Christoph Hörweg

• MSc
• Researcher at Naturhistorisches Museum Wien

The snake-back spider Segestria senoculata is the Spider of the Year 2025-lurking under tree bark and in rock crevices. Here, the European Spider of the Year 2025, Segestria senoculata (Linnaeus, 1758), is presented. Some taxonomic background is given and the appearance and characteristics (e.g. eco logy, habitat, phenology) are briefly described....

Morphological anomalies in theraphosid spiders have received increased attention and review in the last four years (Gabriel & Sherwood 2020; Sherwood et al. 2021; Sherwood & Gabriel2023), bringing the total number of published records to around twenty. To date, anomalies have been reported in the eyes, legs, abdominal patterning, male palpal bulb,...

An incongruence in palpal bulb and spermathecal morphologies between groupings of species of the genus Hapalopus Ausserer, 1875 has persisted for some time. We redefine Hapalopus based on examination of the holotype male of the type species, Hapalopus formosus Ausserer, 1875, housed in the Naturhistorisches Museum Wien. Three new species of Hapalop...

Here, the European Spider of the Year and the Cave Animal of the Year 2024, Nesticus cellulanus (Clerck, 1757), is presented. The appearance and characteristics (e.g. ecology, habitat, phenology) are briefly described. The decisive criteria for the choice is given.

Examples of the predator-prey-relationship between spiders and dragonflies (Araneae: Araneidae, Tetragnathidae; Odonata: Calopterygidae, Coenagrionidae, Libellulidae). - In this paper, the following interactions between spiders as predators and Odonata as prey are documented: Larinioides sclopetarius vs. Calopteryx virgo, Larinioides cornutus vs. O...

Sarcoptes scabiei (Acari: Sarcoptidae) is a globally distributed parasitic mite species, which causes mange in a broad spectrum of domestic and wild mammals. In the present study, we report a case of chronic S. scabiei infestation in a captive lowland tapir (Tapirus terrestris) held in a multi-species exhibit at Vienna Zoo. The adult male showed cl...

Pseudoscorpions have a sparse fossil record although they are among the oldest terrestrial lineages with origins extending to the Devonian (ca. 390 Ma). Amongst the 25 extant families of pseudoscorpions, only 14 are known from fossils, most of which are preserved in European ambers from the Eocene. Fossil pseudoscorpions from the Cretaceous of Euro...

The Nurse’s thorn finger was elected European Spider of the Year 2023 by 84 arachnologists from 27 European countries. The European and Belgian situation of the species are addressed.

Palaeoparasitological studies can provide valuable information on the emergence, distribution, and elimination of parasites during a particular time in the past. In the prehistoric salt mines of Hallstatt, located in the Austrian Alps, human faeces have been conserved in salt. The aim of this study was to recover ancient DNA of intestinal parasites...

We designed and tested species-specific PCR primers to detect Trichobilharzia species via environmental DNA (eDNA) barcoding in selected Austrian water bodies. Tests were performed with eDNA samples from the field as well as with artificial samples from the lab, where snails releasing cercariae were kept in aquariums. From two localities, Trichobil...

Alpiscorpius liburnicus sp. n. is described from Krk Island, Croatia, as the first cave dwelling scorpion species in the genus. Clear differences from the genetically closest epigean species were found in metasomal morphometry. Its delineation is supported phylogenetically based on mitochondrial (COI and 16S rRNA) and nuclear (ITS1) markers. In the...

The pholcid spider Spermophora kerinci Huber, 2005 and the oonopid / goblin spider Triaeris stenaspis Simon 1892 are recorded from Austria for the first time. Both species were each collected with a single female specimen in tropical greenhouses in Vienna. Spermophora kerinci was found in a flower pot in the tropical house of the Haus des Meeres an...

Freshwater molluscs are hosts for diverse metazoan symbionts. However, apart from the digenean helminths, symbionts of molluscs are underreported worldwide. Therefore, this study focused on the diversity of oligochaetes, leeches, mites, insect larvae and nematodes associated with gastropods and bivalves from Lake Victoria, East Africa. Overall, 1,6...

The reason for this study was to compare the morphology of mites from three Japanese samples with topotypes from the Nalepa collection, in order to correctly identify them. With this purpose eriophyoid specimens were recovered from five vials of the Nalepa mite collection in the Natural History Museum of Vienna. We identified seven species and a ne...

