Richard Lydekker (/lɪˈdɛkər/; 25 July 1849 – 16 April 1915) was an Englishnaturalist, geologist and writer of numerous books onnatural history.[1] He was known for his contributions to zoology, paleontology, and biogeography. He worked extensively in cataloging fossil vertebrates and describing new species, particularly from India, where he spent several years studying the region’s prehistoric fauna.
Lydekker was a key figure in the field of vertebrate paleontology, authoring numerous scientific papers and books that helped classify extinct and extant species.
Richard Lydekker was born atTavistock Square in London. His father was Gerard Wolfe Lydekker, a barrister-at-law with Dutch ancestry. The family moved toHarpenden Lodge soon after Richard's birth.[2] He was educated atTrinity College, Cambridge, where he took a first-class in the Natural Sciencetripos (1872).[3] In 1874 he joined theGeological Survey of India and made studies of thevertebrate palaeontology of northern India (especiallyKashmir). He remained in this post until the death of his father in 1881. His main work in India was on the Siwalik palaeofauna; it was published inPalaeontologia Indica. He was responsible for the cataloguing of thefossilmammals, reptiles, and birds in theNatural History Museum (10 vols., 1891).[4]
He named a variety of taxa including thegolden-bellied mangabey; as a taxon authority he is named simply as "Lydekker".[5]
He was influential in the science ofbiogeography. In 1896 he delineated the biogeographical boundary throughIndonesia, known as Lydekker's Line, that separatesWallacea on the west fromAustralia-New Guinea on the east.[6][4] It follows the edge of theSahul Shelf, an area from New Guinea to Australia of shallow water with theAru Islands on its edge. Along withWallace's Line and others,[7] it indicates the definite effect of geology on the biogeography of the region, something not seen so clearly in other parts of the world.[8]
Lydekker attracted amused public attention with a pair of letters toThe Times in 1913, when he wrote on 6 February that he had heard acuckoo, contrary toYarrell'sHistory of British Birds which doubted the bird arrived before April. Six days later on 12 February 1913, he wrote again, confessing that "the note was uttered by a bricklayer's labourer". Letters about the first cuckoo became a tradition in the newspaper.[9]
The Royal Natural History[13][14] (withW. H. Flower), 6 vols., 12 sec. (1893–1896)
A Hand-book to the Marsupialia and Monotremata (1894)
Life and Rock: A Collection of Zooogical and Geological Essays (1894)
A Geographical History of Mammals (1896)
A Hand-book to the British Mammalia (1896)
A Handbook to the Carnivora : part 1 : cats, civets, and mongooses (1896)
The Deer of all Lands : A history of the family Cervidae, living and extinct (1898)
Wild Oxen, Sheep & Goats of all Lands, Living and Extinct (1898)
The Wild Animals of India, Burma, Malaya, and Tibet[15] (1900)
The great and small game of Europe, western & northern Asia and America (1901)
The New Natural History 6 vols. (1901)
Living Races of Mankind: A popular illustrated account of the customs, habits, pursuits, feasts, and ceremonies of the races of mankind throughout the world, 2 vols. (1902),[16] withHenry Neville Hutchinson andJohn Walter Gregory
Mostly Mammals: Zoological Essays (1903)
Guide to the Gallery of Reptilia and Amphibia in the British museum (1906)
^Burkill, I. H. (1943). "The biogeographic division of the Indo-Australian archipelago. 2. A history of the divisions which have been proposed".Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London.154 (2):127–138.doi:10.1111/j.1095-8312.1943.tb00310.x.
