Ricardo Botero-Trujillo

American Museum of Natural History · Division of Invertebrate Zoology

Ricinulei Thorell, 1876 is an order of Arachnida currently represented in the New and Old Worlds by 103 living species. The order is also represented in the fossil record from the Carboniferous (ca. 305–319 Ma) and the Cretaceous (ca. 99 Ma) periods. In the present contribution, Hirsutisoma grimaldii sp. nov., a new extinct species of the suborder...

For several decades, Troglotayosicus Loureno, 1981, remained an enigmatic, monotypic scorpion genus believed to be troglobitic. The discovery and description in recent years of several endogean species of the genus, inhabiting the leaf litter of tropical rainforests in Colombia and Ecuador, advanced knowledge about these scorpions. The known distri...

The Ricinulei Thorell, 1876, or “hooded tick-spiders,” are among the least studied arachnid orders. Knowledge of ricinuleid diversity has been slow to accumulate because these arachnids are underrepresented in biological collections. Despite an increase in the pace of new species descriptions in recent decades, the species richness of the order pro...

A new solifuge species in the genus Gaucha Mello-Leitão, 1924 and the ibirapemussu species-group is herein described based on males and females collected at Itacuruba, State of Pernambuco, and Jaicós, State of Piauí, both in Northeastern Brazil. Males of the new species can be readily recognized by having the movable finger MM and MSM teeth reduced...

A new genus and species in the South American sun-spider family Mummuciidae, Curanahuel aconcagua gen. nov., sp. nov., is herein described from Argentina. The new genus is known from two localities in the provinces of Mendoza and San Juan, both located within the Cuyan High Andean biogeographic province. Among other features, this genus can be read...

Two new species in the South American sun-spider family Mummuciidae are herein described. Gaucha ramirezi sp. nov. is known from the Chancaní Provincial Park and Forest Reserve, Córdoba province, Argentina, and further reported for a single locality to the northeast, in Santiago del Estero province. The systematic position of this species is uncert...

Two new species of ricinuleids of the genusPseudocellusPlatnick, 1980 are described based on adult males andfemales from Mexico:Pseudocellus quetzalcoatlsp. nov. andPseudocellus olmecasp. nov. from the same type locality in thestate of Veracruz. The two new species represent the first record of two sympatric epigean species of ricinuleids for North...

Two new ricinuleid species, Cryptocellus chiruisla sp. nov., from Orellana (Ecuador), and Cryptocellus guaviarensis sp. nov., from Guaviare (Colombia), are herein described. Both species, here assigned to the peckorum species-group, share a series of male features for which they most closely resemble each other: a flat, triangle-like region on the...

The South American sun-spider genus Gaucha Mello-Leitão, 1924 is herein studied from a combined approach of cladistics and traditional taxonomy. This is the first cladistic analysis for a group of mummuciid solifuges, and it is pioneer in integrating traditional morphological characters with landmark data for inferring the phylogeny of any group of...

We describe a new scorpion species in the troglomorphic genus Troglotayosicus Lourenço, 1981 from Colombia. Troglotayosicus meijdeni sp. nov. inhabits the forest leaf litter at Rivera municipality, on the western slope of the Eastern Andes. The male of the new species remains unknown; however, this species can be distinguished from other species in...

Biological aspects of the genus Brachistosternus (Bothriuridae) in the Atacama Desert (Chile), with the description of a new type of pedipalp macroseta Aspectos biológicos del género Brachistosternus (Bothriuridae) en el Desierto de Atacama (Chile), con la descripción de un nuevo tipo de macroseta de los pedipalpos ABSTRACT New data about several a...

A new genus and species in the South American sun-spider family Mummuciidae, Vempironiella aguilari gen. nov., sp. nov., is herein described from a series of specimens from the coastal desert of Punta Hermosa, Peru. Vempironiella can be readily distinguished from all other known mummuciid genera, by the absence of the cheliceral movable finger MM t...

