Antonin Fritsch

Who was Antonin Fritsch?

Antonin Fritsch was a Czech paleontologist, biologist and geologist, living during the Austria–Hungary era. Professor at the Charles University and later became director of the National Museum in Prague. He became famous for his contributions on the field of Permo - Carboniferous ecosystems.

He also became known for finding fossils once attributed to dinosaurs - Albisaurus albinus and Ponerosteus exogyrarum and so far the only pterosaur known from the Czech Republic, Cretornis hlavatschi. The pterosaur was small with a wingspan of about 1.5 m and lived in Turonian.

The first true dinosaur known from the Czech Republic was discovered 90 years after Fritsch's death. It is a small iguanodontid of Cenomanian age.

Fritsch received the Lyell Medal from the Geological Society of London in 1902.