The National Museum of Natural History, Sofia and the “Prof. Marin Drinov” Publishing House presented a book “Panorama of Bulgarian Zoology” by Petar Beron, Professor Emeritus of the Museum

On 3 October 2023, at 17:30, in “Prof. Marin Drinov” hall of Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, zoology connoisseurs, colleagues and friends of Petar Beron gathered for the presentation of his latest book — “Panorama of Bulgarian Zoology”.

Prof. Pavel Stoev, Director of the Museum, briefly introduced the author and expressed his joy with the publication of this extremely interesting and long-awaited book. Prof. Stoev reminded the audience that thanks to the decades-long research of Prof. Stefan Stanev, the development of botanical research in Bulgaria is very well documented. Regrettably, although zoological research in the country greatly exceeds botanical research, considering that animals outnumber plants six-fold, there is a shortage of up-to-date general historical overviews. Prof. Petar Beron’s book fills this huge gap in Bulgarian zoological science.

“Such a book can be written only by someone like Prof. Beron, who has witnessed a large part of the facts described in the book and who has been personally acquainted with many of the Bulgarian zoologists. His encyclopedic knowledge, accumulated over a span of 70 years, combined with his many-sided interests make him the only zoologist who could be able to summarise the entire Bulgarian fauna. The book contains a lot of original information, which results from the author’s personal conversations or experiences, which makes it even more valuable”, Prof. Stoev said.

Dimitar Radichkov, Manager of the “Prof. Marin Drinov” Publishing House of BAS, welcomed the guests and shared how much he enjoyed working with Prof. Beron as an author. This is Prof. Beron’s fourth book they have published together, and although the books’ topics are quite different, all four have garnered the public’s attention.

Professor Beron briefly introduced his book and shared what inspired him to write it and the long journey he had to undertake before he could finish it. “Panorama of Bulgarian Zoology” follows the development of Bulgarian zoology in the fields of taxonomy, systematics, faunistics, zoogeography and ecology. It contains information on the history of Bulgarian zoology collected from 1776 to the present day. The book also highlights the contribution of the first teachers who did voluntary work after the Liberation and went on to gather the first collections and set up the first museum exhibitions. The book follows the development of scientific institutions, museums, scientific publications, and expeditions in Bulgaria and around the world, as well gives note to the contributions of Bulgarian zoologists to the study of the world’s fauna. It provides overview of the modern systematics of animals, underlining the contribution of Bulgarian scientists.

The book can be purchased in the Museum shop, at 1, Tsar Osvoboditel Blvd or ordered from the website of “Prof. Marin Drinov” Publishing House: press.bas.bg/bg/books-103/show-104(898).