southern Chile, led him to find and describe the largest
number of species (within the subgenera Delachauxiella and
Chappuisiella, both belonging to Attheyella) for a region
prospected by him (Löffler 1961b, 1961c, 1966). The
semiterrestrial harpacticoid Löfflerella, discovered in andine
Patagonia by Rouch (1962), was named in his honour.
Afterwards, Löffler himself described 3 more species within
this genus, from mosses and soils in the forest region
between Antofagasta and Chiloe (Löffler 1966). Besides
Löfflerella, two species of copepods were named in his
honour: Neoboeckella löffleri Bayly, 1992 from Bolivian
ponds, and Lingulocamptus löffleri Guo, 1998 from China.
His discoveries in the mountain lakes of South America
led him to undertake expeditions between 1960 and 1961 to
Ruwenzori, Mount Kenya, and Mount Elgon in East Africa.
There he discovered new species in the genera
Maraenobiotus and Elaphoidella (Löffler 1965, 1968). He
concluded that in contrast with the tropical Andean lakes,
East African mountain lakes are characterised by only a few
forms (Löffler 1964) and have more zoogeographical
affinities with the Northern Hemisphere. In subsequent
expeditions, he collected and described new species in Nepal
(Maraenobiotus, Bryocamptus and Elaphoidella) (Löffler
Heinz Löffler
1927 – 2006
Heinz Löffler passed away in Vienna on 14 October
2006. His contributions to limnology have already been
recounted in detail by Schiemer (2006), Danielopol &
Schiemer (2007), and Dokulil (2007). In the present obituary
I summarize his career and underline his great contribution
to the taxonomy and faunistics of copepods.
Löffler graduated from the University of Vienna in 1955,
and undertook graduate study in Sweden (1951 and 1953)
and postgraduate study in the U.S.A. (1955-1957), with G.E.
Hutchinson. He was director of the Biological Station Lunz
am See (1967-1972) in Lower Austria, and founder of the
Institute of Limnology (1972). As an ordinary member of
the Austrian Academy of Sciences, he participated for many
years in the commission for projects related to development.
As a professor of the University of Vienna, he lectured on
the taxonomy and biology of freshwater invertebrates,
general limnology, paleolimnology, and ecology of wetlands
until shortly before his death. From 1992 to 1996 he was
director of the Institute of Zooology of the University, and
from 1979 to 1996 head of the Department of Limnology.
One of his great merits was the foundation of the
International Postgraduate Course on Limnology (IPGL) in
1974, with the object of teaching the different fields and
methods of limnology to biologists from developing
countries.
7
1968) and Borneo (Atheyella and Elaphoidella) (Löffler
1973).
Based on comparative studies of species distribution in
mountain lakes of Central America, and central and southern
Europe, he could also explain the general distribution of
harpacticoids. He arrived at the conclusion that tropical high
mountain lakes of Central America were colonized during
the Quaternary with crustacean fauna originating from the
north (Löffler 1972), as also occurred in the mountain lakes
of the Sierra Nevada in southern Spain (1974).
Some of his former students have been working in
copepod taxonomy, zoogeography, and ecology: Dan
Danielopol often included information on copepods in his
groundwater studies (e.g., Danielopol & Pospisil 2002) and
Alois Herzig (e.g. Herzig 1979) in his articles on
zooplankton, Xyoming Guo studied copepods in China (e.g.
Guo 2000), whereas I examined those of different regions of
Colombia (e.g. Gaviria & Aranguren 2007) and Austria
(e.g. Gaviria 1998). Peter Pospisil described a species of
Acanthocyclops and two of Diacyclops from groundwaters
of the Danube (Pospisil 1989, 1999), and Edmund Schiller
(2004) studied the taxonomy of Arctodiaptomus
steindachneri of the Balkan region.
In addition to the many species descriptions, Löffler
accomplished an enormous task of inventorying copepods,
branchiopods, ostracods, and rotifers from a great number of
lakes and ponds all around the world. Many of the known
species that he identified were new records for the respective
countries.
Löffler frequently published ecological and geographical
information on the lakes where he carried out taxonomic
work and faunistic surveys (see list of publications in
Schiemer 2006 and Danielopol & Schiemer 2007). Thus,
autoecological information of the species is often available
from these articles.
Löffler’s collection is now deposited at the
Naturhistorisches Museum of Vienna; it contains the type
material of most of the species of copepods that he
described, and is already inventoried. The organisation of
the remaining collection material is now in process. I had the
opportunity to participate in the organisation of the
collection. An article with detailed information on the type
collection is in preparation.
