Roberto Donoso-Barros
Chilean botanist and herpetologist
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Roberto Donoso-Barros (October 5, 1921 – August 2, 1975) was a Chilean zoologist, naturalist, and herpetologist.[1]
Roberto Donoso-Barros | |
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| Born | Roberto Donoso-Barros October 5, 1921 |
| Died | August 2, 1975 (aged 53) Concepción, Chile |
| Alma mater | University of Chile |
Early life and education
Career
Donoso-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
Donoso-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
Donoso-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]