Frederick Bayer
Encyclopedia
Frederick Merkle Bayer was the emeritus
curator
of the Smithsonian Institution
's National Museum of Natural History
, as well as a prominent marine biologist who specialized in the study of soft corals.
night 1921, in Asbury Park, New Jersey
, but spent much of his childhood in south Florida, where he collected seashells and became an amateur naturalist
.
Bayer joined the Army Air Forces during World War II
and served in the Pacific as a photographic technician
. While in the military, he often sketched and collected fish
, shells and butterflies throughout the Pacific region.
Bayer received his bachelor's degree
from the University of Miami
. He continued his studies and obtained a master's degree
in taxonomy
from George Washington University
in 1954. In 1958, he completed a doctorate in taxonomy from George Washington University.
from 1947 until 1961. He returned to work at the museum again from 1975 until 1996. He served as a professor at the University of Miami's marine science school between 1961 and 1975. While at Miami, Bayer participated in a number of soft coral collecting expecitions in the Caribbean Sea
and in the waters off West Africa
.
Following his arrival at the Smithsonian, Bayer was sent to Bikini Atoll
in the Pacific Ocean
to study the effects of nuclear testing
on the island's marine life, just two years after the tests were carried out. Bayer also spent several months doing field research throughout the rest of Micronesia
.
Bayer wrote over 130 scholarly papers on the history and taxonomy
of soft coral. He focused much of his soft coral research on octocorals, which include sea fan
s and sea whips. He discovered 170 new species of marine life, 40 new genera
, and three new families.
Japan
's Emperor Hirohito, who was also a marine biologist, actually named a hydroid
, Hydractinia bayeri, in honor of Frederick Bayer. Bayer returned the favor while Hirohito was on a state visit
to Washington, D.C.
in 1975. He presented Hirohito with a rare snail
shell which was the "size of a hat."
Bayer served as a member of the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature
from 1972 to 1995.
He was also an accomplished bio-illustrator. Bayer painted and designed a total of fourteen scientifically accurate marine scenes. These particular scenes were used for a set of Haitian postage stamps
in 1973.
on October 2, 2007, at the Washington Home hospice in Washington D.C. at the age of 85.
gastropods:
bivalves:
Emeritus
Emeritus is a post-positive adjective that is used to designate a retired professor, bishop, or other professional or as a title. The female equivalent emerita is also sometimes used.-History:...
curator
Curator
A curator is a manager or overseer. Traditionally, a curator or keeper of a cultural heritage institution is a content specialist responsible for an institution's collections and involved with the interpretation of heritage material...
of the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
's National Museum of Natural History
National Museum of Natural History
The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. Admission is free and the museum is open 364 days a year....
, as well as a prominent marine biologist who specialized in the study of soft corals.
Early life
Frederick Bayer was born on HalloweenHalloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
night 1921, in Asbury Park, New Jersey
Asbury Park, New Jersey
Asbury Park is a city in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States, located on the Jersey Shore and part of the New York City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 16,116. The city is known for its rich musical history, including its association with...
, but spent much of his childhood in south Florida, where he collected seashells and became an amateur naturalist
Naturalist
Naturalist may refer to:* Practitioner of natural history* Conservationist* Advocate of naturalism * Naturalist , autobiography-See also:* The American Naturalist, periodical* Naturalism...
.
Bayer joined the Army Air Forces during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and served in the Pacific as a photographic technician
Technician
A technician is a worker in a field of technology who is proficient in the relevant skills and techniques, with a relatively practical understanding of the theoretical principles. Experienced technicians in a specific tool domain typically have intermediate understanding of theory and expert...
. While in the military, he often sketched and collected fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
, shells and butterflies throughout the Pacific region.
Bayer received his bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
from the University of Miami
University of Miami
The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...
