Faces of Arachnology
Anita Aisenberg
I am interested in studying why do spiders behave as they do, and how this can change shaped by their environmental and social context
Area(s) of Interest:
Behaviour,
Ecology,
Evolutionary Biology
Taxon(a) of Interest:
Araneae
Website:
External link
Ligia Benavides
I'm the Curatorial Assistant of Arachnids and Myriapods at the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University. I am interested in the taxonomy, systematics and biogeography of arachnids, particularly those with dispersal-limited abilities that inhabit the leaf litter and the incorporation of museum specimens in genomic research.
Area(s) of Interest:
Biogeography,
Evolutionary Biology,
Systematics & Taxonomy
Taxon(a) of Interest:
Araneae,
Opiliones,
Pseudoscorpiones,
Ricinulei,
Schizomida
Greta Binford
I use integrative approaches to study biogeography and venom evolution.
Area(s) of Interest:
Biodiversity & Conservation,
Biogeography,
Evolutionary Biology,
Systematics & Taxonomy
Taxon(a) of Interest:
Araneae,
Opiliones,
Pseudoscorpiones
Alexandre Bonaldo
I am the curator of the Arachnida and Myriapoda collections at the Goeldi Museum (Belém, Pará, Brazil). My research focuses on the taxonomy and systematics of spiders, with particular emphasis on the families Corinnidae and Oonopidae.
Area(s) of Interest:
Biodiversity & Conservation,
Systematics & Taxonomy
Taxon(a) of Interest:
Araneae
Website:
External link
Jan Bosselaers
I am a retired industry scientist now working mainly on the taxonomy of Liocranidae and related dionychan spiders, with occasional incursions into Theridiidae and Nemesiidae.
Area(s) of Interest:
Systematics & Taxonomy
Taxon(a) of Interest:
Araneae
Bruno Buzatto
I am a behavioural ecologist interested in mating systems and sexual selection, but also involved in taxonomy of burrowing scorpions and harvestmen.
Area(s) of Interest:
Behaviour,
Biodiversity & Conservation,
Ecology,
Evolutionary Biology,
Systematics & Taxonomy
Taxon(a) of Interest:
Araneae,
Opiliones,
Scorpiones
Jimmy Cabra-García
I am an Associate Professor and Curator of Arachnids and Myriapods at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia. I work on the taxonomy, systematics, and evolutionary biology of spiders.
Area(s) of Interest:
Biogeography,
Ecology,
Evolutionary Biology,
Morphology & Physiology,
Systematics & Taxonomy
Taxon(a) of Interest:
Araneae,
Opiliones,
Scorpiones
Gustavo de Miranda
I am an Assist. Professor and Curator of Invertebrates at the Sam Noble Museum (Uni. of Oklahoma). My research integrates systematics, behavior, and phylogenomics to study arthropod evolution, diversification, and biogeography, with emphasis on whip spiders, schizomids, and spiders, combining fieldwork, museum collections, and genomic data.
Area(s) of Interest:
Behaviour,
Biodiversity & Conservation,
Biogeography,
Ecology,
Evolutionary Biology,
Systematics & Taxonomy
Taxon(a) of Interest:
Amblypygi,
Araneae,
Opiliones,
Pseudoscorpiones,
Ricinulei,
Schizomida,
Solifugae,
Uropygi
Website:
External link
Jason Dunlop
I am curator of arachnids, myriapods and stem-group arthropods at the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin. My research interests are fossil arachnids and arachnid morphology and their relevance for understanding the history and evolution of arachnids and their relatives. Since 2001 I have been Secretary of the International Society of Arachnology.
Area(s) of Interest:
Morphology & Physiology,
Paleontology,
Evolutionary Biology,
Systematics & Taxonomy
Taxon(a) of Interest:
Acari,
Amblypygi,
Araneae,
Opiliones,
Palpigradi,
Pseudoscorpiones,
Ricinulei,
Schizomida,
Scorpiones,
Solifugae,
Uropygi
Website:
External link
Saoirse Foley
I am currently working to build Arachnobase, which I hope will one day resemble a mature model organism database for arachnids. Beyond that, I am broadly interested in how organisms acquire adaptive traits, particularly when it comes to Theraphosidae.
