Orígenes y progreso de la queloniología en la Argentina

For millennia the turtles and tortoises have been part of the mythical universe of several human cultures. In consequence, the empirical knowledge of oral transmission, the contextualized use, and the symbolic meaning of these animals exceed in antiquity and extension to the academic knowledge on them, which has not impeded, however, that chelonians are currently the most threatened vertebrates on the Earth. This paper deals with the work of explorers and naturalists who laid the foundations of the South American herpetology, in general, and the cheloniology, in particular, with emphasis in Argentina. The work of Marcos Freiberg is recognized as pivotal to the development of the scientific study of the chelonians in this country. Lastly, the progress of cheloniology in recent decades is summarized.