Arachnology at AMNH

Scorpion Systematics Research Group

Division of Invertebrate Zoology at the American Museum of Natural History

The Arachnology Lab at the AMNH focuses on the taxonomy, phylogeny and biogeography of scorpions and related arachnid orders. There are many compelling reasons to study these organisms. Arachnids are ancient, ecologically, morphologically and taxonomically diverse, distributed in most terrestrial habitats and elevations on all continents except Antarctica, and some are economically or medically important. Arachnids inspire fear and fascination. Many species are threatened yet little is known about their biology, new species remain to be discovered, and there are few experts globally. The world arachnid fauna will remain poorly known until more specialists are trained and prospects for their employment improve.

Collections

Arachnids

Acari (mites and ticks), Amblypygi (whip spiders), Araneae (spiders), Opiliones (harvestmen), Palpigradi (palpigrades), Pseudoscorpiones (false scorpions), Ricinulei (hooded tick-spiders or ricinuleids), Schizomida (schizomids), Scorpiones (scorpions), Solifugae (solifuges, solpugids or camel-spiders), Uropygi (vinegaroons or whip scorpions)

Myriapods

Chilopoda (centipedes), Diplopoda (millipedes), Pauropoda (pauropods), Symphyla (garden centipedes or symphylans)

See our Collections Page for more information.

Image Gallery

A selection of images from our work in the field and in the lab.