RESUMO: Few in the Brazilian coleopterological community – and probably worldwide – would have any trouble recognizing the name of Miguel A. Monné. Most immediately think of him as the author of the Catalogue of the Cerambycidae (Coleoptera) of the Western Hemisphere, a monumental work of systematization of the literature and classification of more than 9,000 species – a diversity equivalent to that of the entire order Blattodea and greater than that of the class Mammalia. But Monné was much more than a cataloguer; he was also a prolific author, having published more than 200 original scientific articles on his beloved longhorn beetles. He was also an avid collector and an accomplished curator, having been responsible for the consolidation of Brazil’s Museu Nacional, the oldest natural history institution in Latin America, as the home of the largest collection of Neotropical cerambycids in the world. Monné was also a professor and mentor, having taken part, formally or informally, in the training of successive generations of zoologists in Brazil during the late 20th century and the early 21st. And Monné was a devoted husband, a caring father and grandfather, a generous friend, and someone passionate about music and cinema, the history of science, good drink, and endless conversations at the bar table – in sum, he was a culturally rich human being and a man of great character. This article, opening the special volume of Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia in homage to the life and work of Monné following the first anniversary of his death, aims to retell his story. It is our foremost objective that his memory, written by three of his pupils, not fade into the immensity of time and that it may continue to inspire young people aspiring to build a career in coleopterology. We three, each in our own way, can attest to how crucial Monné’s presence was as we took our first steps as professional scientists. What follows is based, in part, on our conversations with Monné and on a study of his curriculum. The bulk of the biographical information, however, comes from the text written in 2018 by his daughter and fellow cerambycidologist Marcela L. Monné, in co-authorship with the Museu Nacional herpetologist and friend Ulisses Caramaschi, in celebration of the 80th birthday of our mentor (Monné & Caramaschi, 2018)
doi: https://doi.org/10.11606/1807-0205/2026.66.special-issue-1.001