Ricardo Botero-Trujillo

Theodore Roosevelt Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Email:
rbotero-trujilloSPAMFILTER@amnh.org
Phone:
(212) 769-5609

 

Education

Ph.D. (Biological Sciences) – 2018. Universidad de Buenos Aires (Argentina)

B.Sc. (Biology) – 2007. Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (Colombia)

Research Interests

I am interested in the taxonomy and phylogeny of arachnids, especially Scorpiones, Solifugae and Ricinulei. I started doing taxonomic work on scorpions and ricinuleids back in 2003, in my native country, Colombia. After a period of doing ad honorem research in association to the Javeriana University in Bogotá, my life made a sudden, initially unexpected but fruitful turn when I accepted a position in the Pharmaceutical Industry. During a 5-year period working in the pharmacovigilance area, I escalated through different positions and developed a variety of different activities; this contributed a series of skill developments, typical of a corporate environment but not much common in the academy.

After that, powered by personal motivation and own wish, I decided to move to Argentina to pursue doctoral studies at the Buenos Aires University, funded by fellowships from Argentinian scientific council agencies (FONCyT and CONICET). I conducted my Ph.D. thesis in the Arachnology Division of the Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia”, in Buenos Aires, under the advisory of Martín J. Ramírez and Andrés A. Ojanguren Affilastro. My Ph.D. thesis consisted of a full revision of the taxonomy of one of the twelve living solifuge families, Mummuciidae, for which description of new or poorly-known taxa was an important component. For my thesis, I also investigated the internal classification of Mummuciidae in the context of cladistics, using morphological and molecular data.

Besides solifuges, I am experienced on New World scorpions, especially of the family Buthidae and the genus Ananteris, as well as on South American ricinuleids. I am very interested in cave arachnid faunas as well, especially obligate troglobites, and in troglomorphic inhabitants of the leaf litter belonging to the smaller arachnid orders.

In 2016, I visited the AMNH Division of Invertebrate Zoology for six weeks to conduct research on a separate project, supported with a Theodore Roosevelt Grant from the Richard Gilder Graduate School at the AMNH. In the two years that followed, the project then started grew and shed interesting preliminary results, bringing me to bigger research questions and becoming itself the baseline for my current postdoctoral research. I joined the AMNH officially in August 2018, with a Theodore Roosevelt Postdoctoral Research Fellowship from the museum. My current project investigates different aspects of Ricinulei evolution, and is being conducted with the supervision of Lorenzo Prendini.

