Günter Schmidt (arachnologist)

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Günter Schmidt in 2010 at the age of 84.

Günter EW Schmidt (born May 10, 1926 in Lübeck ; † December 23, 2016 in Deutsch Evern ) was a German arachnologist and author of the standard work "The tarantulas".

Life

Günter Schmidt studied biology at the universities of Breslau, Rostock, Giessen and Hamburg with interruptions due to the war. After several years working at the Institute for Animal Nutrition and Laboratory Animal Breeding in Bösingfeld, he worked in the pharmaceutical industry until he retired. From his childhood he was particularly interested in spiders. Since 1955 he also dealt with rodents, especially with their nutritional physiology and pathology. In 1975 he received his doctorate from the University of Mainz with a thesis on the spider fauna of the Canary Islands. From 1986 his focus was on tarantulas (Theraphosidae), of which he has described over 60 new species . He lectured on his research results at international congresses on arachnology. During the holidays and after his retirement, he traveled to countries in Europe, Africa, Asia and America as well as the Australian continent to observe and study spiders. He was also committed to engaging students in teaching spiders.

Günter Schmidt is considered one of the fathers of arachnology in Germany. Nowadays there are only a few spider researchers who, like him, surveyed the entire field of arachnology. He was a valued point of contact with colleagues as well as with authorities, when z. B. spiders are introduced with banana imports.

Publications

Günter Schmidt's specialist and popular science publications are numerous and unusually diverse. They include over 630 works and 19 books. In addition to specialist medical publications, including a book on angina pectoris, there are articles on rodents, terrariums, fish diseases and aquarium chemistry. Most publications, however, deal with arachnids, with around 170 tarantulas alone. In many reports he has described the spider fauna of the countries he has visited. His book "Die Vogelspinnen", published in the Neue Brehm library, became a standard work. Günter Schmidt published well into old age. His last work, in which he described the new species of tarantula Bonnetina tanzeri , appeared in 2012 in the journal Arthropoda Scientia.

List of selected books:

  • Günter Schmidt: Die Vogelspinnen Westarp Wissenschaften-Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Hohenwarsleben 2003, ISBN 3-8943-2899-1 .
  • Günter Schmidt: Poisonous and dangerous arachnids , Westarp Sciences, 2000. ISBN 3-89432-405-8 .
  • Günter Schmidt: Spiders. Everything worth knowing about way of life, collecting, keeping and breeding , Albrecht Philler Verlag, Minden, 1984, ISBN 3-7907-0108-4 .
  • Rolf Harald Krause, Günter Schmidt: "Spiders are great!" Information - Theoretical basis - Practical handling of spiders - Spiders in class - Terrarium construction. Materials for teaching. SCHUBZ (Environmental Education Center of the Hanseatic City of Lüneburg), Lüneburg, no year.
  • Günter Schmidt: Hamsters, guinea pigs, mice and other rodents , 2nd edition. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 1985, ISBN 3-8001-7147-3 .

Honors

Günter Schmidt was an honorary member of the American Tarantula Society and Arachnida Switzerland . He was also a founding member and first honorary member of the German Arachnological Society e. V. In honor of Günter Schmidt, three species of tarantulas were named after him:

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Günter Schmidt obituary notice. In: Lüneburger Landeszeitung. December 24, 2016, accessed December 28, 2016 .
  2. ^ World Spider Catalog. Version 19.5. Natural History Museum Bern, online , accessed July 25, 2018
  3. ↑ On this and in the following see H.-J. Peters: Dr. Günter Schmidt - the oldest still active spider researcher in the Old World . In: Tarantulas of the World, 11th vol., No. 117, May 2006, ISSN  1431-7990 .
  4. ↑ Schmidt, G .: Bonnetina (Pachytheca) tanzeri subgen. et sp. n., a previously undescribed species of tarantula from Mexico (Araneae: Theraphosidae: Theraphosinae) . Arthropoda Scientia 2-2012: 21-28.
personal data
SURNAME Schmidt, Günter
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Schmidt, Günter EW
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German arachnologist
DATE OF BIRTH May 10, 1926
PLACE OF BIRTH Lübeck
DATE OF DEATH December 23, 2016
Place of death German Evern