Arachnology

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Trichonephila clavipes

Arachnology is the scientific study of arachnids, which comprise spiders and related invertebrates such as scorpions, pseudoscorpions, and harvestmen. Those who study spiders and other arachnids are arachnologists. More narrowly, the study of spiders alone (order Araneae) is known as araneology. [1]

Contents

The word "arachnology" derives from Greek ἀράχνη, arachnē, "spider"; and -λογία, -logia, "the study of a particular subject".

Arachnology as a science

Arachnologists are primarily responsible for classifying arachnids and studying aspects of their biology. In the popular imagination, they are sometimes referred to as spider experts. Disciplines within arachnology include naming species and determining their evolutionary relationships to one another (taxonomy and systematics), studying how they interact with other members of their species and/or their environment (behavioural ecology), or how they are distributed in different regions and habitats (faunistics). Other arachnologists perform research on the anatomy or physiology of arachnids, including the venom of spiders and scorpions. Others study the impact of spiders in agricultural ecosystems and whether they can be used as biological control agents.

Subdisciplines

Arachnology can be broken down into several specialties, including:

Arachnological societies

Arachnologists are served by a number of scientific societies, both national and international in scope. Their main roles are to encourage the exchange of ideas between researchers, to organise meetings and congresses, and in a number of cases, to publish academic journals. Some are also involved in science outreach programs, such as the European spider of the year, which raise awareness of these animals among the general public.

International

Africa

Asia

Australasia

Europe

North America

Arachnological journals

Scientific journals devoted to the study of arachnids include:

In the 1970s, arachnids – particularly tarantulas – started to become popular as exotic pets. Many tarantulas consequently became more widely known by their common names, such as Mexican redknee tarantula for Brachypelma hamorii .

Various societies now focus on the husbandry, care, study, and captive breeding of tarantulas, and other arachnids. They also typically produce journals or newsletters with articles and advice on these subjects.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arachnid</span> Class of arthropods

Arachnida is a class of joint-legged arthropods, in the subphylum Chelicerata. Arachnida includes, among others, spiders, scorpions, ticks, mites, pseudoscorpions, harvestmen, camel spiders, whip spiders and vinegaroons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ricinulei</span> Order of spider-like animals

Ricinulei is a small order of arachnids. Like most arachnids, they are predatory, eating small arthropods. They occur today in west-central Africa (Ricinoides) and the Americas as far north as Texas. As of 2021, 91 extant species of ricinuleids have been described worldwide, all in the single family Ricinoididae. In older works they are sometimes referred to as Podogona. Due to their obscurity they do not have a proper common name, though in academic literature they are occasionally referred to as hooded tickspiders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Octavius Pickard-Cambridge</span> English clergyman and zoologist (1828–1917)

Octavius Pickard-Cambridge FRS was an English clergyman and zoologist. He was a keen arachnologist who described and named more than 900 species of spider.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pierre Bonnet (naturalist)</span>

Pierre Bonnet was a French arachnologist who wrote Bibliographia Araneorum, an immense work listing publications on spiders. It was the result of forty years of work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Joseph Rainbow</span> British/Australian entomologist and arachnologist

William Joseph Rainbow (1856–1919) was an entomologist and arachnologist whose work includes the first catalogue of Australian spiders.

Ludovico di Caporiacco was an Italian arachnologist.

The International Society of Arachnology (ISA) promotes the study of arachnids and the exchange of information among researchers in this field. It acts as an umbrella organisation for regional societies and individuals interested in spiders, and related animals, and organises an International Congress every three years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Arachnological Society</span>

The American Arachnological Society (AAS) is a scientific organization founded in 1972 in order to promote the study of arachnids by seeking to achieve closer cooperation and understanding between amateur and professional arachnologists along with publication of the Journal of Arachnology. The society holds annual meetings around the United States and membership is open to all individuals who share the common objectives held by the society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Arachnological Society</span>

The British Arachnological Society (BAS) is the UK’s first body devoted exclusively to the study of arachnids. The primary objectives of the Society are to encourage interest in arachnology in people of all ages and to generate, promote and disseminate arachnological knowledge and understanding by all suitable means. In particular, it works to foster co-operation between amateur and professional arachnologists.

