Roberto Donoso-Barros (October 5, 1921 – August 2, 1975) was a Chilean zoologist, naturalist, and herpetologist.[1] Jaime Péfaur listed his birth year as 1922.[2]
Roberto Donoso-Barros | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Roberto Donoso-Barros October 5, 1921 |
| Died | August 2, 1975 Concepción, Chile |
| Alma mater | University of Chile |
Early life and education
editDonoso-Barros was born in Santiago, Chile. He attended the University of Chile in Santiago, earning his M.D. from the school in 1947.[3]
Career
editDonoso-Barros joined the faculty of the University of Chile in 1954. In 1965, he became a professor at the University of Concepción.[3] He also worked at the Universidad de Oriente in Venezuela, and at the Smithsonian Institution in the United States.[1]
Donoso-Barros was a prolific herpetological authority in Chile. In 1966, he published Reptiles de Chile which collected and reported on all lizard species described to date in Chile.
Species described by Donoso-Barros include:
- Garthia penai (Donoso-Barros, 1966)
- Liolaemus brattstroemi Donoso-Barros, 1961 – synonym of Liolaemus pictus
- Liolaemus ceii Donoso-Barros, 1971 – synonym of Liolaemus kriegi
- Liolaemus constanzae Donoso-Barros, 1961
- Liolaemus hellmichi Donoso-Barros, 1974
- Liolaemus paulinae Donoso-Barros, 1961
- Liolaemus sarmientoi Donoso-Barros, 1973
- Gonatodes ceciliae Donoso-Barros, 1966
- Gonatodes ligiae Donoso-Barros, 1967
- Microlophus atacamensis (Donoso-Barros, 1966)
- Microlophus tarapacensis (Donoso-Barros, 1966)
- Bachia marcelae Donoso-Barros & Garrido, 1964
- Alsodes vanzolinii (Donoso-Barros, 1974)
- Pristidactylus alvaroi (Donoso-Barros, 1974)
- Pristidactylus valeriae (Donoso-Barros, 1974)
Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a different genus.
The gecko Gonatodes ligiae remains somewhat mysterious as it was only described in a short note in which Donoso-Barros did not explain the name, but it is probably named after some person, as many other species he described. However, the ominous Ligia remains a mystery.[4]
Accolades
editDonoso-Barros was awarded the Abate Molina Prize by the Chilean Academy of Sciences in 1966.[1] He was also awarded the Atenea Award in 1966 for Reptiles de Chile.[5]
A proposed subspecies of Chelonoidis chilensis, C. chilensis donosobarrosi, is named for Donoso-Barros. A species of lizard, Liolaemus donosobarrosi, is named after him.[6]
Personal life
editDonoso-Barros had five daughters and two sons. However, in his obituary, Jaime Péfaur only mentions 6 children, namely Constanza, Roberto, Paulina, Marcela, Valeria and Cecilia.[2] Péfaur did not mention his son Alvaro, after which Donoso-Barros named one species, Pristidactylus alvaroi,[7] as he dedicated names to all his other children (except Roberto), namely
- Gonatodes ceciliae, named for his daughter Cecilia[6]
- Liolaemus paulinae, named for his daughter Pauline[6]
- Pristidactylus valeriae, named for his daughter Valeria[6]
- Liolaemus constanzae, named for his daughter Constanza[6]
- Pristidactylus alvaroi, named for his son Álvaro[6]
- Bachia marcelae, named for his daughter Marcela.[8]
Donoso-Barros is the grandfather of Gaspar Domínguez Donoso (son of his daughter Valeria)[9] and of Chilean-British herpetologist Daniel Pincheira-Donoso.
Donoso-Barros died on August 2, 1975, as a result of a traffic accident.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c d Vidal, M.A.; Labra, A. (2008). Herpetología de Chile. Santiago de Chile: Science Verlag. 593 pp. ISBN 978-956-319-420-3.
- ^ a b Péfaur, Jaime E. (1976). "Roberto Donoso-Barros". Copeia. 1976 (1): 219–220. ISSN 0045-8511.
- ^ a b Adler, Kraig (1989). Contributions to the History of Herpetology. Ithaca, New York: Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. p. 202. ISBN 9780916984892. OCLC 1047655065.
- ^ Donoso-Barros, Roberto (1967). "Diagnosis de dos nuevas especies del género Gonatodes de Venezuela". Noticiario Mensual del Museo Nacional de Historia Natural, Santiago (Chile). 11 (129): 4 – via Reptile Database.
- ^ "Sello Editorial - Premio Atenea". selloeditorial.udec.cl. University of Concepción. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
- ^ a b c d e f Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Pristidactylus alvaroi, p. 7; Gonatodes ceciliae, p. 50; Liolaemus constanzae, p. 58; Liolaemus donosobarrosi, p. 74; Liolaemus paulinae, p. 202; Pristidactylus valeriae, p. 271).
- ^ Donoso-Barros, R. (1974). "Nuevos reptiles y anfibios de Chile". Bol. Soc. Biol. Concepcion [published in 1975]. 48: 217–229.
- ^ Donoso-Barros, R.; A. Garrido, R. (1964). "Nuevo Teiidae de Venezuela, Bachia marcelae, nov. sp". Publ. Ocas. Mus. Cienc. Nat. Caracas. 8: 1–7.
- ^ "Gaspar Dominguez Donoso – Anales de la República".