Willy Wolterstorff

Who is Willy Wolterstorff?

Willy Georg Wolterstorff was a German paleontologist and herpetologist.

As a child he lost his hearing due to disease, thus finding it necessary to lip-read from an early age. He learned natural sciences through private lessons. After receiving vocational training as a bookbinder, he studied geology from 1884 under Karl von Fritsch at the University of Halle. At Halle he also received training as a curator.

In 1889 he became an assistant to Konrad Oebbeke at the mineralogical-geological institute at Erlangen, and two years later was appointed curator at the Museum für Naturkunde und Vorgeschichte in Magdeburg. After his retirement in 1929, he remained at the Magdeburg museum, performing important functions as a volunteer.

Wolterstorff is known for scientific research of "lower vertebrates", in particular investigations involving the systematics, reproduction and behavior of members of the family Salamandridae. He was the author of nearly 300 scientific papers, and from 1909 was editor of Blätter für Aquarien- und Terrarienkunde. He is credited with creation of the "Tradescantia-Glas", an enclosure-method for maintenance and breeding of newts.