All copepodologists highly appreciate the valuable
contribution of Heinz Löffler to the morphology, taxonomy,
ecology, and faunistics of copepods. We will always
remember him as a great taxonomist, limnologist, and
biogeographer.
Santiago Gaviria
Lecturer, University of Vienna, and
Technisches Büro für Biologie
Vienna, Austria
References:
Danielopol, D.L. & P. Pospisil. 2002. Taxonomic diversity
of Crustacea Cyclopoida in the Austrian “Danube
floodplain” national park. Vie et Milieu 52(2-3):67-75.
Danielopol, D.L. & F. Schiemer. 2007. In memoriam Heinz
Löffler (1927 – 2006). Crustaceana 80(8):1013-1018.
Dokulil, M.T. 2007. Obituary: Heinz Löffler (1927 – 2006).
SIL News 51:3.
Gaviria, S. 1998. Checklist and distribution of the free-living
copepods (Arthropoda, Crustacea) from Austria. Annalen
des Naturhistorisches Museums in Wien, B, 100:539594.
Gaviria, S. & N. Aranguren. 2007. Free-living species of the
Copepoda (Arthropod, Crustacea) subclass of the
Colombian continental waters. Biota Colombiana
8(1):53-68.
Guo, X. 1998. Ligulocamptus löffleri n.g., n.sp. (Copepoda:
Harpacticoida) from Chengdong Lake in China.
Hydrobiologia 368:209-215.
Guo, X. 2000a. Two new species of Mesocyclops from
southern China and notes on the genus Mesocyclops in
China. Hydrobiologia 429:115-131.
Herzig, A. 1979. The zooplankton of the open lake. In:
Löffler, H. (ed.). Neusiedlersee: The limnology of a
shallow lake in Central Europe. Monographiae
Biologicae 37:281-335.
Löffler, H. 1955. Die Boeckelliden Perus. Sitzungsberichten
der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften,
Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Klasse, Abteilung
I, 164:723-746.
Löffler, H. 1959. Beiträge zur Kenntnis der iranischen
Binnengewässer I, der Niriz-See und sein Einzugsgebiet.
Internationale Revue der Gesamten Hydrobiologie
44:227-276.
Löffler, H. 1961a. Beiträge zur Kenntnis der iranischen
Binnengewässer II. Regional-limnologische Studie mit
besonderer Berücksichtigung der Crustaceenfauna.
Internationale Revue der Gesamten Hydrobiologie
46:309-406.
Löffler, H. 1961b. Zur Systematik und Ökologie der
chilenischen Süßwasserentomostraken. Beiträge zur
Neotropischen Fauna 2: 197-206.
Löffler, H. 1961c. Beitrag zur Copepoden- und
Ostracodenfauna Chiles. Anzeiger der Österreichischen
Akademie
der
Wissenschaften,
MathematischNaturwissenschaftlichen Klasse 98:111-116.
Löffler, H. 1963. Zur Ostrakoden- und Copepodenfauna
Ekuadors. Archiv für Hydrobiologie 5:196-234.
Löffler, H. 1964. The limnology of tropical high-mountain
lakes. Verhandlungen der Internationale Vereinigung für
Theoretische und Angewandte Limnologie 15:176-193.
Löffler, H. 1965. Die Gattung Maraenobiotus in Afrika.
Zoologische Jahrbücher, Abteilung für Systematik
92:195-218.
8
Löffler, H. 1966. Beitrag zur Kenntnis der Harpacticidenund Ostracodenfauna Chiles. Zoologischer Anzeiger
176:192-205.
Löffler, H. 1968. Die Crustaceenfauna der Binnengewässer
ostafrikanischer Hochberge. Hochgebirgsforschung
1:107-170.
Löffler, H. 1972. Contribution to the limnology of high
mountain lakes in Central America. Internationale Revue
der Gesamten Hydrobiologie 57:397-408.
Löffler, H. 1973. Die Harpacticidenfauna des Mt. Kinabalu
(Borneo) mit besonderer Berücksichtigung der Gattung
Maraenobiotus nebst Angaben zur Harparticidenfauna
des
Gebietes
Nuwara
(Hochplateau
Ceylon).
Hochgebirgsforschung 3:5-28.
Löffler, H. 1974. Harpacticiden (Crustacea, Copepoda) der
Hochgebirgsgewässer
Andalusiens (Sierra Nevada,
Spanien.
Sitzungsberichte
der
Österreichischen
Akademie
der
Wissenschaften,
MathematischNaturwissenschaftliche Klasse, Abteilung I, 181:191195.
Pospisil, P. 1989. Acanthocyclops gmeineri n. sp.
