Star: phylogenomics and biogeography of neotropical tityus: the world's most speciose scorpion genus

The National Science Foundation Division of Environmental Biology awarded the American Museum of Natural History $399,978 on May 15, 2026, under the Biological Sciences program (CFDA 47.074) to reconstruct the phylogenetics and biogeography of Tityus, the world's most speciose scorpion genus.

The project will sequence ultraconserved elements (UCEs) from all major lineages of Tityus across their Neotropical range and assemble corresponding morphological datasets to produce a comprehensive, time-calibrated phylogenetic tree. The research will then use the resulting phylogeny and morphological characters to revise the classification of Tityus, providing a framework for identification by specialists, nonspecialists, and public health officials. This work addresses a critical gap: Tityus comprises more than 10 percent of the world's scorpion species and includes half the scorpion species responsible for dangerous venomous stings in humans, yet their classification remains unresolved and their distributions appear to be expanding with environmental change. The project will also train researchers in genomic and morphological data collection and analysis, and will conduct public outreach to enhance knowledge of scorpions, their medical importance, and their ecological roles.

Performance will occur in New York, New York. The period of performance extends from the award date through April 30, 2028.

Abstract

The neotropical region of the americas is among the most biodiverse places on earth, but much of this biodiversity is still poorly described and understudied. Data on the region?s biota is essential to protect ecosystems and human health. Most research in the neotropics has focused on plants and vertebrate animals. However, most animal species are invertebrates, many of which play critical roles in ecosystems. Scorpions are among the oldest lineages of terrestrial animals, and some produce potent toxins that are potentially valuable for medical uses. The genus tityus, a group of scorpions that occurs throughout the neotropics, comprises more than 10% of the world?s scorpion species and includes half the scorpion species responsible for dangerous venomous stings in humans. The distributions of some medically important tityus species appear to be expanding as a consequence of environmental change. Despite their medical and ecological importance, the classification of tityus is unresolved, hindering the ability of specialists and nonspecialists, including public health officials, to identify them. This project will use modern genomic and morphological data to reconstruct the evolution of tityus and revise their classification, providing a framework for their identification and enhancing understanding of how they evolved and diversified. Trainees contributing to the project will gain expertise in data collection and analysis. Public outreach efforts from this project will enhance knowledge of scorpions, their medical importance, and their role in terrestrial ecosystems. The project will sequence ultraconserved elements (uces) from all major lineages of tityus across their range and assemble corresponding morphological datasets to reconstruct a comprehensive, time-calibrated phylogenetic tree for tityus. The phylogeny and morphological characters will then be used, together with data on geographical distributions, to propose a predictive classification for tityus, including updated diagnoses and identification keys for both public and scientific use. The phylogenetic tree also will provide the framework for testing hypotheses about scorpion evolution and diversification. Specifically, the project will test for differences in diversification rates at different altitudes and assess whether similar morphologies arose through convergent evolution. Finally, the project will reconstruct ancestral ranges and test biogeographical patterns to evaluate how and when tityus lineages attained their present distribution and evaluate how future climate scenarios may cause the distributions of medically important tityus species to expand or contract. This project will include a short course on the biology of scorpions and provide training opportunities for high school students, undergraduates, and a post-DOC. All datasets and resources generated by this project will be made publicly available. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.- subawards are not planned for this award.