Richard Highton

Richard Highton (born December 24, 1927) is an American herpetologist,[1][2] an expert on the biological classification of woodland salamanders.[3]

Richard Highton
BornDecember 24, 1927
Alma materUniversity of Florida
Known forHis research in herpetology
Scientific career
FieldsBiology
InstitutionsUniversity of Maryland, College Park
ThesisOn the relationships of the salamanders of the genus Plethodon' (1956)
Doctoral studentsStephen Blair Hedges

Education and personal life

Highton was born in Chicago. His father encouraged his son to have an interest in herpetology. In 1950 he was awarded a bachelor's degree in biology, mathematics and sociology from New York University, with his studies interrupted by military service.[4] He received his master's degree and Doctorate in Philosophy from the University of Florida.[5] In 1950 he married Anne Adams and they had 4 children together.[4]

Career

A field visit to the southern Appalachians mountains in 1948 with Carl Gans was the start of his work on salamanders.[4] In 1956 he joined the Zoology Department University of Maryland College Park, with emphasis on genetics and is currently Professor Emeritus in Biology.[5][6] On his retirement in 1998, his collection of approximately 140,000 salamander specimens was donated to the Smithsonian Institution.[2][4]

Since 1999 he has been a member of the Committee on Standard and English Scientific Names for North American Amphibians and Reptiles. He is the author or co-author of over 90 scientific publications.[4]

Honours and awards

He was president of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists in 1976 and President of the University of the Maryland Chapter of Sigma Xi from 1979 to 1980.[4] The intestinal parasite of salamanders Isospora hightoni was named in his honour.[7]

References
  1. Laidman, Jenni (6 August 2006). "Questions Surround Disappearance Of Salamanders". Toledo Blade. Retrieved 25 November 2010.
  2. Joel Achenbach (19 January 1993). "The great federal rhino repository". Washington Post. Retrieved 25 November 2010.
  3. Reznick, David N. (2009), The Origin then and now: an interpretive guide to the Origin of species, Princeton University Press, p. 160, ISBN 978-0-691-12978-5, Richard Highton has devoted his career to the classification of salamanders in the genus Plethodon.
  4. "Biographical Sketch and Bibliography of Richard Highton: Smithsonian Herpetological Information Service 151" (PDF). Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  5. "Richard Highton". Archived from the original on 8 June 2007. Retrieved 24 November 2010.
  6. Richard C. Bruce; Robert Jaeger; Lynne D. Houck (2000). The biology of plethodontid salamanders. Springer. p. 3. ISBN 978-0-306-46304-4. Retrieved 25 November 2010.
  7. "Algae gives professor a taste of immortality". Seattle Times. June 13, 2005. Retrieved 2011-02-25.
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