(Crustacea, Copepoda) aus dem Grundwasser von Wien
(Österreich): Bemerkungen zur Zoogeographie und zur
Sauerstoffsituation des Grundwassers am Fundort.
Zoologischer Anzeiger 223:220-230.
Pospisil, P. 1999. Two new species of the Diacyclops
languidoides-group (Copepoda, Cyclopoida) from
groundwaters of Austria. Hydrobiologia 412:165-176.
Rouch, R. 1962. Harpacticoïdes (Crustacés, Copépodes) de
l’Amérique du Sud. Pp. 237-280. In: Delamare, Cl. & E.
Rapoport (eds.). Biologie de l’Amérique Australe. Vol.
1, Études sur la Faune du Sol. Ed. Centre Nat. Rech.
Scient., Paris.
Schiller, E. 2004. Beitrag zur systematischen Stellung
zweier Diaptomiden (Crustacea, Copepoda) permanenter
bzw. temporärer Lebensräume der Balkaninsel (SO
Europa). Diplomarbeit, Universität Wien, Vienna. 117
pp.
Schiemer, F. 2006. In memoriam Heinz Löffler (1927 –
2006). Verhandlungen der Zoologisch-BotanischenGesellschaft in Österreich 143:167-179.
Copepod taxa described by Heinz Löffler,
and country of the locus typicus
________________________________________________
CALANOIDA
Centropagidae
Boeckella kinzeli Löffler, 1955
Pseudoboeckella peruviensis Löffler, 1955
Diaptomidae
Arctodiaptomus jurisowitchi Löffler, 1968
Notodiaptomus amazonicus occidentalis Löffler, 1963
Pseudodiaptomidae
Pseudodiaptomus acutus leptopus Löffler, 1963
Peru
Peru
Nepal
Ecuador
Ecuador
CYCLOPOIDA
Cyclopidae
Eucyclops breviramatus Löffler, 1963
Ecuador
Eucyclops serrulatus chilensis Löffler, 1963
Chile
Mesocyclops longisetus araucanus Löffler, 1961
Chile
Thermocyclops hooki Löffler, 1968
Uganda-Kenya border
HARPACTICOIDA
Ameridae
Nitocrella iranica Löffler, 1959
Iran
Nitocrella mara Löffler, 1959
Iran
Canthocamptidae
Attheyella (Attheyella) nepalensis Löffler, 1968
Nepal
Attheyella (Canthosella) silvicola Löffler, 1973
Indonesia
Attheyella (Chappuisiella) pichilafquensis Löffler, 1961
Chile
Attheyella (Chappuisiella) puyehuensis Löffler, 1961
Chile
Attheyella (Chappuisiella) quillehuensis Löffler, 19611)
Chile
Attheyella (Delachauxiella) ciliata Löffler, 1961
Chile
Attheyella (Delachauxiella) freyi Löffler, 1963
Ecuador
Attheyella (Chappuisiella) levigata Löffler, 19612)
Chile
Attheyella (Delachauxiella) nuda Löffler, 1961
Chile
Attheyella (Delachauxiella) ornata Löffler, 1961
Chile
Attheyella (Delachauxiella) serrata Löffler, 1961
Chile
Attheyella (Delachauxiella) triarticulata Löffler, 1961
Chile
Attheyella (Delachauxiella) wieseri Löffler, 1961
Chile
Bryocamptus (Limnocamptus) hiemalis yetii Löffler, 1968 Nepal
Elaphoidella angirmii Löffler, 1968
Nepal
Elaphoidella damasi nivalis Löffler, 1968
Uganda
Elaphoidella helminchi Löffler, 1968
Nepal
Elaphoidella humboldti Löffler, 1963
Ecuador
Elaphoidella kieferi Löffler, 1968
Nepal
Elaphoidella labani Löffler, 1973
Indonesia
Loefflerella chilensis Löffler, 1966
Chile
Loefflerella rouchi Löffler, 1966
Chile
Loefflerella trisetosa Löffler, 1966
Chile
Maraenobiopsis fontinaloides Löffler, 1960
Peru
Maraenobiotus insignipes altissimus Löffler, 1968
Nepal
Maraenobiotus insignipes nepalensis Löffler, 1968
Nepal
Maraenobiotus kenyensis Löffler, 1965
Kenya
Maraenobiotus kinabaluensis Löffler, 1973
Indonesia
Moraria (Kuehneltiella) neotropica Löffler, 19612)
Chile
Cletodidae
Cletocamptus deitersi ecuatorianus Löffler, 1963
Ecuador
Cletocamptus gabrieli Löffler, 1961
Iran
______________________________________________________
1)
Nomen nudum. 2) No type material.
9