El primer Presidente de la AHA: Raymond F. Laurent

• Main Authors: Marissa Fabrezi, Virginia Abdala, Fernando Lobo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Asociación Herpetológica Argentina 2014-05-01
• Series: Cuadernos de Herpetología
• Subjects: AHA anniversary; Herpetology; History
• Online Access: http://ppct.caicyt.gov.ar/index.php/cuadherpetol/article/view/1445/3123

Herein, we present a summary about the contribution to the herpetology by Raymond F. Laurent (1916-2005) who was the first president of the Asociación Herpetologica Argentina. Born in Belgium, he worked as researcher at Royal Museum for Central Africa in Tervuren and at Harvard University, and explored the herpetology in Uvira, Rwanda and Katanga. In 1964 he moved to San Miguel de Tucumán (Argentina) to research in CONICET and Fundación Miguel Lillo, and to teach at the Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. He published more than 200 papers on taxonomy, systematics and morphology of African and South American herpetofauna. Most of these studies still constitute the basis to understand some classifications. As the first AHA’s president, he encouraged young people to carry on new research topics and was a caring mentor and a major influence in the development of the career of many Argentine herpetologists. Furthermore, he contributed to increase the level of the Herpetology among the Biological Sciences in Argentina.