The spider collection (Arachnida: Araneae) of the Manchester Museum: people, history, and a type catalogue
Abstract
This paper is devoted to the history of the spider collections held
at the Manchester Museum, UK. By the end of 2024, the Manchester Museum had accumulated over 172,000 spider specimens
belonging to 4255 identified and around 1130 (21%) undetermined species. The history of the Museum’s spider collections is
narrated in the form of short essays focusing on specific araneologists who have donated significant (over 1000 specimens) spider
collections. Smaller acquisitions of tens/hundreds of specimens
(130 in total) are dealt with in a separate section. A complete catalogue of the type specimens of Araneae in the Manchester
Museum (to the end of 2024) is also provided. A total of 179
spider species (746 specimens) are represented by type specimens, of which 71 species are represented by holotypes.