A new ricinuleid species, Cryptocellus chimaera sp. nov., is described based on a male specimen from Northwest Ecuador (Esmeraldas, Reserva Ecológica Mache-Chindul, Estación Biológica Bilsa). This species is unique among all Cryptocellus in having very large longitudinal carapacial translucent areas together with a markedly incrassate femur of leg...

The solifuge species Mummucina romero Kraus, 1966, from Chile, and Mummucia patagonica Roewer, 1934, from Argentina, are here transferred from Mummuciidae Roewer, 1934 to Ammotrechidae Roewer, 1934. Chileotrecha romero (Kraus, 1966) comb. nov. and Pseudocleobis patagonicus (Roewer, 1934) comb. nov. are proposed. Comments on their morphology are mad...

Autotomy, the voluntary shedding or detachment of a body part at a determined cleavage plane, is a common anti-predation defense mechanism in several animal taxa, including ar-thropods. Among arachnids, autotomy has been observed in harvestmen, mites, and spi-ders, always involving the loss of legs. Autotomy of the opisthosoma (abdomen) was recentl...

Slow motion (10% of real time) sequence of the moment of metasomal autotomy in a male Ananteris solimariae Botero-Trujillo & Flórez, 2011 scorpion, illustrating lateral twisting motion of the metasomal segments anterior to the cleavage plane, immediately preceding detachment of the posterior metasomal segments. http://journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...

Mummucina Roewer, 1934 is the second largest genus in the South American sun-spider family Mummuciidae. The limits of this and other genera are largely unexplored, and the traditional classification system is controversial. In the present contribution, the type species Mummucina titschacki Roewer, 1934 is redescribed, aided by scanning electron mic...

Cryptocellus sofiae sp. nov. is described based on males and females obtained from the easternmost part of Colombia, in Vichada Department. The new species is placed in the adisi species-group, based on the morphology of the male copulatory apparatus and the presence of polygonal (navicular or calyx-like) setae. With this addition, the group now co...

A new scorpion species, Tityus (Tityus) grottoedensis sp. nov., is herein described based on male and female specimens collected in El Edén Cave and its vicinities (Tolima department, Colombia). The new species, which becomes the first scorpion described from a Colombian cave, is probably a eutroglophile or subtroglophile element; however, addition...

Troglotayosicus hirsutus, a new species of troglomorphic scorpion, is described based on three adult males, three adult females and eight juveniles captured by ultraviolet light detection in forest leaf litter of the municipality of Buesaco, south-western Colombia. Though similar to the other Colombian species in the genus, Troglotayosicus humiculu...

The presence in Colombia of the family Charinidae Quintero, 1986 is confirmed, based on several specimens of Charinus aff. acosta (Quintero, 1983) from the following departments: Sucre, Santander, Tolima, Cundinamarca and Huila.

Some contributions to the knowledge of the buthid scorpion genus Ananteris Thorell, 1891 in Colombia are herein presented, based upon the examination of over 100 specimens. Ananteris ochoai sp. nov. and Ananteris solimariae sp. nov. are described from Nariño and Santander departments, respectively. The recently described Ananteris hasshy Teruel & R...

The characters originally used to define the monotypic genus Microananteris Lourenço, 2003 are reanalyzed from the point of view of their usefulness to justify its recognition as a genus apart from Ananteris Thorell, 1891. A study of pectinal morphology conducted with Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) in six species of Ananteris, along with the re...

The endemic Colombian troglomorphic scorpion, Troglotayosicus humiculum Botero-Trujillo and Francke, 2009, previously known only from the juvenile holotype, is redescribed based on newly collected adults of both sexes. New data on basitarsal spination, telotarsal setation, and carination of the metasoma and pedipalps, together with the first descri...

Microtityus bivicentorum sp. nov. is described based on two adult specimens of both sexes from a single locality near the city of Valledupar, northern Colombia. The new species is most similar to Microtityus desuzeae González-Sponga, 2001 and Microtityus joseantonioi González-Sponga, 1981 from Venezuela, and Microtityus franckei Botero-Trujillo & N...

