Friday, April 13, 2012

Died This Day: Amanz Gressly


Gressly (July 17, 1814 - April 13, 1865) was a Swiss geologist and paleontologist who originated the study of stratigraphic facies when he discovered lateral differences in the character and fossil content of strata in the Jura Mountains, reflecting a variation of the original environment of deposition.

The "Gressly's lizard" dinosaur was named Gresslyosaurus (1857) to honour Amanz Gressly and to replace the preoccupied Dinosaurus Ruetimeyer 1856). It is now synonymized with Plateosaurus. From Today in Science History