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Discomedusae: Desmonema Annasethe Haeckel (Cnidaria: Scyphozoa). Ernst Haeckel (1834-1919) was the German scientist who coined the phrase "ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny" and the terms "Darwinism" and "ecology." On the day that Haeckel was informed that he had received the prestigious Cothenius Medal from the Berlin Academy, his wife of 18 months died suddenly of an undetermined fever. Haeckel was devastated. A year later, he wrote the following tribute to his beloved wife: "Mitrocoma Annae belong to the most charming of all the Medusae. It was first observed by me in April 1864 in the Bay of Villafranca (Villefranche) near Nice. Its tentacles hung like blonde hair ornaments of a princess. I named this species as a memorial to my unforgettable true wife, Anna Sethe. If I have succeeded, during my earthly pilgrimage in accomplishing something for natural science and humanity, I owe the greatest part to the ennobling influence of this gifted wife." In further tribute, Haeckel produced one of his most beautiful and renowned illustrations. (From an exhibition at the MBLWHOI library, curated by Ann Weissmann http://www.mblwhoilibrary.org/haeckel/wallcharts/discomedusae1.html.)
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