Area(s) of Interest:
Biodiversity & Conservation,
Evolutionary Biology
Taxon(a) of Interest:
Araneae
Website:
External link
Donard Geci
Donard Geci is a Kosovar arachnologist and molecular biologist affiliated with the Department of Biology, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Prishtina. His research focuses on the taxonomy, systematics, and biodiversity of spiders in the Balkan Peninsula, with particular emphasis on Kosovo’s understudied arachnofauna.
Area(s) of Interest:
Systematics & Taxonomy
Taxon(a) of Interest:
Araneae
Rosemary Gillespie
I work on the biodiversity, conservation, and evolutionary biology of spiders in the islands of Oceania, in particular Hawaii.
Area(s) of Interest:
Biodiversity & Conservation,
Biogeography,
Evolutionary Biology,
Systematics & Taxonomy
Taxon(a) of Interest:
Araneae
Website:
External link
Ricardo Gonçalves
I conduct research in taxonomy, phylogenetic systematics, biogeography, conservation, and evolution of South American arachnids, with an emphasis on the family Zodariidae (Araneae: Zodarioidea). As an arachnologist and research taxonomist, I contribute to the understanding of the diversity and evolutionary relationships of these groups.
Area(s) of Interest:
Behaviour,
Biodiversity & Conservation,
Biogeography,
Ecology,
Evolutionary Biology,
Morphology & Physiology,
Systematics & Taxonomy
Taxon(a) of Interest:
Araneae
Christoph Hörweg
I am curator of arachnids at the Natural History Museum Vienna, mainly interested in pseudoscorpions.
Area(s) of Interest:
Biodiversity & Conservation,
Systematics & Taxonomy
Taxon(a) of Interest:
Amblypygi,
Araneae,
Pseudoscorpiones,
Scorpiones,
Acari,
Opiliones,
Palpigradi,
Ricinulei,
Schizomida,
Solifugae,
Uropygi
Website:
External link
Peter Jaeger
The main focus of my work is still on the worldwide Sparassidae, but in recent years there has been growing interest in spiders of all kind of spider families in Laos and neighbouring countries, particularly in caves.
Nancy Lo Man Hung
Postdoctoral researcher in Brazil, studying evolutionary genomics of climate adaptation. Co-founder of Support Women in Arachnology (SWA), researching gender bias and supporting underrepresented scientists. Expertise: systematics, collection curation, cave fauna, transcriptomics, gene expression in development, diversification, regeneration.
Area(s) of Interest:
Biodiversity & Conservation,
Ecology,
Evolutionary Biology,
Morphology & Physiology,
Systematics & Taxonomy
Taxon(a) of Interest:
Araneae,
Opiliones,
Ricinulei,
Scorpiones
Website:
External link
Ivan L.F. Magalhaes
CONICET Researcher at the Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales. I focus on the taxonomy, systematics, and biogeography of spiders, especially Neotropical taxa and haplogyne groups.
Area(s) of Interest:
Biogeography,
Evolutionary Biology,
Paleontology,
Systematics & Taxonomy
Taxon(a) of Interest:
Araneae
Website:
External link
Kiran Marathe
I work on taxonomy and systematics of aelurilline and plexippine jumping spiders (Salticidae).
Area(s) of Interest:
Behaviour,
Evolutionary Biology,
Systematics & Taxonomy
Taxon(a) of Interest:
Araneae
Peter Michalik
My research focuses mainly on systematics, evolution, taxonomy, and morphology of spiders.
