Arachnida

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Info

From a curatorial perspective, this section represents not only the arachnids but also the 'basal' hexapods (primarily wingless insects, mayflies, odonates), as well as pantopods and crustaceans. The collections hold about 70,000 specimens. Our research focuses on spider taxonomy, phylogeny, and biology as well as on function and evolution of arthropod genitalia.

Staff

Scientist, permanent position

Dr. Bernhard A. Huber

Head of Arachnida Section and Curator

Tel: +49 228 9122-294

Fax: +49 228 9122-212

E-Mail: b.huber [at] leibniz-zfmk.de

Technical or laboratory assistant

Dipl.-Biol. Hans-Joachim Krammer

Technical Assistant

Tel: +49 228 9122-298

Fax: +49 228 9122-212

E-Mail: h.krammer [at] leibniz-lib.de

Scientist, third-party funded

Dr. Suresh Benjamin

Humboldt Fellow

Tel: +49 228 9122-345

Fax: +49 228 9122-212

E-Mail: suresh.benjamin [at] gmail.com

Scientist, visiting

Dr. Dirk Gassmann

Guest Researcher

Fax: +49 228 9122-212

E-Mail: d.gassmann [at] zfmk.de

Ph.D. student

Guanliang Meng

PhD-Student „Evolution of Ninetinae spiders“ Project

Tel: +49 228 9122-294

Fax: +49 228 9122-212

E-Mail: G.Meng [at] leibniz-zfmk.de

Alumni

Former students

Rachel Werneck

Tel: +49 228 9122-360

Fax: +49 228 9122-212

E-Mail: rmwerneck [at] gmail.com

Projects

2021

Flight strategies and wing parameters in North American dragonflies (Odonata)

Wing morphology is largely shaped by intra-, intersexual and natural selection.Dragonfly wings are subject to various selection pressures. Territoriality, courtship displays, different kinds of mating systems, seasonal migrations, foraging behavior and other aspects of dragonfly life history and behavior all require specific functional traits of the wing.

Project lead:

Dr. Dirk Gassmann

2019

Evolution of Ninetinae

This project focuses on the spider subfamily Ninetinae, tiny cryptic ground-dwellers that are largely restricted to arid habitats. They seem to be ‘basal’ within Pholcidae and thus crucial for reconstructing the evolutionary history of the family.

Project lead:

Dr. Bernhard A. Huber

Funding:

Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft

2018

Establishing a standardized and universally applicable set of nuclear-encoded markers for genome-wide multi-locus species delimitation of metazoans

Methods for delimiting species based on multi-gene nucleotide information are well established and provide the means to complement the classical COI barcoding approach, whose limitations are well known. Our research project aims at establishing a standardized set of single-copy nuclear-encoded markers for genome-wide multi-locus species delimitation by exploiting comparative genomic data and applying target DNA enrichment. Candidate markers are so-called Universal Single-Copy Orthologs (USCOs).

Project lead:

Dr. Dirk Ahrens

Funding:

Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft

The pholcid spider collection of González-Sponga

Between 1998 and 2011, the Venezuelan arachnologist Manuel Ángel González-Sponga created a total of 22 new genera for Venezuelan pholcids. Previous efforts to evaluate González-Sponga’s genera were hampered by the inaccessibility of his private collection. As a result, work on Venezuelan pholcid spiders has been almost impossible. After González-Sponga’s death in 2009, his collection was transferred to the Museo del Instituto de Zoología Agrícola in Maracay. The aim of the present project is to initiate collaboration on Venezuelan pholcid spiders and to draft a joint collaborative project on Venezuelan pholcid spider taxonomy and systematics.

Project lead:

Dr. Bernhard A. Huber

Funding:

Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft

Collecting expedition to Ghana

In August 2018, a team of exhibition planners, scientists and taxidermists of the Museum Koenig undertook a collection expedition to the Ankasa River Rainforest Reserve in the southwest of Ghana to collect original plant material for the authentic reproduction of the rainforest canopy habitat in the new Rainforest exhibition.

Project lead:

Corinna Seibt

Funding:

Landschaftsverband Rheinland

2017

GGBC: Assessment, Monitoring and Management of Caucasian Biodiversity

A Georgian-German initiative to explore and barcode the biodiversity of the Caucasus area

Project lead:

Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof

Funding:

Federal Ministry of Education and Research

2016

Egg parasitism in pholcid spiders

Pholcid spider females carry their egg-sacs with their mouthparts until the spiderlings hatch and it is probably for this reason that the eggs are not densely covered by a protective layer of silk as in most other spider families. It seems that few egg parasites have managed to access these protected eggs of Pholcidae. During recent trips in SE Asia several new cases of egg-parasitism in Pholcidae were discovered that will be described in this project.

