From Backyard Bugs to Arachnid Expert: A Life Dedicated to Spiders

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‘This story tells the journey of an arachnologist Dr Alireza Zamani, whose passion for spiders began in childhood and led him to a career dedicated to their study. He shares the challenges and rewards of his field, from the thrill of discovering new species to the lack of financial support for taxonomic research. The story also provides insights into the fascinating world of arachnids, explaining their classification and how to identify different spider species.’

Background

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I was born in Tehran, Iran. From a young age, I have been fascinated by the natural world. Although our apartment was in the city where no proper wildlife could be observed, I still spent most of my childhood collecting and rearing various species of arthropods I found in our backyard. I would then try to identify them using the few and general resources available to me at the time, all of which were in English and on the faunas of America and Europe, and thus not particularly useful. Of all the critters I collected, spiders and their diversity in size, patterns, and lifestyles fascinated me the most.

Among all the spiders I collected during that time, one in particular had the greatest impact on my future professional life. It was a species of the genus Loxosceles, a group of highly venomous spiders commonly known as “recluse spiders” that I knew of even then. After conducting extensive research online and consulting with Iranian zoologists, it became clear that no species of recluse spiders had been recorded in Iran at that time. While this discovery excited me, I was unable to identify the exact species back then, so I simply preserved the specimen and stored it in my closet.

Photo by Dr Alireza Zamani - *Loureedia phoenixi*

Several years later, during high school, my biology teacher encouraged me to pursue a degree in Animal Biology at the University of Tehran, which I did. In the early weeks of my university studies, I used the laboratory equipment to finally identify the spider at the species level. I published the results in a scientific article and presented my findings at a congress of arachnology. These further motivated me to pursue my passion for spiders professionally.

It was also during this time that I began writing my book, Field Guide to the Spiders and Scorpions of Iran, the first field guide dedicated to the arachnids of the Middle East. I hoped this book would serve as a valuable resource for young spider aficionados, providing them with a tool in their native language to support them at the start of their journey—something I personally wished had existed when I was a child.

Photo of *Field Guide to the Spiders and Scorpions of Iran*

You hold a PhD in the field of Arachnology, for those who are unsure of what exactly that is, could you please explain.

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Arachnology is a branch of zoology focused on the study of arachnids, a diverse group of invertebrates with a rich evolutionary history spanning over 400 million years and currently comprising more than 110,000 species worldwide. While many people associate the term “arachnid” only with spiders, this group is far more diverse and includes not only spiders, but also ticks, mites, scorpions, pseudoscorpions, harvestmen, and several lesser-known groups.

Photo by Dr Alireza Zamani - *Phrynichus persicus*

Technically, my PhD is in biodiversity research; no universities offer degrees specifically in arachnology. Most arachnologists typically major in evolutionary biology, systematics, behavioural ecology, physiology, or related fields, and use spiders or other arachnids as the focus or model of their research.

I personally specialise in the systematics and biogeography of spiders, with a focus on the faunas of the Caucasus, Middle East, and Central Asia. Throughout my career, I have described and named over 200 arachnid species from countries across South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. This research contributes to our understanding of arachnid diversity, as well as their geographical distribution patterns and evolutionary relationships.

Photo by Hanna Oksanen - Science Days at the University of Turku, 2022.

As an arachnologist, what does your day-to-day usually consist of?

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If I am not in the field looking for spiders, a significant part of my day-to-day work typically involves studying alcohol-preserved specimens, and identifying, photographing, and describing them for scientific documentation and publication. Nearly every day, I also handle editorial tasks for journals where I am a subject editor, and I peer-review manuscripts from other spider researchers. Like many arachnologists, I keep live spiders at home, which require some weekly care and maintenance. I also devote time to responding to public or media inquiries I receive through my website and social media accounts. Occasionally, I teach courses, supervise students, and give public talks.

Photo by Mikko Jokinen - Doctoral dissertation defense at the University of Turku, 2023.

What are some of the biggest challenges and rewards of being an arachnologist?

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The biggest challenge is perhaps the lack of financial support and the shortage of permanent positions in academia—not just for arachnologists, but for taxonomists in general. As a result, many researchers have no choice but to either conduct their work in their free time or leave the field altogether, which leads to a decline in the number of active taxonomists, which is very unfortunate. Taxonomy is important not only as a fundamental science for all organismic research, but also because we are currently facing the largest biodiversity loss in Earth's history, and more experts are needed to discover and describe the vast number of unknown species before they are lost forever.

Arachnological collection of the University of Turku. Photo Jori Liimatainen.

As for the rewards, the thrill of discovery and the opportunity to observe and experience something that may have never been seen or experienced before you are always present. If you're an arachnologist working in taxonomy, you will inevitably come across species new to science that you will get to name! Additionally, you get to travel to interesting and often remote parts of the world, places that most people may never have the chance to visit. You also become part of a friendly and supportive community of wonderful scientists.