De Trommelwolfspin, Hygrolycosa rubrofasciata (Ohlert, 1865), behoort tot de familie van de wolfspinnen (Lycosidae). Wereldwijd telt die familie 2440 soorten. In Europa zijn 352 soorten aangetroffen, waarvan 47 ook in België. Het genus Hygrolycosa bevat slechts 5 soorten wereldwijd en twee in Europa, waarvan Hygrolycosa strandi enkel in Griekenland...

The systematics and taxonomy of the scorpion family Euscorpiidae are still unresolved, and, within it, the eastern Adriatic scorpiofauna is largely unknown and under-researched. Based on two mitochondrial sequences (COI and 16S rRNA) and one nuclear marker sequence (ITS1), we put 107 newly analyzed samples originating from the Alps, the Eastern Adr...

Several species of avian schistosomes are known to cause dermatitis in humans worldwide. In Europe, this applies above all to species of the genus Trichobilharzia. For Austria, a lot of data are available on cercarial dermatitis and on the occurrence of Trichobilharzia, yet species identification of trematodes in most cases is doubtful due to the c...

More findings of the endangered jumping spider Pellenes nigrociliatus (Simon, 1875) from Lower Austria and Burgenland (Araneae: Salticidae). As a result of excursions to dry grasslands from 2018 to 2020 seven new records of the endangered jumping spider (Salticidae) Pellenes nigrociliatus from Lower Austria and Burgenland are reported. With Observ...

Avian schistosomes are of medical and veterinary importance as they are responsible for the annually occurring cercarial dermatitis outbreaks. For Austria, so far, only Trichobilharzia szidati Neuhaus 1952 was confirmed on species level as causative agent of cercarial dermatitis. Here we present the first record of Trichobilharzia franki Müller & K...

Avian schistosomes, cercarial dermatitis, molecular genetic identifiction, Trichobilharzia szidati, Bilharziella polonica

Die Südrussische Tarantel präsentierte sich in der zweiten Hälfte des 20. Jhdts. als eine vom Aussterben bedrohte, in Österreich nur im burgenländischen Seewinkel mit seinen speziellen Habitatbedingungen vorkommende Art. Mit dem neuen Jahrhundert nehmen Fundmeldungen zu; insbesondere aufgrund ihrer für Spinnen bemerkenswerten Körpergröße erweckt si...

Gerande oeverspin, Dolomedes fimbriatus, behoort tot de familie van de kraamwebspinnen (Pisauridae), die wereldwijd 356 soorten telt. In Europa leven 7 soorten, waaronder twee oeverspinnen van het geslacht Dolomedes: de Gerande oeverspin (D. fimbriatus) en de Grote oeverspin (D. plantarius).

Horst Aspöck and Raphidia ulrikae in the rock face: Congratulations from 36 zoologists to Univ.-Prof. Dr. Horst Aspöck on the occasion of his 80 th birthday. - Entomologica Austriaca, 27: 421-448. --- Das Opus eines Wissenschaftlers zu umreißen, dessen ungestüme Neugierde, die Natur zu erkunden bereits in der Gymnasialzeit mit 13 Jahren begann und...

The "scorpion of Krems"-status of the northernmost outpost population of Euscorpius tergestinus. In Krems (Low-er Austria) there is a, since the 19 th century, well-known outpost population of the Triestino Scorpion (Euscorpius tergestinus). In Austria E. tergestinus is threatened with extinction. There are no recent data available about distributi...

Schnecken dienen unterschiedlichen parasitischen Würmern (Helminthen) als Zwischenwirte. Besonders hervorzuheben sind Digenea (digene Trematoden, Saugwürmer), die obligatorisch eine Schnecke oder Muschel als ersten Zwischenwirt brauchen. Exemplarisch sind einige dieser faszinierenden Würmer und ihrer komplexen Lebenszyklen dargestellt, mit Hauptaug...

Partizipative Erforschung des "Kremser" Skorpions (Euscorpius tergestinus) mit SchülerInnen Der in NÖ vom Aussterben bedrohte Triestiner Skorpion (Euscorpius tergestinus) existiert als Archäozoon in Krems und bildet einen isolierten nördöstlichen Vorposten des Verbreitungsgebietes. Derzeit gibt es für Wissenschaft und Naturschutz keine gesicherten...

The European spiders of the year 2017, Nuctenea umbratica (Clerck, 1757), and 2018, Steatoda bipunctata (Linnaeus, 1758), are presented. Both species were originally bark-dwellers, but became more and more synanthropic. Their appearance and characteristics (e.g., ecology, habitat, phenology) are briefly described. The modality of the voting is give...

