Researchers involved in African arachnology (listed alphabetically)
Ingi Agnarsson
Ingi’s work covers a broad range of topics, not only dealing with spiders, but including taxonomy, phylogeny and evolutionary biology of social theridiid spiders, with emphasis on the genus Anelosimus and orb-weaving spiders.
Further information
E-mail: iagnarsson@gmail.com
Galina Azarkina
Galina has worked extensively on the Asian and Afrotropical Aelurillini, Plexippini and Ballini (Salticidae). She is collaborating on a study of the South African Salticidae taxonomy and species barcoding.
Further information
E-mail: urmakuz@yahoo.com
Tharina Bird
Tharina revised the Afrotropical Ammoxenidae for her M.Sc, and is currently working on the Afrotropical Solifugae as part of the Global Survey and Inventory of Solifugae project. She is the current Chairperson of the African Arachnological Society.
Further information
E-mail: tharinab@gmail.com
Alexandre Bonaldo
Alex is a taxonomist working primarily on the Neotropical fauna. Currently he collaborating on projects on the taxonomy of selected Afrotropical Corinnidae and Miturgidae.
Further information
E-mail: bonaldo@museu-goeldi.br
Rob Bosmans
Rob’s research has focused primarily on the North African spider fauna, but he has published several important papers on Afrotropical Tetragnathidae and Linyphiidae.
Further information
E-mail: robert.bosmans@lne.vlaanderen.be
Jan Bosselaers
Jan has made several important contributions on the systematics of the Afrotropical Corinnidae, Liocranidae and Tetragnathidae, and continues taxonomic and phylogenetic work on Corinnidae and Liocranidae.
Further information
E-mail: dochterland@pandora.be
Ansie Dippenaar-Schoeman
Ansie’s research covers a broad spectrum of projects, including the taxonomy of Afrotropical Thomisidae, and spider diversity in agroecosystems and conserved areas in South Africa. She also provides identifications for spiders for surveys ongoing in South Africa as part of the South African National Survey of Arachnida (SANSA), and as part of post-graduate student projects. She is involved in the PBI Oonopidae project as a senior investigator, and is the curator of the National Collection of Arachnida in South Africa.
Further information
E-mail: DippenaarA@arc.agric.za
Moira FitzPatrick
Moira completed her Ph.D revising the genus Zelotes (Gnaphosidae) in the Afrotropical Region, and continues studies on the Afrotropical Gnaphosidae.
Further information
E-mail: mfitzpatrick@netconnect.co.zw
Gonzalo Giribet
Gonzalo is involved in several studies on the systematics of Opiliones, including molecular and biogeographical studies of the mite harvestmen (Cyphophthalmi).
Further information
E-mail: ggiribet@oeb.harvard.edu
Charles Griswold
Charles was involved in the Assembling the Tree of Life project as a clademaster, and is a principle investigator on the PBI Oonopidae project, where his research focuses on the Madagascan fauna. Previously, he revised many Afrotropical spider taxa, including the Cyatholipidae, Migidae, Phyxelididae and Zoropsidae.
Further information
E-mail: cgriswold@calacademy.org
Charles Haddad
Charles recently completed his Ph.D thesis on Afrotropical Castianeirinae, and is also involved in several projects on spider biodiversity in South African conserved areas and natural habitats. He has also been involved in studies of termitophagous and myrmecophagous spiders.
Further information
E-mail: haddadcr@ufs.ac.za
Mark Harvey
Mark is involved with a variety of taxonomic projects on various arachnid orders, with emphasis on the more poorly known “smaller orders”. Although much of his work focuses on the Australian fauna, he has also collaborated on various projects involving the fauna of the Afrotropical Region, including Pseudoscorpiones.
Further information
E-mail: harveym@museum.wa.gov.au
Joh Henschel
Joh has spent most of his career researching the ecology and biology of dune-dwelling arachnids and other organisms in the Namib Desert in Namibia, with particular focus on sparassid spiders.
Further information
E-mail: henschel@saeon.ac.za
Arnaud Henrard
Arnaud is involved in the PBI Oonopidae project and recently completed a revision of the genus Orchestina in the Afrotropical Region. He is currently working on a molecular phylogeny of the family Zodariidae, with revisions and descriptions of several new genera.
Further information
E-mail: arnaud.henrard@gmail.com
Bernhard Huber
Bernhard is a taxonomic specialist on the Pholcidae (daddy long-legs spiders), and is revising several genera from all corners of the globe. He is also interested in the evolution of genitalic structures and their role in reproduction in spiders.
Further information
E-mail: b.huber.zfmk@uni-bonn.de
Robert Jackson
Robert is primarily involved in studies of jumping spider behaviour and biology, and many of his projects involve species from East Africa.
Further information
E-mail: robert.jackson@canterbury.ac.nz
Rudy Jocqué
The focus of Rudy’s studies is the family Zodariidae on a global scale, while he has been involved in revisions of several genera of Afrotropical Linyphiidae, Lycosidae, Ctenidae and Corinnidae, amongst others. He also described the families Halidae and Chummidae from Africa. He is also currently involved in the PBI Oonopidae project as a senior investigator, and is the curator of the vast collection of the Royal Museum for Central Africa in Belgium.
