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Roberto Donoso-Barros
Roberto Donoso-Barros
Born	Roberto Donoso-Barros; October 5, 1921; Santiago, Chile
Died	August 2, 1975; Concepción, Chile
Alma mater	University of Chile

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]

Early life and education

Donoso-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

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]

References

^ ^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".