Supplementary descriptions of three cecidophyine species based on topotype specimens recovered from vials from the Nalepa collection kept in the Natural History Museum (Vienna, Austria) are given: Cecidophyes galii (Karpelles 1884) from Asperula aparine M. Bieb. and Galium mollugo L. (Rubiaceae), Chrecidus ruebsaameni (Nalepa 1895) com. nov. (trans...

Dr. Jürgen Gruber lenkte über Jahrzehnte die Arachnologie an der 3. Zoologischen Abteilung des Naturhistorischen Museums in Wien. Gemeinsam mit Konrad Thaler (Innsbruck) und Friedrich Barth (Wien) bildeten sie das Triumvirat an hauptberuflichen Arachnologen (excl. Acarologen) in Österreich. Auch die Pensionierung vor nunmehr 15 Jahren konnte Gruber...

Whip spiders (Amblypygi) are a neglected arachnid order and have hardly changed morphologically in 300 million years. What is known about their life history and behaviour reveals complex courtship and mating rituals. Despite the deep evolutionary timescale, global distribution, fascinating life history and behaviour, little progress on their system...

The large American liver fluke, Fascioloides magna, is an economically relevant parasite of both domestic and wild ungulates. F. magna was repeatedly introduced into Europe, for the first time already in the 19th century. In Austria, a stable population of F. magna has established in the Danube floodplain forests southeast of Vienna. The aim of thi...

Redescriptions of Neobisium (Neobisium) polonicum Rafalski, 1937, N. (N.) bosnicum Beier, 1939 and N. (N.) bosnicum herzegovinense Beier, 1939 are given, accompanied with new illustrations of the most important morphological characters. N. (N.) bosnicum herzegovinense Beier, 1939 is elevated to species rank as Neobisium (N.) herzegovinense, Beier,...

In den Jahren 2013–2016 wurden zahlreiche Trockenrasen im Gebiet des Wienerwaldes und der Voralpen in Niederösterreich begangen. Dabei konnte an mehreren Orten die vom Aussterben bedrohte Springspinne Pellenes nigrociliatus nachgewiesen werden, von der im Gebiet zuvor keine aktuellen Funde bekannt waren, wie eine Übersicht der bisher veröffentlicht...

Cyclosa conica (Araneae: Araneidae) is the European spider of the year 2016. The European spider of the year 2016, Cyclosa conica (Pallas, 1772), is presented. Its appearance and characteristics (e.g., ecology, habitat, phenology) are briefly described. The modality of the voting is given as well as numerous links to the supporting societies and to...

Alfred Nalepa (19.XII.1856–11.XII.1929), an Austrian acarologist, described about 460 eriophyoid species. He reported new taxa in short communications usually published in “Anzeiger der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften in Wien” and later prepared detailed descriptions for separate publication. For most Nalepan species the date of the first...

Die europäische Spinne des Jahres 2015, Anyphaena accentuata (Walckenaer, 1802), wird vorgestellt. Erstmals ist es ein Vertreter der Familie der Zartspinnen. Ihre Merkmale und Eigenschaften (z.B. Ökologie, Lebensraum, Phänologie) werden kurz beschrieben. Der Wahlmodus, die beteiligten Länder und zahlreiche Links zu den unterstützenden Gesellschafte...

A new species of the whip spider genus Sarax Simon, 1892 from Cebu Island in the Philippines is described: Sarax huberi sp. nov. With the description of this species, the diversity of the genus is increased to three species in the Philippines. Some additional data on their natural environment and their specific habitat are presented and compared wi...

The dysderids of Albania from the collections of the Museum of Natural Sciences in Tirana and the Museum of Natural History in Vienna are reviewed. The results showed four new species of dysderids for Albania: Dasumia laevigata, which is newly recorded for the Balkan Peninsula, Dysdera enguriensis, Dysdera longirostris and Harpactea doblikae. Sever...

Pseudoscorpions represent the fourth largest arachnid order. They have adapted to almost all terrestrial habitats and can be found all over the world (except Antarctica). The distribution and diversity of these small predators are apparently strongly affected by abiotic factors (such as temperature, humidity, altitude), but still there is only limi...

Von April 2012 bis Mai 2013 wurden die Pseudoskorpione an 33 Punkten in Wäldern der Kernzonen (KZO) und an 17 Punkten in Wirtschaftswäldern (WW) des Biosphärenparks Wienerwald (BPWW) erhoben. Die 50 Standorte wurden einmal im Frühjahr und einmal im Herbst mit vier unterschiedlichen Methoden beprobt. Dabei wurden sechs Arten aus drei Familien mit 30...