Project lead:

Dr. Bernhard A. Huber

Funding:

Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, National Council for Scientific and Technological Development

2015

Taxonomic-phylogenetic revision of Idiocnemis and related genera

Project lead:

Dr. Dirk Gassmann

2014

Southeast Asian pholcid spiders

This project focuses on three major questions : (1) how do Southeast Asian taxa fit into the phylogeny of Pholcidae? (2) Are patterns of diversity and distribution comparable to those in New World and African regions? (3) Is there evidence for a causal relationship between evolutionary shifts among microhabitats and species diversity (adaptive speciation)?

Project lead:

Dr. Bernhard A. Huber

Funding:

Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft

Biodiversity of New Guinea dragonflies

Project lead:

Dr. Dirk Gassmann

Revision of Holocneminus

The Southeast Asian and Pacific genus Holocneminus Berland is here revised for the first time, including analyses of phylogenetic relationships within the genus and with putative close relatives.

Funding:

Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft

Asymmetry in Panjange

While asymmetric genitalia are very common in insects, they are extremely rare in spiders. This project studies a species group of Panjange spiders from the southern Philippines that has only recently been discovered and in which all species have asymmetric genitalia.

Project lead:

Dr. Bernhard A. Huber

Funding:

Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft

Global pholcid spider diversity

Ratios of known to unknown pholcid spider species collected around the world suggest that only about 20% of the species have been described. Current efforts concentrate on Southeast Asia and Brazil.

Project lead:

Dr. Bernhard A. Huber

Funding:

Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, National Council for Scientific and Technological Development

2013

Harvestmen genitalia

Harvestmen genitalia are often complex structures that vary among species but little is known about their functioning. We investigate mating behavior, genital morphology as well as interactions of male and female genitalia using histology and X-Ray microtomography of cryo-fixed pairs.

Project lead:

Rachel Werneck

Funding:

German Academic Exchange Service

Hotspot Atlantic Forest

Recent collecting trips in the Brazilian Amazon Forest have revealed an extraordinarily rich pholcid fauna. This project aims at documenting this diversity, at exploring its relationships with the faunas of other South American regions, and at comparing diversity and distribution patterns with those in the Brazilian Amazon.

Project lead:

Dr. Bernhard A. Huber

Funding:

National Council for Scientific and Technological Development, Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig

2012

Revision of crab spiders

This project aims at a stable phylogenetic hypothesis for the family Thomisidae by analysis of morphological and DNA sequence data for most taxa of the family. I will use this phylogenetic hypothesis to propose a revised taxonomy for the family, to study the evolution of the diverse behaviors of the family and to test biogeographic hypotheses.

Project lead:

Dr. Suresh Benjamin

Funding:

Alexander von Humboldt-Foundation

A Caribbean radiation

The genus Modisimus has experienced a strong radiation in the Caribbean, but most species remain undescribed. This project is part of a large NSF-Project (PIs: Ingi Agnarsson and Greta Binford) on Caribbean Biogeography.

Project lead:

Dr. Bernhard A. Huber

Funding:

National Science Foundation

2011

GBOL- German Barcode of Life

"German Barcode of Life" ( GBOL ) is a project sponsored by the BMBF and includes the creation of inventories for the gentic characterization of the animals, fungi and plants of germany, using DNA-Barcodes.

Project lead:

Prof. Dr. J. Wolfgang Wägele

Funding:

Federal Ministry of Education and Research

2010

Revision of Smeringopina

With leg spans of up to 18 cm, some Smeringopina species are the largest known pholcids. Nevertheless, the genus is very poorly known and recent expeditions to Guinea, Cameroon, and Gabon have provided more than 30 new species.

Project lead:

Dr. Bernhard A. Huber

Funding:

Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft

Publications

Published in

2015

Benjamin S.P. 2015. On the African crab spider genus Geraesta Simon, 1889, with the description of G. ansieae sp. n. African Invertebrates 56: 309-318.

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Theischinger, G., Gassmann, D., and Richards, S. J., 2015. Macrocnemis gracilis, a new genus and species of Idiocnemidinae (Zygoptera: Platycnemididae) from Papua New Guinea. Zootaxa 3990.3: 429–436.

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Gassmann, D. (2015): Libellen und Vulkane - entomologische Forschungen in Papua-Neuguinea. - Koenigiana 9 (1): 43-54.

