Gabriel Omar Skuk Sugliano (1962-2011)

Abstract

On 19 March, 2011, the herpetological community was shocked to learn of the death of Gabriel Omar Skuk Sugliano. Impassioned by the natural world, his life was interrupted at the early age of 49 years. Gabo, as he was affectionately known, was born on 1 January, 1962 in Montevideo, Uruguay. He was the youngest son of Mario Andres Skuk and Marta Nirma Sugliano and began to show interest in Zoology from the age of nine, collecting beetles, butterflies and other insects. His passion for Herpetology was the result of a book entitled Anfibios y Reptiles del Uruguay, from which he learned basic notions of Morphology and Systematics and how to collect and fix specimens from this group. During this period he started a small private collection, which was later donated to the Museu de Zoologia, Universidade de São Paulo (São Paulo, Brazil). On a visit to the Museo de Historia Natural of Montevideo, he was given a guided tour of the facility by Dr.