Alexander Kovalevsky

Alexander Onufrievich Kovalevsky (Russian: Алекса́ндр Ону́фриевич Ковале́вский, 7 November 1840 in Vorkovo, Vitebsk Governorate, Russian Empire – 1901, St. Petersburg, Russian Empire), was a Russian embryologist, who studied medicine at the University of Heidelberg and became professor at the University of St Petersburg.[1][2][3][4] He was the brother of paleontologist Vladimir Kovalevsky, and the brother-in-law of the mathematician Sofya Kovalevskaya.

Alexander Kovalevsky
Alexander Kovalevsky
Born7 November 1840
Vārkava, Vitebsk Governorate
Died1901
NationalityRussian
CitizenshipRussian
Alma materUniversity of Heidelberg
Known forGastrulation
Scientific career
FieldsEmbryology

Discoveries
A. Lancelet (a chordate), B. Larval tunicate, C. Adult tunicate. Kovalevsky saw that the notochord (1) and gill slit (5) are features shared by tunicates and vertebrates.

Kowalevsky showed that all animals go through a period of gastrulation.[1][2][3][4]

Kovalevsky discovered that tunicates were not molluscs, but that their larval stage had a notochord and pharyngeal slits, like vertebrates. Further, these structures developed from the same germ layers in the embryo as the equivalent structures in vertebrates, so he argued that the tunicates should be grouped with the vertebrates as chordates. 19th century zoology thus converted embryology into an evolutionary science, connecting phylogeny with homologies between the germ layers of embryos, foreshadowing evolutionary developmental biology.[5]

Antoine Fortuné Marion and Alexander Kovalevsky, founder and collaborator of the Annals of Natural History Museum of Marseille

Bibliography
  • Kowalevsky, A (1901). "Les Hedylidés, étude anatomique". Zapiski Imperatorskoi Akademii Nauk. 12: 1–32.

References
  1. Ereskovsky, Alexander (2012). "Introduction to the Kowalevsky medal issue" (PDF). Evolution & Development. 14 (1): 1–2. doi:10.1111/j.1525-142X.2011.00516.x. PMID 23016968.
  2. Fokin, Sergei I. (2012). "Life of Alexander Onufrievich Kowalevsky (1840–1901)". Evolution & Development. 14 (1): 3–8. doi:10.1111/j.1525-142X.2011.00517.x.
  3. Haas, L F (May 1999). "Alexander Onufrievich Kovalevsky (1840-1901)". J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry. 66 (5): 680. doi:10.1136/jnnp.66.5.680. PMC 1736354. PMID 10209188.
  4. Kyle, R A; Shampo M A (Sep 1982). "Alexander O. Kovalevsky". JAMA. 248 (11): 1336. doi:10.1001/jama.248.11.1336. PMID 7050433.
  5. Gilbert, Scott F. (2003). "The morphogenesis of evolutionary developmental biology" (PDF). International Journal of Developmental Biology. 47: 467–477.
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