The German physician and zoologist Karl Theodor Ernst von Siebold (1804 - 1885) obtained his position as a professor of zoology at the University of Erlangen through the mediation of Alexander von Humboldt. For his work on his book "The Freshwater Fishes of Central Europe," first published in 1863, Siebold compiled an extensive collection of native fish. Under his leadership, the zoological-anatomical collections evolved from a cabinet of curiosities into a scientific research collection. His own research work significantly expanded the fish collection. This work remains one of the most important writings on the species of freshwater fish to this day.