Publications

  • Botero-Trujillo, R., Ott, R., Mattoni, C.I., Nime, M.F. & Ojanguren-Affilastro, A.A. In press. Two new species of the sun-spider genus Gaucha from Argentina and Brazil (Solifugae, Mummuciidae). Zootaxa.
  • Valdez-Mondragón, A., Francke, O.F. & Botero-Trujillo, R. 2018. New morphological data for the order Ricinulei with the description of two new species of Pseudocellus (Arachnida: Ricinulei: Ricinoididae) from Mexico. Journal of Arachnology, 46: 114–132.
  • Botero-Trujillo, R. & Flórez, E. 2017. Two new ricinuleid species from Ecuador and Colombia belonging to the peckorum species-group of Cryptocellus Westwood (Arachnida, Ricinulei). Zootaxa, 4286(4): 483–498.
  • Botero-Trujillo, R., González-Gómez, J.C., Valenzuela-Rojas, J.C. & García, L.F. 2017. A new species in the troglomorphic scorpion genus Troglotayosicus from Colombia, representing the northernmost known record for the genus (Scorpiones, Troglotayosicidae). Zootaxa, 4244(4): 568–582.
  • Botero-Trujillo, R., Ott, R. & Carvalho, L.S. 2017. Systematic revision and phylogeny of the South American sun-spider genus Gaucha Mello-Leitão (Solifugae: Mummuciidae), with description of four new species and two new generic synonymies. Arthropod Systematics and Phylogeny, 75(1): 3–44.
  • Ojanguren-Affilastro, A.A., Botero-Trujillo, R., Castex, A. & Pizarro-Araya, J. 2016. Biological aspects of the genus Brachistosternus (Bothriuridae) in the Atacama Desert (Chile), with the description of a new type of pedipalp macroseta. Gayana, 80(2): 169–176.
  • Botero-Trujillo, R. 2016. The smallest known solifuge: Vempironiella aguilari, new genus and species of sun-spider (Solifugae: Mummuciidae) from the coastal desert of Peru. Journal of Arachnology, 44: 218–226.
  • Botero-Trujillo, R. & Valdez-Mondragón, A. 2016. A remarkable new species of the magnus species-group of Cryptocellus (Arachnida, Ricinulei) from Ecuador, with observations on the taxonomy of the New World genera. Zootaxa, 4107(3): 321–337.
  • Botero-Trujillo, R. & Iuri, H.A. 2015. Chileotrecha romero (Kraus, 1966) comb. nov. and Pseudocleobis patagonicus (Roewer, 1934) comb. nov. transferral from Mummuciidae to Ammotrechidae (Arachnida, Solifugae). Zootaxa, 3990(3): 437–443.
  • Mattoni, C. I., García-Hernández, S., Botero-Trujillo, R., Ochoa, J. A., Ojanguren-Affilastro, A. O., Pinto-da-Rocha, R. & Prendini, L. 2015. Scorpion sheds 'tail' to escape: consequences and implications of autotomy in scorpions (Buthidae: Ananteris). PLoS ONE, 10(1): 1–15.
  • Botero-Trujillo, R. 2014. Redescription of the sun-spider Mummucina titschacki Roewer, 1934 (Solifugae, Mummuciidae) with notes on the taxonomy of the genus. Zootaxa, 3884(4): 319–332.
  • Botero-Trujillo, R. & Flórez D., E. 2014. A new species of Tityus (Scorpiones, Buthidae) from El Edén Cave, Colombia. Zootaxa, 3796(1): 108–120.
  • Botero-Trujillo, R. 2014. A new Colombian species of Cryptocellus (Arachnida, Ricinulei), with notes on the taxonomy of the genus. Zootaxa, 3814(1): 121–132.
  • Botero-Trujillo, R., Ochoa, J. A., Tovar, O. A. & Souza, J. E. 2012. A new species in the scorpion genus Troglotayosicus from forest leaf litter in Southwestern Colombia (Scorpiones, Troglotayosicidae). Zootaxa, 3506: 63–76
  • Armas, L. F. de, Chiriví, D., Botero-Trujillo, R., Camacho, G. P. & García, S. 2012. Presencia en Colombia de la familia Charinidae (Arachnida: Amblypygi). Boletín de la Sociedad Entomológica Aragonesa, 50: 321–322.
  • Botero-Trujillo, R. & Flórez, E. 2011. A revisionary approach of Colombian Ananteris (Scorpiones, Buthidae): two new species, a new synonymy, and notes on the value of trichobothria and hemispermatophore for the taxonomy of the group. Zootaxa, 2904: 1–44.
  • Botero-Trujillo, R. & Noriega, J. A. 2011. On the identity of Microananteris, with a discussion on pectinal morphology, and description of a new Ananteris from Brazil (Scorpiones, Buthidae). Zootaxa, 2747: 37–52.
  • Ochoa, J. A., Botero-Trujillo, R. & Prendini, L. 2010. On the troglomorphic scorpion Troglotayosicus humiculum (Scorpiones, Troglotayosicidae), with first description of the adults. American Museum Novitates, 3691: 1–19.
  • Botero-Trujillo, R., Erazo-Moreno, M. C. & Pérez, G. A. 2009. A new species of Microtityus Kjellesvig-Waering (Scorpiones: Buthidae) from Northern Colombia. Zootaxa, 2120: 27–38.
  • Botero-Trujillo, R. & Pérez, G. A. 2009. A new species of Cryptocellus (Arachnida, Ricinulei) from the Kofán Territory in Southwestern Colombia. Zootaxa, 2050: 56–64.
  • Botero-Trujillo, R. 2009. Two new species of Ananteris (Scorpiones, Buthidae) from El Tuparro Natural National Park, eastern Colombia. Comptes Rendus Biologies, 332: 83–94.
  • Botero-Trujillo, R. & Francke, O. F. 2009. A new species of troglomorphic leaf litter scorpion from Colombia belonging to the genus Troglotayosicus (Scorpiones: Troglotayosicidae). Texas Memorial Museum Speleological Monographs, 7. Studies on the cave and endogean fauna of North America, V: 1–10.
  • Botero-Trujillo, R. 2008. The scorpion genus Ananteris in Colombia: comments on the taxonomy and description of two new species (Scorpiones, Buthidae). Journal of Arachnology, 36: 287–299.
  • Botero-Trujillo, R. & Noriega, J. A. 2008. First record of the scorpion genus Microtityus from Colombia, with the description of a new species (Scorpiones, Buthidae). Journal of Arachnology, 36: 259–266.
  • Botero-Trujillo, R. & Pérez, G. A. 2008. A new species of Cryptocellus (Arachnida, Ricinulei) from northwestern Colombia. Journal of Arachnology, 36: 468–471.
  • Flórez, E., Botero-Trujillo, R. & Acosta, L. E. 2008. Description of Vachoniochactas humboldti sp. nov. from Colombia, with complementary notes on the genus (Scorpiones, Chactidae). Zootaxa, 1853: 31–44.
  • Botero-Trujillo, R. 2008. First record of the scorpion genus Chactopsis Kraepelin in Colombia, with the description of Chactopsis carolinae sp. nov. (Scorpiones: Chactidae). Zootaxa, 1743: 34–42.
  • Noriega, J. A. & Botero-Trujillo, R. 2008. First report of whip scorpions (Arachnida: Uropygi) feeding on dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae). Boletín de la Sociedad Entomológica Aragonesa, 42: 451–452.
  • Botero-Trujillo, R. 2007(2008) Redescription of Tityus (Tityus) gaffini Lourenço, 2000 (Scorpiones: Buthidae) and new locality records. Revista Ibérica de Aracnología, 16: 29–34.
  • Botero-Trujillo, R. 2007. A new species of Ananteris Thorell (Scorpiones: Buthidae) from Colombia. Zootaxa, 1595: 61–68.
  • Botero-Trujillo, R. & Noriega, J. A. 2007. Primer registro del género Microtityus Kjellesvig-Waering, 1966 (Scorpiones: Buthidae) en Colombia. Revista de la Academia Colombiana de Ciencias, 31(120): 435–436.
  • Botero-Trujillo, R. & Fagua, G. 2006. Additions to the knowledge of the geographical distribution of some Colombian scorpions (Buthidae: Ananteris, Rhopalurus, Tityus). Revista Ibérica de Aracnología, 14: 129–134.
  • Botero-Trujillo, R. 2006. Anuran predators of scorpions: Bufo marinus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Anura: Bufonidae), first known natural enemy of Tityus nematochirus Mello-Leitão, 1940 (Scorpiones: Buthidae). Revista Ibérica de Aracnología, 13: 199–202.
  • Botero-Trujillo, R. & Flórez, D. E. 2006. First report of Teuthraustes amazonicus (Simon, 1880) (Scorpiones: Chactidae) in Colombia. Revista Ibérica de Aracnología, 13: 187–188.