Further information
E-mail: rudy.jocque@africamuseum.be
Matjaz Kuntner
Matjaz is involved in studies on the evolutionary biology and taxonomy of web-building araneoid spiders. Recently he completed the revision of the family Nephilidae, which has resolved many taxonomic problems associated with this popular group of spiders.
Further information
E-mail: kuntner@gmail.com
Norman Larsen
Norman is an amateur arachnologist and photographer interested in the behaviour and biodiversity of South African spiders. Together with Ansie Dippenaar-Schoeman, he is preparing a checklist of the spiders of the Cape Peninsula.
Further information
E-mail: avellopsis@telkomsa.net
Astri Leroy
Astri Leroy is an amateur arachnologist with a wide interest in the Araneae of southern Africa, having co-authored the popular book "Spiders of Southern Africa" with John Leroy. She has steered The Spider Club of Southern Africa for several decades, aiming to bridge the gap between the general public and professional arachnologists. Astri is currently compiling an illustrated checklist of the spiders of Brenthurst Gardens in Johannesburg.
Further information
E-mail: astri@jml.co.za
Dmitri Logunov
Dmitri's research focuses on taxonomy of Salticidae, particularly from Asia. Currently he is involved in revisions of Afrotropical Spartaeinae, Lyssomaninae and Aelurillinae.
Further information
E-mail: Dmitri.V.Logunov@manchester.ac.uk
Leon Lotz
Leon’s research focuses on the taxonomy of medically important spider genera in the Afrotropical region, taxonomy of Archaeidae, and on the orders Opiliones and Scorpiones in South Africa. He recently completed revisions of Cheiracanthium, Loxosceles and Sicarius from the Afrotropical Region.
Further information
E-mail: arachnol@nasmus.co.za
Wilson Lourenco
The primary focus of Wilson's research is the taxonomy of scorpions, with particular emphasis on the species from Madagascar and North Africa.
Further information
E-mail: arachne@mnhn.fr
Robin Lyle
Robin recently completed her MSc on the taxonomy of Afrotropical tracheline sac spiders (Corinnidae), and is presently busy with her PhD on the systematics of the Afrotropical Idiopidae.
Further information
E-mail: lyler@arc.agric.za
Jean-Louis Juakaly Mbumba
Recently, Jean-Louis completed his PhD studying changes in community composition of ground-dwelling spiders in the Kisangani Region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Further information
E-mail: juakalylouis@yahoo.fr
Ximena Nelson
Ximena is primarily involved in studies of jumping spider behaviour, communication and biology, and many of her projects involve species from East Africa.
Further information
E-mail: ximena.nelson@canterbury.ac.nz
Lorenzo Prendini
Lorenzo’s research is focused on the systematics of Afrotropical scorpions. Several revisions have now been completed, including Parabuthus and Opistophthalmus, and also of the southern African Amblypygi. Lorenzo is also co-Principle Investigator for the “Global Survey and Inventory of Solifugae” project.
Further information
E-mail: Lorenzo@amnh.org
Tony Russell-Smith
Now retired, Tony is able to dedicate most of his spare time to revisions of Afrotropical wolf and ground spiders. He is also interested in spider diversity and ecology in tropical Africa.
Further information
E-mail: mrussellsmith@btinternet.com
Nikolaj Scharff
Nikolaj has primarily been involved in studies of Afrotropical Linyphiidae, with emphasis on the montane fauna of East Africa. Current research includes a revision and phylogenetic analysis of the araneid subfamily Gasteracanthinae. Nikolaj has recently been involved in the Assembling the Tree of Life project.
Further information
E-mail: NScharff@snm.ku.dk
Tamas Szuts
Tamas has completed studies of several Salticidae genera from the Afrotropical region, including a revision of the genus Tomocyrba. His present research is focusing on the phylogeny of the giant goblin spiders (Orsolobidae) of the world.
Further information
E-mail: tamas.szuts@gmail.com
Charles Warui
Charles completed his Ph.D study on the ecology of spiders in dry Kenyan savanna, and is currently involved in a biodiversity survey of the Taita Hills in Kenya.
Further information
E-mail: cmwarui@yahoo.com
Wanda Wesolowska
Wanda has spent most of her career revising Afrotropical jumping spider genera. Some of her most important works include revisions of Heliophanus and Menemerus, which greatly improved our knowledge of these genera. Further collaboration includes identification of salticid material from Zimbabwe, South Africa, Nigeria, Lesotho, Mozambique and Ethiopia.
Further information
E-mail: tomwes@biol.uni.wroc.pl
Hannah Wood
Hannah recently completed her Ph.D study on the spider families Mecysmaucheniidae and Archaeidae, including studies of the Madagascan fauna.
Further information
E-mail: hwood@berkeley.edu
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