. He continued his studies and obtained a master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in taxonomy
Taxonomy
Taxonomy is the science of identifying and naming species, and arranging them into a classification. The field of taxonomy, sometimes referred to as "biological taxonomy", revolves around the description and use of taxonomic units, known as taxa...
from George Washington University
George Washington University
The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...
in 1954. In 1958, he completed a doctorate in taxonomy from George Washington University.
Career
Bayer worked at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural HistoryNational Museum of Natural History
The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. Admission is free and the museum is open 364 days a year....
from 1947 until 1961. He returned to work at the museum again from 1975 until 1996. He served as a professor at the University of Miami's marine science school between 1961 and 1975. While at Miami, Bayer participated in a number of soft coral collecting expecitions in the Caribbean Sea
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
and in the waters off West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
.
Following his arrival at the Smithsonian, Bayer was sent to Bikini Atoll
Bikini Atoll
Bikini Atoll is an atoll, listed as a World Heritage Site, in the Micronesian Islands of the Pacific Ocean, part of Republic of the Marshall Islands....
in the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
to study the effects of nuclear testing
Nuclear testing
Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine the effectiveness, yield and explosive capability of nuclear weapons. Throughout the twentieth century, most nations that have developed nuclear weapons have tested them...
on the island's marine life, just two years after the tests were carried out. Bayer also spent several months doing field research throughout the rest of Micronesia
Micronesia
Micronesia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising thousands of small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It is distinct from Melanesia to the south, and Polynesia to the east. The Philippines lie to the west, and Indonesia to the southwest....
.
Bayer wrote over 130 scholarly papers on the history and taxonomy
Taxonomy
Taxonomy is the science of identifying and naming species, and arranging them into a classification. The field of taxonomy, sometimes referred to as "biological taxonomy", revolves around the description and use of taxonomic units, known as taxa...
of soft coral. He focused much of his soft coral research on octocorals, which include sea fan
Sea fan
A gorgonian, also known as sea whip or sea fan, is an order of sessile colonial cnidarian found throughout the oceans of the world, especially in the tropics and subtropics. Gorgonians are similar to the sea pen, another soft coral. Individual tiny polyps form colonies that are normally erect,...
s and sea whips. He discovered 170 new species of marine life, 40 new genera
Genera
Genera is a commercial operating system and development environment for Lisp machines developed by Symbolics. It is essentially a fork of an earlier operating system originating on the MIT AI Lab's Lisp machines which Symbolics had used in common with LMI and Texas Instruments...
, and three new families.
Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
's Emperor Hirohito, who was also a marine biologist, actually named a hydroid
Hydroid
-Marine biology:Hydroids are a life stage for most animals of class Hydrozoa, small predators related to jellyfish.-Botany:In mosses, hydroids form the innermost layer of the stem of long, colourless, thin walled cells of small diameter.The cells are dead and lack protoplasm.They function as water...
, Hydractinia bayeri, in honor of Frederick Bayer. Bayer returned the favor while Hirohito was on a state visit
State visit
A state visit is a formal visit by a foreign head of state to another nation, at the invitation of that nation's head of state. State visits are the highest form of diplomatic contact between two nations, and are marked by ceremonial pomp and diplomatic protocol. In parliamentary democracies, heads...
to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
in 1975. He presented Hirohito with a rare snail
Snail
Snail is a common name applied to most of the members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled shells in the adult stage. When the word is used in its most general sense, it includes sea snails, land snails and freshwater snails. The word snail without any qualifier is however more often...
shell which was the "size of a hat."
Bayer served as a member of the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature
International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature
The International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature is an organization dedicated to "achieving stability and sense in the scientific naming of animals". Founded in 1895, it currently comprises 28 members from 20 countries, mainly practicing zoological taxonomists...
from 1972 to 1995.
He was also an accomplished bio-illustrator. Bayer painted and designed a total of fourteen scientifically accurate marine scenes. These particular scenes were used for a set of Haitian postage stamps
Postage stamps and postal history of Haiti
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Haiti.Haiti is a Caribbean country which occupies the western part of the island of Hispaniola which it shares with the Dominican Republic...
in 1973.
