Ubirajara Ribeiro Martins (8 July 1932 – 26 May 2015) was a Brazilian

entomologist Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...

. Martins was born in 1932 in

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

, Brazil. He concluded his studies at the

Universidade Federal de Viçosa The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and "Olympiad". The Universiade is referred t ...

in 1954 with a bachelor's degree in

agronomy Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants by agriculture for food, fuel, fiber, chemicals, recreation, or land conservation. Agronomy has come to include research of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and ...

. Martins then proceeded to work at the

Museum of Zoology of the University of São Paulo The Museum of Zoology of the University of São Paulo ( pt, Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo, abbreviated MZUSP) is a public natural history museum located in the historic Ipiranga district of São Paulo, Brazil. The MZUSP is an e ...

where he obtained his PhD in 1975 and conducted his research until his death in 2015. He was a colleague of Werner Bokermann, who named one frog species after him (''

Bokermannohyla martinsi ''Bokermannohyla martinsi'' is a species of frogs in the family Hylidae. It is endemic to Brazil. Its natural habitats are moist savanna, subtropical or tropical moist shrubland, subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland, and rivers. It i ...

''). He himself described many new species of beetles, and often co-authored other descriptions. He was president of th
Brazilian Entomological Society
from 1983 to 1986. Bira, as he was kindly called by his colleagues and students, worked at the Museum of Zoology of University of São Paulo since 1959. He became one of the most important coleopterists of his time and an expert in the South American

Cerambycidae The longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae), also known as long-horned or longicorns, are a large family of beetles, with over 35,000 species described. Most species are characterized by extremely long antennae, which are often as long as or longer than ...

References

1932 births 2015 deaths People from São Paulo Brazilian entomologists {{Brazil-scientist-stub