Tsutomu Hikida

Tsutomu Hikida is a Japanese zoologist and herpetologist. He is an emeritus professor at Kyoto University, known for his extensive research in herpetology, particularly the systematics, taxonomy, and biogeography of reptiles and amphibians.
He has served as president of the Herpetological Society of Japan and as chairman of its Committee on Standard Japanese Names.

Biography

Hikida was born in Usuki, Ōita Prefecture, Japan, in 1951.
He graduated from the Faculty of Science, Kyoto University, in 1974, and completed coursework for the doctoral program at the Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, in 1979 without submitting a dissertation.
From 1979 to 1995, he served as an assistant in the Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University.
He was later promoted to associate professor and then full professor, retiring from Kyoto University in 2016.

Research and career

Hikida developed a fascination with nature from an early age, often collecting small animals and insects as a child.
As an undergraduate, he studied ecology, with his graduation thesis focusing on age estimation in wood mice based on their teeth.
Upon entering graduate school, he shifted his focus to the phylogeny of reptiles.
Since then, his research has centered on the systematics, taxonomy, and biogeography of reptiles.

Selected works

Natural Monuments of the World, Vol. 9: Amphibians and Reptiles. Kodansha, 1987. ISBN 406191359X. Animal Systematics and Taxonomy, Vol. 9 : Reptiles I. Nakayama Shoten, 1988. ISBN 4521071910. Current Herpetology in East Asia. Herpetological Society of Japan, 1989. Evolution of Reptiles. University of Tokyo Press, 2002. ISBN 4-13-060179-2. Encyclopedia of Japanese Animals, Vol. 5: Amphibians, Reptiles, and Cartilaginous Fishes. Heibonsha, 1996. ISBN 4582545556. Amphibians and Reptiles. Shogakukan, 2004. ISBN 4092172060. The Great Illustrated Book of Lizards, Snakes, and Turtles. PHP Institute, 2012. ISBN 4569782523.