Adolpho (1855 - 1940) und Bertha Lutz (1884 - 1976) - Leben und Werke

Adolpho (1855–1940) and Bertha Lutz (1884–1976) are two of the most important natural scientists in Brazilian history. Being of Swiss descent, Adolpho Lutz studied medicine in Berne and then returned to Brazil to work mainly on tropical diseases and parasites. Additionally he dedicated himself to herpetology, in particular to anurans, with a focus on the genera Leptodactylus, Cycloramphus and Bufo, which were the predominant genera at the time. He passed his passion for these animals on to his daughter Bertha. After having studied natural sciences in Paris, she found employment at the National Museum of Brazil in Rio de Janeiro – in a position that was not normally granted to women in the early 20th century. She gained international recognition through both her efforts in furthering the feminist movement in Brazil and as a renowned scientist and herpetologist. The focus of her work was (aside from the reprocessing of her father’s collection) on the ontogeny and reproductive strategies of tropical anurans, and the Neotropical representatives of the former genus Hyla (now including Dendropsophus, Hypsiboas, Scinax, etc.).