Born in Berlin on June 8 1893 Ernst Marcus became a renowned zoologist. He significantly impacted the University of Sāo Paulo. Marcus co-founded the Oceanographic Institute there.
Ernst Marcus’s early life was steeped in nature. He grew up near the Berlin Zoo. There he observed animals and collected beetles. Marcus’s academic journey led him to Friedrich Wilhelm University. He studied zoology there.
His doctoral work began at the Berlin Museum’s Entomology Department. In 1914 Ernst Marcus published his first zoological paper. World War I interrupted his studies. He served as a soldier. Marcus received the Iron Cross. His thesis on Coleoptera appeared in 1919. He then earned his doctorate. Continuing at the museum he specialized in Bryozoa. He mastered the subject independently.
In 1923 Ernst Marcus became a professor. He taught at Friedrich Wilhelm University. As Karl Heider’s assistant he grew interested in Developmental Mechanics. Ernst Marcus married Eveline Du Bois-Reymond in 1924. She was Emil Du Bois-Reymond’s granddaughter. Together they produced many zoological works. In 1929 Marcus was appointed Associate Professor. That year he also published a comprehensive monograph on tardigrades. Hartmut Greven described it as unsurpassed even today.
The rise of Nazism forced Ernst Marcus to leave Germany. He was dismissed in 1935. In March 1936 Sāo Paulo offered him a professorship. The Society for the Protection of Science and Learning helped him find this position. Marcus and his wife moved to Brazil. They arrived on April 1 1936. He took Ernst Bresslau’s vacant zoology chair at the University of Sāo Paulo. Marcus began studying Brazilian bryozoan fauna.
World War II restricted Ernst Marcus’s coastal access. Because of his German origin he was forbidden from going to the coast. He shifted his focus. Marcus studied freshwater bryozoans and terrestrial invertebrates. Oligochaetes and turbellarians became his specialties. In 1945 he became a full professor. He presented a large thesis on microturbellarians. After the war Ernst Marcus declined an invitation to return to Germany. He did not want to rebuild his life again. Back on the coast he studied bryozoans turbellarians and opisthobranchs.
Ernst Marcus and Eveline published 162 papers from 1936 to 1968. Early works were in Portuguese. Later papers were in English. They covered various invertebrate groups. These included flatworms annelids and gastropods.
Ernst Marcus died in 1968. Eveline continued their research until her death. Several species honor Ernst Marcus’s name. Luteostriata ernesti and Imbira marcusi are examples. These are land planarians. Ernst Marcus left an indelible mark on zoology. His work continues to inspire scientists.