Scorpion Systematics Research Group

Carsten Kamenz finished his Ph.D. at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (Germany) in June, 2009. His research interest comprises the evolution of Arachnida with the focus on terrestrial adaptations. Carsten’s Ph.D.-thesis is a comprehensive study of the morphology of fully land-adapted book lungs from extant and extinct arachnids. During the course of his post-doctoral research at the AMNH, Carsten examined the Palaeozoic scorpions, testing them for the purported aquatic life. The methodological spectrum he applied for revealing the morphological and anatomical characters, reaches from classical microscopy, through electron microscopy, to cutting-edge micro-tomographical techniques.

José Ochoa was born in Cusco, Peru. He completed a B.Sc. in Biology at the Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad del Cusco in 1996, and a Ph.D. at the Universidad Nacional de Cordoba (Argentina) in 2003. His Ph.D. dissertation reviewed the systematics and biogeography of the scorpions of southern Peru. Jose's research interests include the systematics of the Andean scorpion genera Orobothriurus (Bothriuridae) and Hadruroides (Iuridae). He moved to the Division of Invertebrate Zoology, AMNH, supported by a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in 2007. His postdoctoral research project was the first attempt to study the phylogeny of the Neotropical family Chactidae using morphological and genetic data. He has conducted many expeditions to collect scorpions in Peru (Andes, Amazonian and Pacific desert), Argentina, Chile and Bolivia.

Dana Price completed a B.S. at Salisbury State University in 1994, and then an M.S. at the University of Delaware (Entomology and Applied Ecology) in 2001. In May 2007, Dana completed her Ph.D. at Rutgers University in the Graduate Program of Ecology and Evolution. The title of her dissertation was Phylogeny, Biogeography and Behavior of the Dung Beetle Genus Phanaeus (Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae). In 2007 Dana worked with Lorenzo Prendini as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the AMNH (Division of Invertebrate Zoology) on sun spiders (Solifugae) and scorpions (Vaejovidae) supported by Prendini's NSF BS&I and RevSys grants; she worked for the NSF AToL Spider Phylogeny grant in 2008. Her interests include systematics, behavior, ecology and conservation biology.

Camilo Mattoni was born in Córdoba, Argentina. He completed a B.Sc. in Biology at the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba in 1996, and a Ph.D. in the same institution in 2003. His Ph.D. dissertation involved a systematic revision of the South American scorpion genus Bothriurus. He moved to the Division of Invertebrate Zoology, AMNH, supported by a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Genomics, in 2004. The aim of Camilo’s postdoctoral research is to produce a robust phylogenetic hypothesis of relationships in the diverse Gondwana scorpion family Bothriuridae, using morphological and genetic data, and a sampling of as many bothriurid species as possible. He is also interested in scorpion ecology, behavior and reproduction, and in theoretical aspects of cladistics. One of his most recent contributions provides the first detailed description and comparison of the genital plugs in scorpions. He has conducted many expeditions to collect scorpions in Argentina, Chile and Bolivia.

Erich Volschenk was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, but grew up in Brisbane, Australia. Erich completed a B.Sc. (Hons) at James Cook University, Townsville, Australia, in 1996 before moving to Curtin University, Perth, for a Ph.D., which he completed in 2003. His Ph.D. dissertation involved a systematic revision of the Australian buthid genera. He took up a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Genomics at the Division of Invertebrate Zoology, AMNH in 2003. His postdoctoral research project is the first serious attempt to investigate the phylogeny of the cosmopolitan scorpion family Buthidae, using molecular and morphological data and a broad sample of exemplar species. Erich's research interests include the systematics of Buthidae and the Australian endemic scorpion genus Urodacus, the homology of scorpion hemispermatophores, and the biology of troglobitic arachnids. He pioneered the use of ultraviolet light in scorpion photomicrography. Erich has conducted extensive fieldwork in Australia, and led an expedition to the Dominican Republic in 2004.