Death
Frederick Bayer died of congestive heart failureCongestive heart failure
Heart failure often called congestive heart failure is generally defined as the inability of the heart to supply sufficient blood flow to meet the needs of the body. Heart failure can cause a number of symptoms including shortness of breath, leg swelling, and exercise intolerance. The condition...
on October 2, 2007, at the Washington Home hospice in Washington D.C. at the age of 85.
Taxa named in honor
Taxa named in honor of Frederick Bayer include:- Bayerxenia Alderslade, 2001
- Bayericerithium Petuch, 2001
- BayerotrochusBayerotrochusBayerotrochus is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Pleurotomariidae.The generic name Bayerotrochus is in honor of marine biologist Frederick Bayer.-Species:Species within the genus Bayerotrochus include:...
Harasewych, 2002 - Bayergorgia Williams & López-González, 2005
- Hydractinia bayeri Hirohito, 1984
Taxa named by him
Taxa named by Frederick Bayer include:gastropods:
- Babelomurex faxBabelomurex faxBabelomurex fax is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Muricidae, the murex snails or rock snails....
(F. M. Bayer, 1971) - Babelomurex sentixBabelomurex sentixBabelomurex sentix is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Muricidae, the murex snails or rock snails....
(Bayer, 1971) - Bayerotrochus midasBayerotrochus midasBayerotrochus midas is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Pleurotomariidae....
(Bayer, 1965) - Bayerotrochus pyramus (Bayer, 1967)
- Cyomesus chaunax (Bayer, 1971) and Teramachia chaunax Bayer, 1971 are synonyms of Latiromitra cryptodonLatiromitra cryptodonLatiromitra cryptodon is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Ptychatractidae....
(P. Fischer, 1882) - Lyria cordisLyria cordisLyria cordis is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Volutidae, the volutes....
Bayer, 1971 - PeristariumPeristariumPeristarium is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Turbinellidae.-Species:Species within the genus Peristarium include:* Peristarium aurora * Peristarium electra...
Bayer, 1971 - Peristarium auroraPeristarium auroraPeristarium aurora is a species of large sea snail, marine gastropod mollusk in the family Turbinellidae....
(Bayer, 1971) - Peristarium electraPeristarium electraPeristarium electra is a species of large sea snail, marine gastropod mollusk in the family Turbinellidae....
(Bayer, 1971) - Peristarium meropePeristarium meropePeristarium merope is a species of large sea snail, marine gastropod mollusk in the family Turbinellidae....
(Bayer, 1971) - Perotrochus amabilisPerotrochus amabilisPerotrochus amabilis is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Pleurotomariidae....
(Bayer, 1963) - Perotrochus lucaya Bayer, 1965
- Scaphella evelinaScaphella evelinaScaphella evelina is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Volutidae, the volutes....
Bayer, 1971 - Siphonochelus tityrusSiphonochelus tityrusSiphonochelus tityrus is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Muricidae, the murex snails or rock snails.-Description:The size of an adult shell varies between 5 mm and 14 mm.-Distribution:...
(Bayer, 1971) - Thelyssa Bayer, 1971
- Thelyssa callisto Bayer, 1971
- Volutomitra erebusVolutomitra erebusVolutomitra erebus is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Volutomitridae....
Bayer, 1971 - Volutomitra persephoneVolutomitra persephoneVolutomitra persephone is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Volutomitridae....
Bayer, 1971
bivalves:
- Amphichama inezae (F. M. Bayer, 1943)
See also
Other malacologists named Bayer include:- Charles Gustave François Hubert Bayer (1887-1956) from Netherlands
- L. Bayer from Belgium/Africa
External links
- portrait of Frederick Bayer
- publication list
- obituary of Frederick Bayer at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History, Department of Invertebrate Zoology website