Anton Ausserer (5 July 184320 July 1889)Maurer, Ferdinand: ''Nachruf an Dr. Anton Ausserer.'' Programm des kk. acad. Gymnasiums in Grätz. Graz 1890 was an

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

specialising in

spider Spiders (order (biology), order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight limbs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude spider silk, silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and ran ...

s.Bonnet, Pierre: Bibliographia aranearum, Les frères Doularoude. Toulouse 1945 His father died when he was a youth, and he and his family suffered much economic hardship, but he was supported and encouraged by

Camill Heller Camill Heller (26 September 1823 – 25 February 1917) was a zoologist and anatomist. Heller was born in Sobochleben ( Soběchleby) near Teplitz in Bohemia (now Teplice, part of the Czech Republic). He received a doctorate in medical studies in V ...

, professor of Zoology and Comparative Anatomy at the University of Innsbruck.

Life and career

Anton Ausserer was one of five children of a gunsmith in Bozen (

Bolzano Bolzano ( ; ; or ) is the capital city of South Tyrol (officially the province of Bolzano), Northern Italy. With a population of 108,245, Bolzano is also by far the largest city in South Tyrol and the third largest in historical Tyrol. The ...

Tyrol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary, f ...

). His teachers noticed his talent at a young age, so they encouraged his father to send him to the Franciscan high school. There he had

Vincenz Maria Gredler Vincenz is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Vincenz Armann (1599–1649), Flemish or Dutch landscape painter * Vincenz Czerny (1842–1916), German Bohemian surgeon * Vincenz Fettmilch (died 1616), grocer and gingerbread baker w ...

, a pioneer of zoological research in Tyrol, as his teacher. Already at this time he showed a great interest in science. At the age of 15 he became an orphan. During high school and university he had to struggle with bitter economic hardship and had to earn his living by tutoring. During this time he contracted a lung disease that was to trouble him for the rest of his life. He studied natural sciences while occupying a teaching post in

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...

from 1863 to 1867 and was supported there by

, professor of Zoology and Comparative Anatomy at the

University of Innsbruck The University of Innsbruck (; ) is a public research university in Innsbruck, the capital of the Austrian federal state of Tyrol (state), Tyrol, founded on October 15, 1669. It is the largest education facility in the Austrian States of Austria, ...

. Heller inspired him to research

s. In his second year of university in 1865, Ausserer received a university award and a scholarship that made it easier for him to continue his studies. His diploma thesis in 1867, under Heller, was on the spider fauna of

. From 1868 he worked as a high school teacher in Feldkirch, and later taught at the 1st State High School in

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

. In 1869 he became secretary of the zoological section of the Natural Science Society of Innsbruck. In 1870/1871 he took leave of absence for a research semester in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. He studied with

Ludwig Karl Schmarda Ludwig Karl Schmarda (23 August 1819 – 7 April 1908) was an Austrian naturalist and traveler, born at Olmütz, Moravia. In 1853 he published a pre-Darwinian work, ''Die geographische verbreitung der thiere'', on the geographical distributions ...

and did research at the "k. k. zoological Hofcabinete", the forerunner of the

Natural History Museum, Vienna The Natural History Museum Vienna () is a large natural history museum located in Vienna, Austria. The NHM Vienna is one of the largest museums and non-university research institutions in Austria and an important center of excellence for all matt ...

. As a result, Ausserer published his pioneering work on the systematics of othognathic spiders (tarantula-like species) as well as a work on the webspinning spider ''

Aculepeira ceropegia ''Aculepeira ceropegia'', the oak spider, is an orb-weaving spider species belonging to the family Araneidae. Distribution This species has a Palearctic distribution. It is present in most of Europe.Levi, 197 The orb-weaver genera Metepeira, Kai ...

'' (1871). In 1872 he obtained his doctorate in Innsbruck. In 1875 he wrote a continuation of his work on the orthognathic spiders. From 1880 to 1881 he travelled to Sicily, and from 1886 to 1887 to Egypt. Ausserer married in 1888, but died of lung disease in

in 1889 at the age of 46; he was buried in Trautmannsdorf (Eastern Styria). Ausserer made an important contribution to

arachnology Arachnology is the science, scientific study of arachnids, which comprise spiders and related invertebrates such as scorpions, Pseudoscorpionida, pseudoscorpions, Opiliones, harvestmen, Tick, ticks, and mites. Those who study spiders and other a ...

by proposing a new taxonomic classification of the spider family

Theraphosidae Tarantulas comprise a group of large and often hairy spiders of the family Theraphosidae. , 1,100 species have been identified, with 166 genera. The term "tarantula" is usually used to describe members of the family Theraphosidae, although ...

. He described 38 new species of

tarantula Tarantulas comprise a group of large and often hairy spiders of the family Theraphosidae. , 1,100 species have been identified, with 166 genera. The term "tarantula" is usually used to describe members of the family Theraphosidae, although ...

.Norman I. Platnick: The World Spider Catalog, FAM. THERAPHOSIDAE, Version 14.0, 2000-2013, American Museum of Natural History

Selected publications

* 1867. "Die Arachniden Tirols nach ihrer horizontalen und verticalen Verbreitung, 1." ''Verhandlungen der kaiserlich-königlichen zoologisch-botanischen Gesellschaft''. Wien, 17:137–170. * 1871. "Beiträge zur Kenntniss der Arachniden-Familie der Territelariae Thorell (Mygalidae Autor)". ''Verhandlungen der kaiserlich-königlichen zoologisch-botanischen Gesellschaft''. Wien, 21:184-187. * 1875. "Zweiter Beitrag zur Kenntnis der Arachniden-Familie der Territelariae Thorell (Mygalidae Autor)". ''Verhandlungen der kaiserlich-königlichen zoologisch-botanischen Gesellschaft''. Wien, 25:125-206.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ausserer, Anton Austrian arachnologists Austrian entomologists 1843 births 1889 deaths People from Bolzano Naturalists from Austria-Hungary