Roberto Donoso-Barros
Roberto Donoso-Barros was a Chilean zoologist, naturalist, and herpetologist.
Early life and education
Donoso-Barros was born in Santiago, Chile in 1921 or 1922. He attended the University of Chile in Santiago, earning his M.D. from the school in 1947.Career
Donoso-Barros joined the faculty of the University of Chile in 1954. In 1965, he became a professor at the University of Concepción. He also worked at the Universidad de Oriente in Venezuela, and at the Smithsonian Institution in the United States.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 Liolaemus brattstroemi Donoso-Barros, 1961 – synonym of Liolaemus pictusLiolaemus ceii Donoso-Barros, 1971 – synonym of Liolaemus kriegiLiolaemus constanzae Donoso-Barros, 1961Liolaemus hellmichi Donoso-Barros, 1974Liolaemus paulinae Donoso-Barros, 1961Liolaemus sarmientoi Donoso-Barros, 1973
- Gonatodes ceciliae Donoso-Barros, 1966
- Gonatodes ligiae Donoso-Barros, 1967Microlophus atacamensis Microlophus tarapacensis
- Bachia marcelae Donoso-Barros & Garrido, 1964
- Alsodes vanzolinii Pristidactylus alvaroi Pristidactylus valeriae
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.
Accolades
Donoso-Barros was awarded the Abate Molina Prize by the Chilean Academy of Sciences in 1966. He was also awarded the Atenea Award in 1966 for Reptiles de Chile.A proposed subspecies of Chelonoidis chilensis, C. chilensis donosobarrosi, is named for Donoso-Barros. A species of lizard, Liolaemus donosobarrosi, is named after him.
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. Péfaur did not mention his son Alvaro, after which Donoso-Barros named one species, Pristidactylus alvaroi, as he dedicated names to all his other children, namely Gonatodes ceciliae, named for his daughter CeciliaLiolaemus paulinae, named for his daughter PaulinePristidactylus valeriae, named for his daughter ValeriaLiolaemus constanzae, named for his daughter ConstanzaPristidactylus alvaroi, named for his son ÁlvaroBachia marcelae, named for his daughter Marcela.Donoso-Barros is the grandfather of Gaspar Domínguez Donoso and of Chilean-British herpetologist Daniel Pincheira-Donoso.
Donoso-Barros died on August 2, 1975, as a result of a traffic accident.