Karl Beurlen (17 April 1901 – 27 December 1985) was a German paleontologist.
[2] Beurlen was a proponent of orthogenesis and saltational evolution.
[3] He used the term metakinesis (coined by Otto Jaekel) to describe sudden changes of development in organisms.
He also invented the term palingenesis as a mechanism for his orthogenetic theory of evolution.
[4] He was a proponent of National Socialist ideology and wrote about the Aryan race.