The Iranian Arachnological Society (IAS) was founded in 2010 as an academic society for amateur and professional arachnologists and individuals interested in Arachnids in order to promote the arachnological studies in Iran and facilitate the collaborations between Iranian and international arachnologists, researchers and institutions around the world.

<i>Crossopriza lyoni</i> Species of spider

Crossopriza lyoni is a widespread species of cellar spiders that prefer to live in or around human structures. They are commonly known as tailed cellar spiders, tailed daddy longlegs spiders, and sometimes box spiders. They all possess extremely long fragile legs that can reach up to 6 cm (2.4 in) long and a body length of that ranges from 2.5 to 7 mm. Their abdomens are distinctly squarish when viewed from the side and their carapace is more or less circular when viewed from above. They also possess two kinds of sound-producing organs and have six eyes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dmitry Kharitonov</span> Russian arachnologist (1896–1970)

Dmitry Evstratievich Kharitonov, also spelt Charitonov, was the first native Russian arachnologist. In 1916 he founded the arachnological school of Perm State University, the oldest arachnology research group in Russia. The culmination of his work was the comprehensive Katalog der russischen Spinnen, published bilingually in 1932, with an addition published in 1936. He grew up under the supervision of Dmitry Mikhailovich Fedotov, an arachnologist from St. Petersburg. One of his postgraduates, T.S. Mkheidze, has been working in Georgia since the 1930s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pekka T. Lehtinen</span> Finnish arachnologist (born 1934)

Pekka T. Lehtinen is a Finnish arachnologist and taxonomist. He is known for his works in systematics and for the many expeditions in which he has participated.

Glavis Bernard Edwards Jr. is an American taxonomic entomologist specializing primarily in spiders, with broader interests in butterflies, centipedes, millipedes, and thrips. He was the Curator of Arachnida and Myriapoda for the Florida State Collection of Arthropods (FSCA), Division of Plant Industry, Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services. His curatorial responsibilities included Arachnida : spiders, scorpions, harvestmen, and relatives; Crustacea : pillbugs, sowbugs; Myriapoda including centipedes, millipedes, and symphylans; Onychophora; and Thysanoptera. He has authored more than 100 scientific publications in his fields of research. He retired in August, 2015, after over 38 years of state service. He became a Curator Emeritus at the FSCA and continues his research on jumping spiders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Günter Schmidt (arachnologist)</span>

For the sexologist, psychotherapist, and social psychologist, see Gunter Schmidt.

The Australasian Arachnological Society is a body dedicated to promotion of knowledge and study of arachnids in the Australasian realm, which includes Australia, New Zealand, South-east Asia, Oceania and the Pacific Islands. Membership is open to all individuals and scientific institutions. The Society maintains a large library of reference books and scientific journals housed at Queensland Museum. The society is informally structured to promote the study of arachnology to amateurs, students, professionals and institutions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avicularioidea</span> Clade of spiders

Avicularioidea is a clade of mygalomorph spiders, one of the two main clades into which mygalomorphs are divided. It has been treated at the rank of superfamily.

<i>Steatoda paykulliana</i> Species of arachnid

Steatoda paykulliana is a species of false black widow spider in the tangle-web spiders family, native to the Mediterranean countries, Southern Europe and Western Asia. The species is named in honor of the Swedish naturalist Gustaf von Paykull (1757–1826).

Staveleya is a genus of European sheet weavers. Its current name is a replacement for Hypsocephalus, already a genus in the snapper family of fish. The type species was originally described under the name "Microneta pusilla", but the type species is designated one of the junior synonyms, "Cnephalocotes dahli" because it has a physical specimen. The genus is named in honour of Eliza Fanny Staveley, the first woman to publish research on arachnology in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Father Chrysanthus</span> Dutch arachnologist (1905–1972)

Wilhelmus Egbertus Antonius Janssen, better known as Father Chrysanthus OFMCap, was a Dutch priest and biology teacher. He was known for his studies in arachnology. Initially he was concerned with the spiders of the Netherlands but he became a specialist on New Guinea spiders. Two spider species were named in his honor following his death.

References

  1. "Definition of ARANEOLOGY". merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 2020-12-23.