Leon Kruaza Italian and Venezuelan botanist, biogeographer Date of Birth: 16.07.1894 Country: Italy

Biography of Leon Croizat

Leon Croizat was an Italian-Venezuelan botanist and biogeographer, born on July 16, 1894, in Italy. In the 1920s, Croizat left Italy and first traveled to the United States before settling in Venezuela. He established the Botanical Garden in Caracas and became its director. In 1947, he joined the faculty of the Agronomy Department at the Central University of Venezuela.

From 1951 onwards, Croizat served as a professor of botany and ecology at the University of the Andes. In the same year, he participated as a botanist in the French-Venezuelan expedition, which aimed to explore the resources of the Orinoco River basin. Croizat believed that "life and Earth evolve together." Based on this metaphor, he developed a new concept in historical biogeography called "panbiogeography."

Panbiogeography is characterized by the cartographic representation of cladograms of isolated territories (due to paleotectonic or paleoclimatic reasons), and the connections between them reflect generalized trajectories that provide insights into the history of biotas and biogeographic regions. The acceptance of panbiogeography has been a subject of controversy, ranging from enthusiastic acceptance to accusations of being unscientific.

In recognition of his contributions, Croizat was awarded the Order of Honor and the Order "For Merits to the Italian Republic" by the Venezuelan and Italian governments, respectively. Leon Croizat passed away on November 30, 1982, in Coro, Venezuela.