Arachnology is the

scientific Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence ...

study of

arachnid Arachnida () is a class of joint-legged invertebrate animals ( arthropods), in the subphylum Chelicerata. Arachnida includes, among others, spiders, scorpions, ticks, mites, pseudoscorpions, harvestmen, camel spiders, whip spiders and ...

s, which comprise

spider Spiders (order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species d ...

s and related invertebrates such as scorpions, pseudoscorpions, and

harvestmen The Opiliones (formerly Phalangida) are an Order (biology), order of arachnids Common name, colloquially known as harvestmen, harvesters, harvest spiders, or daddy longlegs. , over 6,650 species of harvestmen have been discovered worldwide, alth ...

. Those who study spiders and other arachnids are arachnologists. More narrowly, the study of spiders alone (

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

Araneae) is known as araneology. The word " arachnology" derives from

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

, ''arachnē'', "spider"; and , ''-logia'', "the study of a particular subject".

Arachnology as a science

Arachnologists are primarily responsible for classifying arachnids and studying aspects of their biology. In the popular imagination, they are sometimes referred to as spider experts. Disciplines within arachnology include naming species and determining their evolutionary relationships to one another (taxonomy and systematics), studying how they interact with other members of their species and/or their environment ( behavioural ecology), or how they are distributed in different regions and habitats (

faunistics Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is ''funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zool ...

). Other arachnologists perform research on the

anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having its ...

or physiology of arachnids, including the venom of spiders and scorpions. Others study the impact of spiders in agricultural ecosystems and whether they can be used as biological control agents.

Subdisciplines

Arachnology can be broken down into several specialties, including: * acarology – the study of ticks and

mite Mites are small arachnids (eight-legged arthropods). Mites span two large orders of arachnids, the Acariformes and the Parasitiformes, which were historically grouped together in the subclass Acari, but genetic analysis does not show clear evid ...

s * araneology – the study of spiders * scorpiology – the study of scorpions

Arachnological societies

Arachnologists are served by a number of scientific societies, both national and international in scope. Their main roles are to encourage the exchange of ideas between researchers, to organise meetings and congresses, and in a number of cases, to publish academic journals. Some are also involved in

science outreach Science outreach, also called Education and Public Outreach (EPO or E/PO) or simply public outreach, is an umbrella term for a variety of activities by research institutes, universities, and institutions such as science museums, aimed at promoting ...

programs, such as the ''European spider of the year'', which raise awareness of these animals among the general public. International * International Society of Arachnology (ISA)
website
Africa *African Arachnological Society (AFRAS)
website
Asia *Arachnological Society of Japan (ASJ
website
*Asian Society of Arachnology (ASA
website
*Indian Society of Arachnolog
website
* Iranian Arachnological Society (IAS
website
Australasia * Australasian Arachnological Societybr>website
Europe *Aracnofilia – Associazione Italiana di Aracnologi
website
*Arachnologia Belgica – Belgian Arachnological Society (ARABEL
website
*Arachnologische Gesellschaft (AraGes
website
*Association Francaise d'Arachnologie (AsFrA

* British Arachnological Society (BAS
website
*Czech Arachnological Societ
website
*European Society of Arachnology (ESA
website
*Grupo Ibérico de Aracnologia (Iberian Peninsula
website
*Magyar Arachnolgia – Hungarian Arachnology North America * American Arachnological Society (AAS
website

Arachnological journals

Scientific journal In academic publishing, a scientific journal is a periodical publication intended to further the progress of science, usually by reporting new research. Content Articles in scientific journals are mostly written by active scientists such ...

s devoted to the study of arachnids include: *''Acarologia'' *''Acta Arachnologica'' – published by the Arachnological Society of Japan *''Arachnida: Rivista Aracnologica Italiana'' *''Arachnology'' – published by the British Arachnological Society *''Arachnology Letters'' – published by the Arachnologische Gesellschaft *''International Journal of Acarology'' *'' Journal of Arachnology'' – published by the American Arachnological Society *''Revista Ibérica de Aracnología'' – published by the Grupo Ibérico de Aracnología *''Revue Arachnologique'' *''

Serket Serket ( egy, , italics=no, translit=srqt) is the goddess of healing venomous stings and bites in Egyptian mythology, originally the deification of the scorpion. Her family life is unknown, but she is sometimes credited as the daughter of Neith ...

Popular arachnology

In the 1970s, arachnids – particularly

tarantulas Tarantulas comprise a group of large and often hairy spiders of the family Theraphosidae. , 1,040 species have been identified, with 156 genera. The term "tarantula" is usually used to describe members of the family Theraphosidae, although ...

– started to become popular as exotic pets. Many tarantulas consequently became more widely known by their common names, such as Mexican redknee tarantula for '' Brachypelma hamorii''. Various societies now focus on the husbandry, care, study, and captive breeding of tarantulas, and other arachnids. They also typically produce journals or newsletters with articles and advice on these subjects. *British Tarantula Society (BTS
website
*Deutsche Arachnologische Gesellschaft (DeArGe
website
*The American Tarantula Society (ATS
website

References

External information links

International Society of Arachnology

{{Authority control Spiders and humans Subfields of zoology Subfields of arthropodology