Erich Wasmann

Who was Erich Wasmann?

Erich Wasmann was an Austrian entomologist, specializing in ants and termites, and Jesuit priest. He described the phenomenon known as Wasmannian mimicry. Wasmann was a supporter of evolution, although he did not accept the productivity of natural selection, the evolution of humans from other animals, or universal common descent of all life. Rather, he believed that common ancestry was restricted to what he called "natural species" which were generally larger groups than species, genera, or even families. His natural species he identified with the "paleontological species" of Melchior Neumayr. Wasmann also was involved in a long-running dispute with Ernst Haeckel over Monism.