Maria Schilder | |
---|---|
Born | Maria Hertrich 4 August 1898 Germany |
Died | 30 July 1975 | (aged 76)
Citizenship | Germany |
Known for | 250 scientific papers, most on the living and fossil Cypraeidae |
Spouse | Franz Alfred Schilder |
Scientific career | |
Fields | chemistry, malacology |
Maria Schilder, née Hertrich (4 August 1898 – 30 July 1975) was a German malacologist and chemist. [1] Along with her husband, Franz Alfred Schilder, she systematized molluscs having produced over 250 scientific papers, most on the living and fossil Cypraeidae, or cowries. [2]
Maria Hertrich was born on 4 August 1898. [1] She was from Munich. [3] Around 1922 she married Franz Alfred Schilder. [2] They had one daughter Franzisca who died in 1961. [3]
Maria Schilder died 30 July 1975. [1]
Being initially a chemist, Schilder switched her professional focus to the study of molluscs. [2] Together with her husband, Franz Alfred, Schilder studied the family Cypraeidae, the cowries. [4] The Schilders defined areas of endemism throughout the Indo-West Pacific based on mollusk distributions. [5] Along with her husband, Schilder identified geographically distinct races (or subspecies) and recognized them taxonomically. [4]
In “Revision of the Genus Monetaria (Cypraeidae)” they researched how Bergmann’s Rule applied to east coastal Australia where the shells are smaller in the warmer north. [6] Together the Schilders wrote over 250 scientific papers, most on the living and fossil Cypraeidae, or cowries. [2]
After the death of her husband, Schilder published A Catalog of Living and Fossil Cowries in 1971. [7]
Schilder is honored in the cowry name Annepona mariae (Schilder, 1927) and her daughter Franzisca is honored in the cowry name Bistolida hirundo francisca (Schilder & Schilder, 1938). [3]