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Klein's Saturalis disposiiio Ecbinodermatum (1734) 

 was one of the eariiest monographic trcatments of the 

 sea urchins. It includes dcbcnptions, illustrations, and 

 a classification of both recent and fossil sea urchins. 

 Klein caiied these the Echinodermata and di\ ided them 

 into three classes according to the position of the vent. 

 The classes were then divided into nine sections, 

 corresponding to the genera of iater authors, and 

 twenty-two species. Although altered and enlarged, 

 this work was a major source of information on the 

 Echinoidea for zoologists and paleontologists through- 

 out the eighteenth century and remained a point of 

 departure in discussions by such early nineteenth- 

 century authors as James Parkinson. 



Klein, who studied law at the University of Konigs- 

 berg and served as court secretary in Danzig from 

 1714, had many and diverse interests in natural 

 history besides sea urchins. He developed a botanical 

 garden in Danzig, founded and directed a naturalist's 

 society there, made extensive collections, and published 

 about two dozen monographs, including studies of 

 birds, fishes, reptiles, and invertebrates other than the 

 sea urchins, particularly the mollusks. Fossils are 

 dealt with in various publications, and Klein edited 

 the Sciagraphia lithologica curiosa, seu lapidum 

 nomenclator (1740) of J. J. Scheuchzer, which was 

 published after Scheuchzer's death. 



A principal concern in his monographs is classifica- 

 tion. Klein's taxonomic method was based entireiy on 

 external characteristics, such as the number and 

 position of limbs and the mouth; and he vigorously 

 opposed any method, including the Linnaean system, 

 based on characters not visible externally. 



Klein was a member of the St. Petersburg Academy 

 of Sciences and the Royal Society of London. He was 

 a frequent contributor to the latter's Philosophical 

 Transactions betvveen 1730 and 1748. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 



I. Original Works. Klein's writings include Naiuralis 

 dispositio Echinodermatum. Accessit lucubratiuncula de acu- 

 leis echinorum marinorum, cum spicilegio de belemnitis 

 (Danzig, 1734), trans. into French as Ordre natural des 

 oursins de mer et /ossiles; avec des obsenations sur les 

 figures des oursins de mer, et quelques remarques sur les 

 belemnites (Paris, 1754), Latin ed. rev. by N. G. Leske 

 (Leipzig, 1778); and Summa dubiorum circa classes qua- 

 drupedum et amphibiorum in celebris domini Caroli Linnaei 

 systemate naturae, sive naturalis quadrupe dum historiae 

 promovendae prodromus, cum praeludio de orustatis (Leip- 

 zig, 1743), which summarizes Klein's feelings about a 



.„„. ,„„,c„rr, ^amjiMelier, VII (Leipzig. IHOSi. pp. 



"n^^SECosovRV LiTrR.TtKr. The bnef bK^S-Ph^^' 

 ske.ch m Alkememe dcutsche B.ograplue XWlii.vr^ 

 Berlm, 1%9). PP- 92-94, ,s based on Chnstof Scndel, 

 Lohrede auf Herrn Jacoh /./^,7. (Danzig. 1759). 



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