Samanta Orellana, PhD

Diversity and Systematics of Neotropical Anthribidae

I am interested in the diversity and evolutionary history of Neotropical groups of Anthribidae (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea). My research is mainly collections-based and I have published catalogs and keys for the fauna of Guatemala, Panama, and Colombia. A recent collaboration led to updates on the higher classification of the family, based on molecular data. Currently, I am focused on inventorying the Anthribidae fauna in Central America, while mobilizing data and images from available specimens.

Examined Collections and Loans

Bionomia summarizes the identified specimens, once they are available on GBIF.

Publications

• McKenna DD, Oberprieler RG, Marvaldi AE, Brown SDJ, Charles M, Medeiros BAS, Farrell BD, Leschen RAB, Mermudes JRM, Orellana KS, Shin S, Stals R, Li X. (2025). Unraveling the evolution of mycetophagy and phytophagy in fungus weevils (Curculionoidea: Anthribidae): Phylogenomic insights into Anthribinae paraphyly and tribal non-monophyly. Systematic Entomology, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1111/syen.12674

• Orellana KS, Girón J. (2024). State of the State of knowledge of the Anthribidae (Insecta: Coleoptera: Curculionoidea) in Colombia with a key to genera. Biota Colombiana, 25, 1-18. https://doi.org/10.21068/2539200X.1149

• Orellana KS, Franz NM. (2023). Checklist of the Anthribidae (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea) of Guatemala, including new country records and a key to genera. In: Yoshimoto J, Schuster J, Monzón J. (Eds.) Biodiversidad de Guatemala. Vol. 3. Universidad del Valle de Guatemala: Guatemala. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10424024 (Book Chapter)

• Orellana S, Barrios H. (2021). Catalogue of the Anthribidae (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea) of Panama, including new country records and a key to genera. Zootaxa 4904 (1), 1-71. https://www.mapress.com/zt/issue/view/zootaxa.4904.1

Online Resources

• Anthribidae Website. Website dedicated to share information about the Anthribidae groups (2022-present).

• Anthribidae Catalog. Virtual Catalog of Anthribidae generated with TaxonWorks and TaxonPages (2023-present).

• The Weevil Portal. Symbiota portal focused on the superfamily Curculionoidea (2024-present).

• Anthribidae of KUNHM Collections. Digitized and imaged specimens. Updated regularly.

• Samanta Orellana Research Collection. Digitized and imaged specimens. Updated regularly.

• Insectos de Guatemala. Website to share information about entomology and insect fauna in Guatemala.

Conference Presentations (* Presenting author)

• Orellana KS*. (2024). Improving Accessibility of Entomological Collections for the Study of Neotropical Anthribidae. Entomological Collections Network Annual Meeting. Phoenix, Arizona, USA.

• Orellana KS*. (2024). Generating an Illustrated Catalog of Anthribidae (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea) with TaxonWorks and TaxonPages. TaxonWorks Together 2024 (virtual).

• Orellana KS*, Mermudes JRM, Franz N. (2023). Advances in the Study of Central American Anthribidae. Online Weevil Workers Meeting, Texas Tech University, United States Department of Agriculture, Canadian Museum of Nature (virtual).

• Orellana KS*. (2022). The O’Brien Collection, a valuable resource for the study of Anthribidae. Online Weevil Workers Meeting, Texas Tech University, United States Department of Agriculture, Canadian Museum of Nature (virtual).

• Orellana KS*. (2020). Current studies on Central American Anthribidae (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea): The impressive diversity of fungus weevils in Panama. Entomological Society of America Annual Meeting (virtual).

• Orellana KS*. (2020). Collection-based research: Discovering the Neotropical Anthribidae. II Symposium of Evolutionary Biology, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Arizona (virtual).

• Orellana KS*. (2019). Research experiences in Central America: Tropical forests, beetles and collections. II Symposium of Evolutionary Biology, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Arizona.

• Orellana KS*. (2019). New country records and range extensions for the Anthribidae (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea) of Panama (in Spanish). III Colloquium of Biology. Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Guatemala City, Guatemala.

Invited Presentations

• Anthribidae of North America. Weevil Course & Roundup Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Museum of Texas Tech University, Canadian Museum of Nature. Southwestern Research Station, Arizona, USA, September 2025.

• Systematics of Neotropical Anthribidae: Contributions from entomological collections (in Spanish). Centro de Investigación en Protección de Cultivos, Museo de Insectos, Universidad de Costa Rica. San José, Costa Rica. July 2025.

• Introduction to Coleoptera (virtual, in Spanish). Undergraduate Entomology Course, Universidad de Costa Rica, Campus Guanacaste. November 2020.

• Taxonomy of Anthribidae (virtual, in Spanish). Undergraduate Taxonomy course, Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala. August 2020.

• Relevance of Entomological Collections in the Study of Biodiversity: Research Experiences in North and Central America (in Spanish). Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala. March 2020.

Media Features

• KU Office of Research Remark. By Vince Munoz. KU postdoc preserves history of the natural world before it disappears.

• BHL Blogpost. By Grace Constantino. Hidden Biodiversity: Exploring Neotropical Fungus Weevils With the Help of BHL.