You must have worked around some fairly poisonous spiders in your time. How do you protect yourself adequately when dealing with particularly poisonous spiders?

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First of all, biologists usually avoid using the term "poisonous" for spiders; the correct term is "venomous." Nearly all spiders have venom glands, so technically, almost all of them are venomous. However, envenomations from only a handful of genera and around 300 known species are medically significant. This is quite minor compared to the over 51,000 known species of spiders!

Photo by Amir Hossein Aghaei - *Spariolenus khoozestanus* in southwestern Iran, 2018.

Among the more venomous species, I have worked with and occasionally kept various species of widows and recluse and six-eyed sand spiders. As long as they're housed in secure enclosures and you avoid touching them, simply observing and admiring them in a terrarium is perfectly safe. Most spiders are reluctant to bite humans unless they feel threatened and have no means of escape. I've handled live spiders almost daily for many years and have been bitten only a handful of times, for which I take full responsibility!

What is your favourite spider and why?

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This is a question many people have asked me over the years, and one I couldn’t answer until recently. My favourite species is the Persian gold tarantula, Chaetopelma persianum, a stunning spider from northwestern Iran that me and my colleague Rick West described and named last year.

I had long hoped that a tarantula from this particular group would be found in that region, though despite several expeditions over the years, we hadn’t been able to locate any individuals. This led me to the disheartening conclusion that perhaps they didn’t occur in Iran after all.

Things changed when a local naturalist accidentally stumbled upon a wandering male in the mountains of Mahabad, photographed it, and posted it in a local social media group for exotic pets. Fortunately, someone forwarded the image to me. Since I was in Finland at the time, I asked my friend Amir Hossein Aghaei to travel to the area to search for more specimens. Fortunately, he found a female, which we used to describe and name the species. Later, I was able to visit the region myself to study their behaviour and lifestyle in their natural habitat.

Photo by Kari Kaunisto - *Chaetopelma persianum*

Are there any key features on a spider that can indicate whether or not it's potentially venomous to humans?

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Not really. The few genera that are medically important belong to different families with different features and geographic distributions. These primarily include funnel-web spiders [genera Atrax and Hadronyche from Australia], wandering spiders [genus Phoneutria from South America], widows [genus Latrodectus; found worldwide], recluse spiders [genus Loxosceles; also worldwide], and six-eyed sand spiders [genera Hexophthalma from southern Africa and Sicarius from South America]. Many widow spiders exhibit “warning colorations,” and funnel-web and wandering spiders often display a threat posture when provoked, which helps them deter many intruders.

Photo by Dr Alireza Zamani - *Lycosa aragogi*

In contrast, recluse and six-eyed sand spiders, all belonging to the family Sicariidae, have more cryptic lifestyles and rarely bite humans, even those living in close proximity to them, such as certain species of Loxosceles that inhabit human dwellings.

Can you tell us the difference between spiders, scorpions, and ticks? How are they classified within the arachnid family?

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Almost all arachnids share several key features, including eight legs, a pair of chelicerae used for feeding and defence, and a pair of pedipalps used for feeding or reproductive functions. Their bodies are composed of two parts: the cephalothorax and the abdomen. However, the separation between these two regions is not always distinct across all arachnid groups. In spiders, the cephalothorax and abdomen are clearly distinguishable and connected by a narrow, stalk-like “waist,” while in groups like harvestmen and mites, the two body parts are fused.

Photo by Dr Alireza Zamani - *Lycosa macrophthalma*

Spiders also possess unique features of spinnerets for producing silk and a specialised organ on the male pedipalp for transferring sperm to the female. Ticks have mouthparts that are highly modified and adapted for penetrating the skin of their hosts. Scorpions are easily recognized by their five-segmented “tail,” which ends in a telson consisting of a venom bulb and stinger.

Photo By Parham Beyhaghi - *Selenops radiatus* in Sistan & Baluchistan, southeastern Iran, 2018.

When identifying different species of spiders, what are some of the key morphological features to look for?

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Basic features like the arrangement and number of eyes, the position of the chelicerae, and the form of the spinnerets are often useful for identifying spiders at the family level. However, to identify them further to the genus and species levels, the most important characteristics are the female genitalia and the male copulatory organs on the pedipalp. The shape of these structures is unique in each species and generally shows little variation, making them highly useful characters in spider taxonomy.

Photo By Motahareh Hakiminejad - Mazandaran, northern Iran, 2017.

If you had not studied to become an Arachnologist, what do you suppose you might have done otherwise?

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That's a difficult one to answer! I can't imagine another profession that would be nearly as exhilarating to me as arachnology. Perhaps I might have become a malacologist. I find squids and octopi utterly fascinating.