Area(s) of Interest:
Biodiversity & Conservation,
Biogeography,
Evolutionary Biology,
Morphology & Physiology,
Paleontology,
Systematics & Taxonomy,
Ecology
Taxon(a) of Interest:
Acari,
Amblypygi,
Araneae,
Opiliones,
Palpigradi,
Pseudoscorpiones,
Ricinulei,
Schizomida,
Scorpiones,
Solifugae,
Uropygi
Website:
External link
Luis Norberto Piacentini
My research focuses on the systematics, evolution, and biogeography of Lycosidae, with emphasis on subfamily relationships based on molecular and morphological data, and on the taxonomy of South American lycosids. I am also interested in the systematics of other lycosoid families, such as Pisauridae and Trechaleidae.
Area(s) of Interest:
Biogeography,
Evolutionary Biology,
Morphology & Physiology,
Systematics & Taxonomy
Taxon(a) of Interest:
Araneae
Martin Ramirez
In my lab we work on spider systematics, morphology, and functional morphology of silk and webs. My main geographical area of interest is South America, complementing with a worldwide perspective, especially from the Southern Hemisphere.
Area(s) of Interest:
Biogeography,
Biodiversity & Conservation,
Evolutionary Biology,
Morphology & Physiology,
Systematics & Taxonomy
Taxon(a) of Interest:
Araneae
Andrew Roberts
I am a behavioral ecologist whose main research interest is the evolution of animal communication and social behavior using wolf spider model systems.
Area(s) of Interest:
Behaviour,
Morphology & Physiology
Taxon(a) of Interest:
Araneae
Nikolaj Scharff
Research interests: Phylogeny and comparative morphology of spiders in general. Phylogeny and taxonomy of the spider superfamily Orbicularia in particular. Biodiversity assessments and inventory methodology. Functional morphology of spider genitalia.
Area(s) of Interest:
Biodiversity & Conservation,
Biogeography,
Evolutionary Biology,
Morphology & Physiology,
Systematics & Taxonomy
Taxon(a) of Interest:
Amblypygi,
Araneae,
Pseudoscorpiones,
Schizomida
Website:
External link
Danniella Sherwood
My research group focuses on the taxonomy, biogeography, conservation and evolution of arachnids in the United Kingdom Overseas Territories. I am also a specialist in the systematics of spiders of the infraorder Mygalomorphae. Other areas of research: teratology, biosecurity, nomenclature, predator-prey interactions, and general zoology of Kosovo.
Area(s) of Interest:
Biodiversity & Conservation,
Biogeography,
Evolutionary Biology,
Morphology & Physiology,
Systematics & Taxonomy
Taxon(a) of Interest:
Amblypygi,
Araneae,
Pseudoscorpiones,
Scorpiones,
Solifugae
Website:
External link
Akio Tanikawa
I study spider taxonomy and phylogeography. My research focuses on Mesothelae, Mygalomorphae, and Araneidae, with primary fieldwork conducted in Japan and Thailand.
Area(s) of Interest:
Systematics & Taxonomy
Taxon(a) of Interest:
Araneae
Gabriele B. Uhl
My group works on reproductive biology in spiders (sexual selection, functional morphology of genitalia); chemosensing (sensilla, chemosensory proteins); climate change (morphological and physiological adaptations). I have been president of the European Society of Arachnology since 2020.
Area(s) of Interest:
Behaviour,
Biodiversity & Conservation,
Ecology,
Evolutionary Biology,
Morphology & Physiology,
Systematics & Taxonomy
Taxon(a) of Interest:
Araneae
Website:
External link
Cor Vink
My research primarily focuses on spiders and their evolution and diversity. In particular, I specialise in the systematics and taxonomy of the New Zealand fauna. I also conduct research on spider ecology (in natural environments and agroecosystems), the conservation of New Zealand terrestrial arthropods and invasive species ecology.
Area(s) of Interest:
Biodiversity & Conservation,
Biogeography,
Ecology,
Evolutionary Biology,
Systematics & Taxonomy
Taxon(a) of Interest:
Araneae
Website:
External link
Samuel Zschokke
My research is on spider webs, mainly on the structure and building of orb webs.