Microtityus bivicentorum sp. nov. is described based on two adult specimens of both sexes from a single locality near the city of Valledupar, northern Colombia. The new species is most similar to Microtityus desuzeae González-Sponga, 2001 and Microtityus joseantonioi González-Sponga, 1981 from Venezuela, and Microtityus franckei Botero-Trujillo & N...

Cryptocellus luisedieri sp. nov. is described from a male specimen obtained from leaf litter in the Kofán Territory, southwestern Colombia. The new species exhibits a series of interesting morphological features including the presence of cuticular pits and a unique shape of the male copulatory apparatus. The new species, which is the first ricinule...

Cryptocellus luisedieri sp. nov. is described from a male specimen obtained from leaf litter in the Kofán Territory, southwestern Colombia. The new species exhibits a series of interesting morphological features including the presence of cuticular pits and a unique shape of the male copulatory apparatus. The new species, which is the first ricinule...

Two new scorpion species, Ananteris faguasi sp. nov. and Ananteris volschenki sp. nov., are described from the eastern extreme of El Tuparro Natural National Park, eastern Colombia near the border with Venezuela. These new species are the first of the genus to be known from Vichada department, and represent the easternmost records in the country. W...

Cryptocellus platnicki sp. nov. is described on the basis of specimens of both sexes from two localities in northwestern Colombia. The new species, which is most similar to C. glenoides Cooke & Shadab 1973, brings to 64 the known species of living ricinuleids, and becomes the sixth known from Colombia.

FIGURE 1. Known distribution of the genus Cryptocellus in Colombia: C. florezi (); C. glenoides); C. luisedieri sp. nov. (); C. magnus); C. narino (); C. peckorum (); C. platnicki ().

FIGURES 3 – 6. Cryptocellus luisedieri sp. nov., male holotype. 3. Dorsal view of carapace. 4. Cucullus. 5. Dorsal view of abdomen. 6. Ventral view of abdomen. Roman numerals indicate somites. Scale bars are approximate.

FIGURE 2. Cryptocellus luisedieri sp. nov. Male holotype, dorsal view. Detached legs correspond to the pair IV and appear in retrolateral view.

FIGURES 7 – 11. Cryptocellus luisedieri sp. nov., male holotype. 7. Prolateral view of left leg III. 8. Prolateral view of right pedipalp. 9 – 11. Copulatory apparatus. 9. Retrolateral view of left movable process. 10. Prolateral view of left fixed process. 11. Anterior view of distal section of the left fixed process. Scale bars are approximate.

FIGURES 6 – 7. Microtityus bivicentorum sp. nov., male holotype under UV light. 6. Dorsal view. 7. Ventral view. MC = Median carina; MLC = Median lateral carina; LC = Lateral carina; SMC = Submedian carina. Scale bars = 5 mm.

FIGURES 8 – 11. Microtityus bivicentorum sp. nov. 8. Sternum, genital operculum, pectinal basal piece, and pectines of male holotype. 9. Sternum, genital operculum, pectinal basal piece, and pectines of female paratype. 10. Sternite V of male holotype. 11. Telson of male holotype, lateral view. Scale bars = 0.5 mm.

FIGURES 18 – 23. Right pedipalp chela. 18 – 21. Microtityus bivicentorum sp. nov., male holotype. 18. Detail of the movable finger dentition. 19. Detail of the fixed finger dentition. 20. Chela, external view. 21. Chela, ventral view. 22 – 23. Microtityus franckei, male paratype (MPUJ-SCO- 367). 22. Chela, external view. 23. Chela, ventral view. Sc...

FIGURES 2 – 5. Microtityus bivicentorum sp. nov. 2 – 3. Male holotype, dorsal and ventral views. 4 – 5. Female paratype, dorsal and ventral views. Scale bars = 5 mm.

