Hennig, Willi

Hennig, Willi

▪ German zoologist
born April 20, 1913, Dürrhennersdorf, Saxony, Ger.
died Nov. 5, 1976, Ludwigsburg, W.Ger.

      German zoologist recognized as the leading proponent of the cladistic school of phylogenetic systematics.

      According to this school of thought, taxonomic classifications should reflect exclusively, so far as possible, genealogical relationships. In effect, organisms would be grouped strictly on the basis of the historical sequences by which they descended from a common ancestor. This diverges significantly from evolutionary systematics, the traditional school of thought which holds that taxonomic classifications ought to be based on genetic as well as genealogical affinities. Hennig defined the fundamentals of the new approach in his Grundzüge einer Theorie der phylogenetischen Systematik (1950; Phylogenetic Systematics, 1979) and sought to show that it integrated the methods and aims of biology with those of such disciplines as paleontology, geology, and biogeography (i.e., the study of the distribution and dispersal of organisms).

      Hennig received a Ph.D. in zoology from the University of Leipzig in 1947 and then conducted extensive research on the larvae of Diptera (the insect order that includes flies, mosquitoes, and gnats) at the German Entomological Institute in East Berlin. He published the results of his work in a monograph entitled Larvenformen der Dipteren (1952; “Dipterous Larvae”), which became the standard work on the subject. He later extended his studies on dipterans to include those species of the order found in New Zealand, which afforded him the opportunity to apply the principles of cladistic classification to the findings of biogeography. In 1961 Hennig resigned from the institute, where he had served as head of the department of systematic entomology since 1949, in protest of East Germany's erection of the Berlin Wall. Two years later, after having moved to West Germany, he was appointed director of phylogenetic research at the State Museum of Natural History in Stuttgart.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Willi Hennig — Emil Hans Willi Hennig (20 avril 1913 5 novembre 1976) est un biologiste allemand, célèbre pour avoir posé les fondements de la classification phylogénétique, appelée aussi cladistique. Avec ses travaux sur l évolution et la systématique, il a… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Willi Hennig — (1972). Willi Hennig (* 20 de abril de 1913 5 de noviembre de 1976) fue un biólogo y entomólogo alemán que a través de una obra singular puso en pie los principios del análisis filogenético y de la sistemática cladística. Hennig no aportó… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Hennig — geht auf den Vornamen Heinrich zurück und ist selten als Vorname, häufig als Familienname in Gebrauch. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Bekannte Namensträger 1.1 Vorname 1.2 Familienname 2 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Willi Hennig — Emil Hans Willi Hennig (* 20. April 1913 in Dürrhennersdorf, Oberlausitz; † 5. November 1976 in Ludwigsburg) war ein deutscher Biologe. Er gilt als Begründer der phylogenetischen Systematik, die heute auch unter dem Namen Kladistik bekannt ist.… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Willi Hennig — Emil Hans Willi Hennig (April 20, 1913 in Dürrhennersdorf/Oberlausitz – November 5, 1976 in Ludwigsburg) was a German biologist who is considered the founder of phylogenetic systematics, also known as cladistics . With his works on evolution and… …   Wikipedia

  • Hennig — The surname Hennig may refer to:*Curt Hennig (1959 2003), an American professional wrestler commonly known as Mr. Perfect , active from 1979 to 2003 *Larry Hennig (? ), an American professional wrestler commonly known as The Axe , active from… …   Wikipedia

  • Willi Hennig — Entomólogo alemán (20 de abril de 1913 5 de noviembre de 1976) que a través de una obra singular puso en pie los principios del análisis filogenético y de la sistemática cladística. Hennig no aportó probablemente ningún concepto que no pueda… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Hennig — Hẹnnig,   Willi, Zoologe, * Dürrhennersdorf (Landkreis Löbau) 20. 4. 1913, ✝ Ludwigsburg 5. 11. 1976; Hennig verfasste grundlegende Arbeiten zur Systematik der Insekten, wobei er eine phylogenetische Systematik (auch »Kladistik« genannt)… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Wolfgang Hennig — (* 3. Mai 1941 in Leipzig) ist ein deutscher Professor für Biologie und Molekularbiologie. Er ist der Sohn des bekannten Biologen Willi Hennig. Biographie Wolfgang Hennig studierte Biologie an der Freien Universität in Berlin und an der Eberhard… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Cladistics — For the scientific journal, see Cladistics (journal). Part of a series on Evolutionary Biology …   Wikipedia

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