History of research on Proteus anguinus Laurenti 1768 in Slovenia / Zgodovina raziskovanja človeške ribice (Proteus anguinus Laurenti 1768) v Sloveniji

Abstract Olm or proteus ( Proteus anguinus Laurenti 1768) was the first taxonomically described cave animal in the world, by J. N. Laurenti, 1768, upon a specimen that was apparently found on the famous lake Cerknisko jezero, Slovenia, yet the existence of this unusual animal in Slovenija had been known long before. The research on Proteus is one of the oldest Slovenian natural history projects, a 330 year spiritual bond: from the first description by one of pioneers of karst research J. V. Valvasor in 1689, to the renowned naturalists J. A. Scopoli, who was the first researcher to actually examine proteus from the Sticna area in 1762. One of the central figures of the early proteus research was Ž. Zois, the first who studied proteus behaviour, and conducted earliest physiological and ecological observations, together with Viennese zoologist Karl von Schreibers. Zois’s work was continued by two researchers of proteus distribution F. J. Hochenwart and H. Freyer, and other researchers of the 19 th and 20 th century. For the last 250 years, this mysterious animal has constantly raised scientific and public attention, and gradually became not only an important symbol of Slovenia’s nature, but also a part of its cultural heritage. The zoologically extraordinary Proteus was also an important object in the history of international nature research, puzzling the minds of most prominent naturalists, from Linnaeus, Cuvier and Humboldt, to Lamarck and Darwin. This article also presents reproductions of the earliest illustrations of proteus: a collection of ten published and unpublished work between 1752 and 1849, a forgotten heritage of the first 100 years of proteus research. In Memoriam Žiga Zois (1747–1819). Key words: Olm, Proteus anguinus, history of natural history, Slovenia, Zois Izvlecek Cloveska ribica ali moceril ( Proteus anguinus Laurenti 1768) je bila prva taksonomsko opisana jamska žival na svetu. Laurenti jo je opisal leta 1768, po primerku, ki naj bi ga nasli na Cerkniskem jezeru, vendar je bil obstoj te nenavadne dvoživke v Sloveniji že dolgo znan. Raziskovanje cloveske ribice je eden od najstarejsih slovenskih naravoslovnih projektov, 330 letna duhovna vez. Od Valvasorja, enega od pionirjev raziskovanja krasa, ki je objavil prvo omembo proteusa že leta 1689, do priznanega naravoslovca Scopolija, prvega raziskovalca, ki je clovesko ribico, najdeno leta 1762 v okolici Sticne, dejansko prvi preucil. Ena od osrednjih osebnosti zgodnjih raziskovalcev cloveske ribice, Ž. Zois, je kot prvi preuceval vedenje cloveske ribice (1795), in je v sodelovanju dunajskim zoologom Karlom von Schreibersom izvedel najzgodnejse fizioloske in ekoloske raziskave na tej vrsti. Zoisovo delo sta nadaljevala dva raziskovalca razsirjenosti cloveske ribice, muzealca F. J. Hochenwart in H. Freyer, ter drugi raziskovalci 19. in 20. stoletja, do danes. Zadnjih 250 let je ta skrivnostna žival nenehno dvigovala pozornost znanstvenikov in javnosti, ter postopoma postala ne le pomemben simbol slovenske narave, temvec tudi del njene kulturne dediscine. Cloveska ribica, je bila zaradi svojih zooloskih posebnosti veckrat pomemben objekt v zgodovini razvoja mednarodne naravoslovne misli med 17. in 19. stoletjem, in je zbujala vprasanja v najpomembnejsih naravoslovcih, od Linneja, Cuvierja in Humboldta, do Lamarcka in Darwina. V prispevku so predstavljene tudi reprodukcije najzgodnejsih ilustracij cloveske ribice: zbirka desetih objavljenih in neobjavljenih del med letoma 1752 in 1849, dediscina prvih 100 let raziskovanja cloveske ribice. V spomin na Žigo Zoisa (1747–1819). Kljucne besede: cloveska ribica, Proteus anguinus, zgodovina naravoslovja, Slovenia, Zois