FIGURE 1. Known distribution of Microtityus bivicentorum sp. nov. (), Microtityus desuzeae (․), Microtityus franckei (˔) and Microtityus joseantonioi (●).

FIGURES 12 – 17. Microtityus bivicentorum sp. nov., distribution of the trichobothria in male holotype (illustrated from the right pedipalp). 12. Femur, dorsal view. 13. Femur, internal view. 14. Patella, dorsal view. 15. Patella, external view. 16. Chela, external view. 17. Chela, ventral view. Scale bars = 0.5 mm.

The scorpion genus Vachoniochactas González-Sponga, 1978 is herein recorded for the first time from Colombia, and Vachoniochactas humboldti sp. nov. is described based on three females and 16 males collected at three localities in the Guyanese region of Colombia. The new species is characterized, among other features, by the presence of a ventromed...

Two new scorpion species are described from Colombia: Ananteris arcadioi sp. nov. from Meta Department and Ananteris dorae sp. nov. from Narino Department. These new species raise to 62 the number of known species of Ananteris, eight of which are found in Colombia. Some comments on the taxonomy of Colombian Ananteris are included and some character...

Microtityus (Microtityus) franckei sp. nov. is described from both male and female specimens from the transition zone of the Tayrona Natural National Park. located in the Caribbean region of Colombia. The new species, which is the first of the genus reported from Colombia, is characterized, among other features, by reductive neobothriotaxy oil the...

Chactopsis carolinae sp. nov. is described on the basis of specimens of both sexes from Selva de Matavén, eastern Colombia. This species seems to be most closely related to Chactopsis anduzei González-Sponga from Venezuela and Brazil, based on the trichobothrial number and general arrangement. The new species, which is the first of the genus to be...

Dung beetles are among the most importanl insect groups in ecosystems, but despite this little information exists about their predators. In the present study, predation on dung beetles by whip scorpions is reported for the first time, based on observations carried out under captivity. Further research and analyses of the predators of this group are...

Tityus (Tityus) gaffini Lourenço, 2000 is one of the most poorly known Colom-bian scorpion species, since it was described based on a unique female specimen, with the male remaining unknown, and has been only recorded from two localities. Herein the male is described for the first time, a new diagnosis and data on the intraspecific variability are...

New locality records for some buthids (Scorpiones: Buthidae C. L. Koch, 1837) in Colombia are presented: Ananteris columbiana Lourenço, 1991 and Tityus -(Archaeotityus) tayrona Lourenço, 1991 are recorded for the first time for Atlán-tico Department, Rhopalurus laticauda Thorell, 1876 for Atlántico and Vichada Departments, Tityus (Archaeotityus) be...

Ananteris myriamae sp. nov. is described from the department of Meta, Colombia. This species is characterized, among other features, by the presence of two concavities in the anterior margin of the carapace, and six carinae in metasomal segment IV. With its description, the number of known species of Ananteris is raised to 59, five of which are pre...

El género Microtityus Kjellesvig-Waering, 1966 es un grupo de escorpiones que presenta un origen continental Sur Americano. Sus representantes actuales se conocen en gran parte de las islas del Caribe. En la porción continental Sur Americana este género se encuentra representado por un número menor de especies, distribuidas en Venezuela y Brasil. R...

Even though there are several known frog and toad species which feed on scorpions, only three have been reported for the Neotropics. In the same way, only three scorpion species with anurans as natural enemies are known in this region. The extraction of the stomachal contents of five specimens of Bufo marinus allowed to find out that the scorpion T...

The first report of the scorpion Teuthraustes amazonicus in Colombia is herein presented.

Francke. 2009. A new species of troglomorphic leaf litter scorpion from Colombia belonging to the genus Troglotayosicus (Scorpiones: Troglotayosicidae) [Nueva especie de escorpión troglomórfico de hojarasca de Colombia perteneciente al género Troglotayosicus (Scorpiones: Troglotayosicidae)]. Texas Memorial Museum Speleological Monographs, 7. Studie...