Ignacio “Nacho” Ribera (9 March 1963 – 15 April 2020) was a Spanish
entomologist
Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...
who authored 104 species, 16 genera, 3 subgenera, and 1 family of
beetle
Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...
s, along with two species of worms (
Nematomorpha
Nematomorpha (sometimes called Gordiacea, and commonly known as horsehair worms, hairsnakes, or Gordian worms) are a phylum of parasitoid animals superficially similar to nematode worms in morphology, hence the name. Most species range in size fr ...
).
Career
Born in
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
, Ignacio grew up in
Martorell
Martorell () is a municipality that forms part of the Baix Llobregat Comarques of Catalonia, comarca, in Catalonia, Spain, primarily known for its medieval Pont del Diable, Devil's bridge. It lies at the confluence of the Llobregat and Anoia Rive ...
and was the second of six children. He graduated from the
University of Barcelona
The University of Barcelona ( ca, Universitat de Barcelona, UB; ; es, link=no, Universidad de Barcelona) is a public university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, in Spain. With 63,000 students, it is one of the biggest universities i ...
in the 1980s with a degree in biology, followed by a PhD from the
Spanish National Research Council
The Spanish National Research Council ( es, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, CSIC) is the largest public institution dedicated to research in Spain and the third largest in Europe. Its main objective is to develop and promote res ...
. His PhD dissertation was titled "Estudio de los Hydradephaga (Coleoptera) del Pirineo y Prepirineo: morfometría y ecología." Throughout his early career, Ribera worked at the
Scottish Agricultural College
Scotland's Rural College (SRUC) is a public land based research institution focused on agriculture and life sciences. Its history stretches back to 1899 with the establishment of the West of Scotland Agricultural College and its current organis ...
,
University of Murcia
The University of Murcia ( es, Universidad de Murcia) is the main university in Murcia, Spain. With 38,000 students, it is the largest university in the Región de Murcia. The University of Murcia is the third oldest university in Spain, after t ...
,
Natural History Museum, London
The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum an ...
, and the
National Museum of Natural Sciences
The Canadian Museum of Nature (french: Musée canadien de la nature; CMN) is a national natural history museum based in Canada's National Capital Region. The museum's exhibitions and public programs are housed in the Victoria Memorial Museum Bui ...
in Madrid. In 2008 he obtained a position at the Instituto de Biología Evolutiva (Spanish National Research Council), where he remained until his death.
[
As an entomologist, Ribera focused on the study of water and cave beetles, authoring numerous taxa in the families ]Dytiscidae
The Dytiscidae – based on the Greek ''dytikos'' (δυτικός), "able to dive" – are the predaceous diving beetles, a family of water beetles. They occur in virtually any freshwater habitat around the world, but a few species live a ...
, Hydraenidae
Hydraenidae is a family of very small aquatic beetles, sometimes called "Minute moss beetles", with a worldwide distribution. They are around 0.8 to 3.3 mm in length. The adults store air on the underside of the body as well as beneath the el ...
, and Limnichidae
Limnichidae, commonly called minute marsh-loving beetles, is a family of beetles belonging to Byrrhoidea. There are at least 30 genera and 350 described species in Limnichidae. They are found worldwide, with the greatest diversity in tropical regi ...
, among others.[
As of December 2020, eight species have been named for Ribera:][
*'' Agabus riberae''
*'' Boreonectes riberae''
*'' Deronectes riberai''
*'' Hydraena riberai''
*'' Hydrophilonyces riberae''
*'' Mayetia amicorum''
*'' Paratyphlus riberai''
*'' Trechus riberai''
]
Personal life
Ribera married Alexandria Cieslak on 8 June 2002 in Tarragona
Tarragona (, ; Phoenician: ''Tarqon''; la, Tarraco) is a port city located in northeast Spain on the Costa Daurada by the Mediterranean Sea. Founded before the fifth century BC, it is the capital of the Province of Tarragona, and part of Tar ...
. Their only child, a son named Bernard, was born in July 2003. Ribera named '' Ochthebius bernard'' for his son and '' Agabus alexandrae'' for his wife.[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ribera, Ignacio
1963 births
2020 deaths
Spanish entomologists
Coleopterists
University of Barcelona alumni