Lukas Hottinger

Lukas Hottinger (born Düsseldorf, Germany, 25 February 1933; died Basel, Switzerland, 4 September 2011) has been a paleontologist, biologist and geologist. Hottinger collaborated with the Natural History Museum of Basel (Switzerland).

Hottinger was one of the major experts on present-day and fossil larger foraminifera. In 1997 obtained the Cushman Award from the Cushman Foundation for Foraminiferal Research (Journal of Foraminiferal Research, vol. 28/1, 1-2) for his lifetime contributions to foraminiferal research. Professor Hottinger completed his PhD thesis on Paleocene and Eocene Alveolina in 1959 under the direction of Professor Manfred Reichel. His thesis on Paleogene Alveolina included genus and species definitions and changes through time, the concept of phylogenetic lineages, and their use in zonal biochronology. Published as a double volume of Mémoires Suisse de Paléontologie in 1960, this remains the authoritative work on these unique foraminifera. From 1959 to 1964 he lived in Morocco working for the geological survey under the direction of Georges Choubert and Anne Faure-Muret, a time that was essential for his formation. His bibliography, widely respected by the international scientific community, comprises over 120 papers and six monographs. These contributions range far over the geological landscape, including topics as diverse as stratigraphy, paleoecology, and evolution, and spanning the globe from Indo-Pacific and Africa to the northeast Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea. Besides being a member of the Swiss Academy of Natural Sciences, in 1993 Professor Hottinger was honored with membership in the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, and in 1997 was awarded the Doctor Honoris Causa by the Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona (Spain).