Alejandro Arteaga

Alejandro Arteaga is an Ecuadorian-Venezuelan biologist and explorer best known for being the author of the "Reptiles of Ecuador",^[1][2] and the discoverer of 35 new species.^[3][4] He co-founded the Arteaga Species Discovery Fund in collaboration with former President of Ecuador Rosalía Arteaga.^[5]

Alejandro Arteaga shares the story about the extinctions of the harlequin toads (genus Atelopus) during the Global Exploration Summit (GLEX) in the Azores in 2023.

Early life

Arteaga was born on September 16, 1991, in Caracas, Venezuela, and later moved to Quito, Ecuador, where he obtained his BSc in biology from the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador.^[6] He published his first species new to science, Pristimantis bambu, at age 19.^[7]

Career

While still a student in 2009, Arteaga co-founded Tropical Herping, a tour agency offering nature photography trips and herpetological tours throughout the world's tropics.^[8] After serving as president of Tropical Herping until 2022, he founded Khamai Foundation, where he now serves at CEO.^[9] Arteaga is the author of 26 research articles, primarily on systematic and biogeography of amphibians and reptiles.^[10] In 2023, in collaboration with former president of Ecuador Rosalía Arteaga, he created the world's first fund devoted exclusively towards the discovery of new species.^[11]

Books

• The Amphibians and Reptiles of Mindo (2011) Universidad Tecnológica Indoamérica. ISBN 978-9942-13-496-7.
• Reptiles of the Galápagos (2019) Tropical Herping. ISBN 978-9942-36-547-7.
• Reptiles of Ecuador (2024) Khamai Foundation & Tropical Herping. ISBN 978-9942-7249-0-8. DOI 10.47051/MNHT9360.

Honors and awards

Arteaga was awarded with the Big Picture Natural World Photography Award in 2015.^[12]