Günter Schmidt (arachnologist)
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Günter E. W. Schmidt | |
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Born | |
Died | 23 December 2016 | (aged 90)
Nationality | German |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Arachnology |
For the sexologist, psychotherapist, and social psychologist, see Gunter Schmidt.
Günter E. W. Schmidt (born 10 May 1926 in Lübeck; died 23 December 2016 in Deutsch Evern)[1] was a German arachnologist and author of a standard German work on tarantulas, Die Vogelspinnen ("bird-eating spiders"). He has been described as one of the fathers of German arachnology.[2]
He studied biology and mostly worked in the pharmaceutical industry until his retirement.[citation needed][3] In 1975, he graduated with a PhD thesis on the arachnid fauna of the Canary Islands [3].[citation needed] From 1986, his scientific work was concentrated mainly on tarantulas. The World Spider Catalog lists 234 species names of which he is the author or co-author (not all currently accepted),[4] of which 69 are in the family Theraphosidae (tarantulas).[5]
Books
His books include:
- Schmidt, Günter (1986), Vogelspinnen : Lebensweise, Bestimmungsschlüssel, Haltung und Zucht, Minden: A. Philler, ISBN 978-3-7907-5001-0; followed by further editions, including Schmidt, Günter (1993), Vogelspinnen : Vorkommen, Lebensweise, Haltung und Zucht, mit Bestimmungsschlüsseln für alle Gattungen, Hannover: Landbuch, ISBN 978-3-7842-0484-0
- Schmidt, Günter (2000), Giftige und gefährliche Spinnentiere, Westarp Wissenschaften, ISBN 978-3-89432-405-6
- Schmidt, G. (2003), Die Vogelspinnen: Eine weltweite Übersicht, Neue Brehm-Bücherei, Hohenwarsleben: Westarp Wissenschaften, ISBN 978-3-89432-899-3
Species names
Several species names of spiders honour Günter Schmidt, including:
- Haplopelma schmidti von Wirth, 1991[6] (now Cyriopagopus schmidti)
- Aphonopelma schmidti Smith, 1995[7] (now a synonym of Aphonopelma chalcodes)
- Cyrtopholis schmidti Rudloff, 1996[8]
References
- ^ "Traueranzeige Günter Schmidt", Lüneburger Landeszeitung (in German), 2016-12-24, retrieved 2017-03-17
- ^ Peters, H.-J. (2006), "Dr. Günter Schmidt – der älteste noch immer aktive Spinnenforscher der Alten Welt", Tarantulas of the World (in German), 11 (117), ISSN 1431-7990
- ^ a b Obituary for Günther Schmidt by John Osmani
- ^ "Search for author 'Schmidt'", World Spider Catalog, Natural History Museum Bern, retrieved 2021-04-21
- ^ "Search for family 'Theraphosidae' and author 'Schmidt'", World Spider Catalog, Natural History Museum Bern, retrieved 2021-04-21
- ^ von Wirth, V. (1991), "Eine neue Vogelspinnenart aus Vietnam Haplopelma schmidti sp. n. (Araneae: Theraphosidae: Ornithoctoninae)", Arachnologischer Anzeiger, 18: 6–11
- ^ Smith, Andrew M. (1995), Tarantula Spiders: Tarantulas of the U.S.A. and Mexico, London: Fitzgerald Publishing, ISBN 0951093991
- ^ Rudloff, J.-P. (1996), "Cyrtopholis schmidti sp. n., eine neue Cyrtopholis-Art aus Brasilien (Araneida: Theraphosidae: Theraphosinae)", Arachnologisches Magazin, 4 (5): 2–8