Research of the arachnology section falls into the area “Biodiversity and Systematics”.
The main research work focuses on the taxonomy, systematics and biogeography of the huntsman spiders (Sparassidae). This spider family with mainly tropical to subtropical distribution counts more than 1200 species worldwide. Moreover, various taxa of further spider families are treated and revised (u.a. Ctenidae, Araneidae, Pisauridae, Phrurolithidae etc.)
According to recent results the subfamily Heteropodinae seems to have radiated into the present genera first in Asia. Thereafter single genera split into species swarms in the mountain ranges of continental southern Asia (Pseudopoda, Sinopoda) and in the entire tropical Island Asia as well as in Australia (Heteropoda, Pandercetes). Cooperations exist with the National Science Museum Tokyo (Dr Hirotsugu Ono), the Museum of the Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (Prof. Dr Shuqiang Li), and Wuhan (Prof. Dr Jie Liu).
Spiders of Laos
Since 2003 expeditions are conducted in Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore, China and Cambodia. Numerous publications on the spider fauna have been published. Cooperations exist with the National University of Laos (NUoL) and the Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP), and with various institutions present in Laos (WCS, WWF, UNESCO, GAPE, SODI). Since 2010 one student was supervised at the NUoL.
Peter Jäger was a council member of the International Society of Arachnology (2004-2010) and is its correspondent for Germany, was president of the Arachnologische Gesellschaft (AraGes, 2004-2010) as well as on the European board of trustees for the ‚Spider of the year’ (2000-2009). He is associate editor of Zootaxa and member of the editorial board of Arachnologische Mitteilungen and Acta Arachnologica Sinica. Moreover, he is member of the expert board of Araneae. In 2012, Peter Jäger founded with colleagues from Tokyo and Beijing the Asian Society of Arachnology, he organised the founding meeting in Laos (Pakse) and organized the second conference in Laos (Vang Vieng).
Jochen Martens works on, among other things, Opiliones; especially with material from his expeditions to Central Asia, the Himalaya, China and the Caucasus.
Manfred Grasshoff worked for a long time with the taxonomy of Araneidae. Here he investigated phylogenetic relationships by analysing the functional and construction morphological components of genital structures.
