Scorpion Systematics Research Group

Randy Mercurio was born in New York. He volunteered for the AMNH from 1997 to 2002 while completing a B.A. in Biology at New York University. After graduating in 2001, he worked as the Metals Laboratory Supervisor for H2M Labs, performing environmental analyses on potable water, soil, and other matrices using optical emission spectroscopy and mass spectroscopy for heavy metals. Mercurio joined the Division of Invertebrate Zoology, AMNH, as a full-time employee in 2002, where he worked as Scientific Assistant to Lorenzo Prendini and managed the curation of the Arachnid and Myriapod Collections. Randy is a professional photographer and was responsible for producing many of the photographs in publications and the group's website. Mercurio was also in charge of emergency response for the Division of Invertebrate Zoology. He has extensive experience working with live organisms in captivity including arthropods, fish, reptiles, amphibians, bats and plants. His other research interests include the taxonomy, natural history, ecology and biogeography of centipedes in North America, as well as their functional morphology. Randy utilizes techniques of light and electron microscopy for much of his research. He has also collected arachnids and myriapods in Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, New York, Nevada, Rhode Island, and Mexico.