Richard Highton (born December 24, 1927) is an American

herpetologist Herpetology (from Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians (gymnophiona)) and rept ...

, an expert on the

biological classification In biology, taxonomy () is the scientific study of naming, defining ( circumscribing) and classifying groups of biological organisms based on shared characteristics. Organisms are grouped into taxa (singular: taxon) and these groups are given ...

woodland salamander ''Plethodon'' is a genus of salamanders in the family Plethodontidae. They are also known as woodland salamanders or, more rarely, slimy salamanders. All members of the genus are endemic to North America (Canada and USA). They have no aquatic lar ...

Education and personal life

Highton was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. His father encouraged his son to have an interest in

herpetology Herpetology (from Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians (gymnophiona)) and rept ...

. In 1950 he was awarded a bachelor's degree in biology, mathematics and sociology from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

, with his studies interrupted by military service. He received his master's degree and Doctorate in Philosophy from the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

. In 1950 he married Anne Adams and they had 4 children together.

Career

A field visit to the southern Appalachians mountains in 1948 with

Carl Gans Carl Gans (7 September 1923 – 30 November 2009) was a German-born American zoologist and herpetologist. Early life and education Gans, who was Jewish, was born in Germany. While a teenager in 1939, he was able to escape Nazi Germany by ...

was the start of his work on salamanders. In 1956 he joined the Zoology Department

University of Maryland College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of Mary ...

, with emphasis on genetics and is currently Professor Emeritus in

Biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

. On his retirement in 1998, his collection of approximately 140,000 salamander specimens was donated to the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

. 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.

Honours and awards

He was president of the

American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists The American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (ASIH) is an international learned society devoted to the scientific studies of ichthyology (study of fish) and herpetology (study of reptiles and amphibians). The primary emphases of the ...

in 1976 and President of the University of the Maryland Chapter of

Sigma Xi Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society () is a highly prestigious, non-profit honor society for scientists and engineers. Sigma Xi was founded at Cornell University by a junior faculty member and a small group of graduate students in 1886 ...

from 1979 to 1980. The

intestinal parasite An intestinal parasite infection is a condition in which a parasite infects the gastro-intestinal tract of humans and other animals. Such parasites can live anywhere in the body, but most prefer the intestinal wall. Routes of exposure and infe ...

of salamanders ''

Isospora ''Isospora'' is a genus of internal parasites in the subclass Coccidia. It is responsible for the condition isosporiasis, which causes acute, non-bloody diarrhoea in immunocompromised individuals. Taxonomy At least 248 species were originally ...

hightoni'' was named in his honour.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Highton, Richard University of Florida alumni University of Maryland, College Park faculty 1927 births Living people American herpetologists