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Documents:

gassmann_d_2015_koenigiana.pdf

Gassmann, D. (2015): Odonata recorded from northeastern Papua New Guinea including the Bismarck Archipelago in May to July 1997. - Faunistic Studies in South-East Asian and Pacific Island Odonata 10: 1-46.

[read more]

Links:

Odonata from northeastern Papua New Guinea

Gassmann, D. (2015): Structural diversity and functional morphology of the damselfly ligula: implications for taxonomy, systematics and evolutionary biology. 16. Jahrestagung der Gesellschaft für Biologische Systematik (GfBS) vom 18.-21. März am Zoologischen Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig in Bonn - Programm und Abstracts.

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Documents:

postergassmanngfbsbonn2015.pdf

Huber BA. 2015. Small scale endemism in Brazil's Atlantic Forest: 14 new species of Mesabolivar (Araneae, Pholcidae), each known from a single locality. Zootaxa 3942: 1-60. http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3942.1.1

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Huber BA, Nuñeza OM. 2015. Evolution of genital asymmetry, exaggerated eye stalks, and extreme palpal elongation in Panjange spiders (Araneae: Pholcidae). European Journal of Taxonomy 169: 1-46. http://dx.doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2015.169

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Huber BA, Nuñeza OM, Leh Moi Ung C. 2015. Revision, phylogeny, and microhabitat shifts in the Southeast Asian spider genus Aetana (Araneae, Pholcidae). European Journal of Taxonomy 162: 1-78. http://dx.doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2015.162

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Huber BA, Petcharad B, Bumrungsri S. 2015. Revision of the enigmatic Southeast Asian spider genus Savarna (Araneae, Pholcidae). European Journal of Taxonomy 160: 1-23. http://dx.doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2015.160

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Theischinger, G., Gassmann, D., Richards, S. J. (2015): Macrocnemis gracilis, a new genus and species of Idiocnemidinae (Zygoptera: Platycnemididae) from Papua New Guinea. Zootaxa 3990 (3): 429–436.

[read more]

2014

Batuwita S, Benjamin S. 2014. An annotated checklist and generic keys to the Pseudoscorpion fauna of Sri Lanka (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpionidea). Zootaxa 3814: 37-67.

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Gassmann, D., 2014. Kopfmimikry bei Zipfelfaltern. Naturwissenschaftliche Rundschau 796: 537-538.

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Gassmann, D. (2014): Genetische Grundlagen der Mimikry bei Ritterfaltern. Naturwissenschaftliche Rundschau 795: 477-478.

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Gassmann, D. (2014): Flugverhalten von Stechmücken. Naturwissenschaftliche Rundschau 787: 32-34.

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Huber BA. 2014. Pholcidae. In: Biodiversidad de Artrópodos Argentinos, Vol. 3 (eds. S. Roig-Juñent, L.E. Claps, J.J. Morrone), pp. 131-140. Sociedad Entomológica Argentina.

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Huber BA, Colmenares PA, Ramirez MJ. 2014. Fourteen new generic and ten new specific synonymies in Pholcidae (Araneae), and transfer of Mystes Bristowe to Filistatidae. Zootaxa 3847: 413-422.

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Huber BA, Dimitrov D. 2014. Slow genital and genetic but rapid non-genital and ecological differentiation in a pair of spider species (Araneae, Pholcidae). Zoologischer Anzeiger 253: 394-403.

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Huber BA, Le Gall P, Mavoungou JF. 2014. Pholcid spiders from the Lower Guinean region of Central Africa: an overview, with descriptions of seven new species (Araneae, Pholcidae). European Journal of Taxonomy 81: 1-46.

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Huber, B.A. (2014): Progress and prospects in taxonomy: what is our goal and are we ever going to reach it? Journal of Arachnology 42: 142-147.

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Huber, B.A., Carvalho, L.S., Benjamin, S.P. (2014). On the New World spiders previously misplaced in Leptopholcus: molecular and morphological analyses and descriptions of four new species (Araneae, Pholcidae). Invertebrate Systematics 28: 432-450.

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Pages

Collection

The collections in this section hold about 70,000 specimens, including the worlds most diverse collection of Pholcidae spiders (Huber), extensive spider material from fogging campaigns in East Africa (Wagner, Freund) and from pitfall trapping in West and Central Africa (previously Trier collection), a large and partly historically important Odonata collection, as well as smaller collections of parasitic mites and other Arachnida, Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Crustacea.

Currently the collections are being digitized and prepared for the transfer to Biodiversity Workbench. Preliminary data are available as Excel files:

Araneae version 2018-09-06

The following type catalogs are available as PDF files:

Araneae, Acari, Scorpiones, Crustacea, Pantopoda update March 2018

Odonata