Prof. A. V. Martynov

Abstract

As a palæo-entomologist, A. V. Martynov had an international reputation. His palæeontological work was devoted entirely to the fossil insect deposits of Russia, among which those of the Permian of Tikhiye Gory and those of the Jurassic beds of Turkestan (Kara Tau) deserve special mention. From these and many other localities, Martynov described, in about forty publications, a great number of new forms, many of them of considerable phylogenetic importance. In particular, it was his work on the Permian insects which made Martynov widely known and brought him into close contact with the late Dr. R. J. Tillyard, who worked on the Permian insects of Australia and of Kansas, and with Carpenter, who is investigating the Kansas fauna. Before Martynov's studies in fossil insects, almost nothing was known from Russian territory. Now, after his premature death, Russia occupies a prominent place in palæo-entomology, and this is entirely due to Martynov's energy. His qualifications as a systematist appear in his careful descriptions, which will always retain their high value, even if in some cases his classification may have to be modified in future.