Jaroslav Mareš

Ing Jaroslav Mareš (born 28 December 1937 in Brno, then Czechoslovakia, now Czech republic) is a Czech biologist, traveller and writer.

He graduated from The University of Economics in Prague, getting a degree of Ing (he studied international business). He worked for ČSA in Iran and later in Canada. He has visited 85 countries and organised several expeditions for research of cryptids, such as Kongamato (for this he was offered the membership of the International Society for Cryptozoology which he accepted), Nandi Bear, Megalania prisca, Bigfoot, Yeti, Nessie, Ogopogo, Champ, Megalodon, Lusca, Ambazombi and others. In 1978 he organised an expedition to the tepui which probably inspired Sir Arthur Conan Doyle for writing The Lost World (a book based on stories told to Doyle by Colonel Percy Fawcett).

He also studies dinosaurs (he visited most of the famous fossil sites, such as Nemegt in Mongolia, Tendaguru in Tanzania, Red Deer in Alberta, and other localities in Utah, Colorado, Montana and Patagonia) and corresponds with the world-leading palaeontologists. Another field of his interest is shamanism.

In 1976 he discovered and later scientifically described the world's strongest carnivorous beetle, "Manticora imperator", of the Tiger beetle group. He became a specialist in this group of beetles and later described three more species.

He has published seventeen books and numerous magazine articles.

Bibliography

*"V tropech tří světadílů" "(In tropical forests of three continents)" (1976)
*"Nejkrásnější brouci tropů" "(The most beautiful tropical beetles)" (1980), with Vlastimil Lapáček
*"Yetti" "(Yeti)" (1991)
*"Hledání Ztraceného světa" "(Search for The Lost World)" (1992)
*"Legendární příšery a skutečná zvířata" "(Legendary monsters and real animals)" (1993)
*"Záhada dinosaurů" "(The mystery of dinosaurs)" (1993)
*"Po záhadných stopách" "(On the track of mysteries)" (1994)
*"Detektivem v říši zvířat" "(Detective in the world of animals)" (1995)
*"Tyrkysová karavana" "(Turquois caravan)" (1995)
*"Svět tajemných zvířat" "(The world of cryptids)" (1997)
*"Hrůza zvaná Kurupira" "(The horror named Kurupira)" (2001)
*"Gladiátoři druhohor" "(Mesozoic gladiators)" (2001)
*"Dračí chrám" "(The Temple of Dragons)" (2002)
*"Jezero krokodýlích čarodějů" "(The Lake of the crocodile sorcerers)" (2002)
*"Manticora: A Monograph of the Genus (Coleoptera, Cicindelidae, Manticorini)" (2002)
*"Kurupira: zlověstné tajemství" "(Kurupira: the ominous mystery)" (2005)
*"Legendární opolidé (Obrovití primáti - legenda nebo pravda?)" "(Legendary apemen (Giant primates - legend or truth?))" 2007

References and external links

*Klub českých cestovatelů (Czech Travellers´ Club) [http://ckc.cz/cl_maresjaroslav.html]
*A book on "Manticora" genus by J. Mareš [http://www.coronetbooks.com/books/m/mant3440.htm]