Norman Ira Platnick was an American biological systematist and arachnologist. At the time of his death, he was a professor emeritus of the Richard Gilder Graduate School and Peter J. Solomon Family Curator Emeritus of the invertebrate zoology department of the American Museum of Natural History. A 1973 Ph.D. recipient at Harvard University, Platnick described over 1,800 species of spiders from around the world, making him the second most prolific spider taxonomist in history, behind only Eugène Simon. Until 2014 he was also the maintainer of the World Spider Catalog, a website formerly hosted by the AMNH which tracks the arachnology literature, and attempts to maintain a comprehensive list, sorted taxonomically, of every species of spider which has been formally described. In 2007 he received the International Society of Arachnology's Bonnet award, named for Pierre Bonnet, in recognition of his work on the catalog.
Maratus is a spider genus of the family Salticidae. These spiders are commonly referred to as peacock spiders due to the males' colorful and usually iridescent patterns on the upper surface of the abdomen often enhanced with lateral flaps or bristles, which they display during courtship. Females lack these bright colors, being cryptic in appearance. In at least one species, Maratus vespertilio, the expansion of the flaps also occurs during ritualised contests between males. The male display and courtship dance are complex, involving visual and vibratory signals.
Prodidominae is a family of spider, sometimes called long-spinneret ground spiders. It was formerly regarded as a subfamily of Gnaphosidae, but was raised to a family in 2022.
Antônio Domingos Brescovit is a Brazilian arachnologist. His first name, Antônio may also be spelt António. He develops academic activities at the 'arthropodae laboratorium' at the Butantan Institute, and he is a specialist in Neotropical Arachnida.
Maratus speciosus, sometimes called the coastal peacock spider, is an Australian species of jumping spider. They are only known to inhabit the vegetation of the coastal sand dunes of southwestern Western Australia. Like other Maratus spiders, the males of the species engage in a courtship display during which they raise their third pair of legs and their abdomen, presenting their colourful opisthosomal plate to potential female partners. Accompanying their elaborate dance moves, males beat their front and back body halves together, sending vibrations that travel through the ground which the females pick up, stimulating them into receiving higher chances of a successful mate. Unlike other Maratus, however, the males of this species have a set of bright orange hairs (setae) along both edges of the opisthosoma which only become visible during this display. Maratus speciosus derives from the arachnid class with both sexes measuring about 5 mm in body length, equivalent to a pencil eraser. They are known as the smallest species of spiders. This organism is known as diurnal cursorial hunters, meaning they feed on insects. Like any other jumping spider, they rely on their keen vision and jumping actions to help them travel and spot prey at far distances.
Peter Jäger is a German arachnologist, and current Head of Arachnology at the Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum in Frankfurt, Germany.
Conculus is a genus of araneomorph spiders in the family Anapidae, first described by T. Komatsu in 1940. On 30 May 2019, two new species were described, with both coming from Southeast Asia.
Gippsicola is a genus of Australian tube dwelling spiders that was first described by Henry Roughton Hogg in 1900. It is no longer considered a junior synonym of Segestria due to anatomical differences in the pedipalps of males and the receptaculum in females.
Bomis is a genus of very small crab spiders, first described by German arachnologist Ludwig Carl Christian Koch in 1874. Five species are currently described, with three species from India and two from Australia.
Venator is a genus of Australian wolf spiders first described by Henry Roughton Hogg in 1900. As of April 2019 it contains only three species.
Maratus combustus is a species of peacock spider native to Australia. The species was discovered together with Maratus felinus and Maratus aquilus by a research group from Monash University, near Lake Jasper in the South West region of Western Australia. However, the ranges of each species do not overlap.
Maratus pavonis is a species of jumping spider (Salticidae), endemic to Australia, where it is found in Western Australia, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. The species epithet, pavonis, derives from the Latin, pavo, pavonis, meaning "peacock".
Missulena faulderi is a species of mygalomorph spiders in the family Actinopodidae. It is found in Western Australia.
Shuqiang Li is a Chinese arachnologist and a professor at the Institute of Zoology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Li is best known for his work with spiders and has described hundreds of new species and many genera. He is Editor in Chief of the journal Zoological Systematics.
Venator immansuetus is a wolf spider, endemic to Australia and found in the south-west of Western Australia.
Venator marginatus is a wolf spider, endemic to Australia and found in Victoria.
Maratus anomalus or the unusual peacock spider, is a species of peacock spider in the family Salticidae. M. anomalus was described by Karsch in 1878 in Queensland Australia and New South Wales.