Introduction: The Wienerwald biosphere reserve management commissioned a biodiversity monitoring programme which aimed (1) to survey and make an inventory of the species richness for selected groups of organisms and (2) to compare the biodiversity between core area forests and managed forests. Material & Methods: Three arachnid orders – harvestmen...

Abstract. The common hammock-weaver, Linyphia triangularis (Araneae: Linyphiidae), European spider of the year 2014. The European spider of the year 2014, Linyphia triangularis (Clerck, 1757), is presented. For the first time it is a linyphiid spider, a hammock-weaver. Its characteristics (e.g., ecology, habitat, web, phenology) are briefly describ...

The giant liver fluke Fascioloides magna, an invasive species originating from North America, was recorded in Austria in the wild for the first time in 2000. Since then, various data concerning the epidemiology in snail intermediate hosts and cervid final hosts have been reported. Galba truncatula acts as snail intermediate host, and red deer, roe...

Vienna was the first city on the European continent where the cowpox vaccination was applied in 1799, shortly after Jenner's (1798) publication of his encouraging results in England. Nevertheless, substantial denial and distrust was evident among doctors and patients in Europe as well, particularly in Austria. The medical doctor Johann Gottfried Br...

We present data and remarks on the history and contents of the whip spider collection housed in the Natural History Museum of Vienna, Austria. The collection comprises a total of 167 specimens from 4 families, 10 genera and 27 species. It includes types of four species: Charinus ioanniticus (Kritscher, 1959), Damon brachialis Weygoldt, 1999, Phrynu...

During field work on stream dwelling water mites in the Gesäuse National Park (Austria, Styria), populations of several rare or uncompletely known water mite species of the genus Atractides were recorded. Redescriptions and notes on morphological variability are given for A. trapeziformis Schwoerbel, 1961, described from the Black Forest (SW German...

European Spider of the Year 2013

The manuscript name Chelifer longimanus Kollar, 1848, most often cited as Obisium longimanum Kollar, was first introduced in a note by Kollar (1848) that has been overlooked in the taxonomic literature on pseudoscorpions. No description or indication has been associated with this name, which is therefore a nomen nudum. It corre-sponds to the valid...

Research into tick-borne diseases implies vector sampling and the detection and identification of microbial pathogens. Ticks were collected simultaneously from dogs that had been exposed to tick bites and by flagging the ground in the area in which the dogs had been exposed. In total, 200 ticks were sampled, of which 104 came from dogs and 96 were...

During the past decade, Fascioloides magna, the large American liver fluke, has spread within free-living deer in wetlands of the Danube in Lower Austria. The aim of this study was to determine the current infection rates with F. magna and other digenean parasites in the intermediate host snail Galba truncatula from risk areas in Lower Austria. A t...

In a collaboration involving cave biologists and spider researchers, the large cave spider (Meta menardi) was elected both as cave animal of the year and European spider of the year for 2012. This spider species is geographically widely distributed throughout the Palaearctic region. Because of its large size it is one of the most conspicuous underg...

European Spider of the Year 2011

Zecken sind regelmäßig Außenparasiten von Landschildkröten und spielen eine bedeutsame Rolle als Überträger von Viren, Bakterien und Protozoen. Zum Zeckenbefall von Testudo graeca LINNAEUS, 1758 gibt es nur wenige in situ Untersuchungen, weshalb während einer feldherpetologischen Exkursion nach Marokko im April/Mai 2010 Zeckenfunde an Landschildkrö...

Fascioloides magna is a digenean parasite of various wild ruminants. It was originally introduced to Europe from North America in the 19th century and first recorded in the wild in Austria in 2000 at Fischamend, southeast of Vienna. Later, several cases were detected in the Danube backwater region between Vienna and Bratislava. The lymnaeid snail G...

The term miasma was coined by Hippocrates of Kos. He introduced it to describe dangerous fumes from the ground that are transported by winds and can cause serious illnesses. Up until the late 19th century, miasmas from swamps were blamed for giving rise to and spreading so-called intermittent fever, cold fever, swamp fever or malaria. It was not un...

Zusammenfassung: Die erste Checkliste der Spinnen Wiens auf der Basis einer Auswertung der arachnologischen Literatur zwischen 1781 und 2008 wird präsentiert. Nur Nachweise aus Gebieten und Fundorten, die sich zweifelsfrei innerhalb der heutigen Stadtgrenzen befinden, wurden berücksichtigt. In den insgesamt 47 Publikationen sind 412 Spinnenarten in...

The effect of scrub invasion and rank vegetation on epigeic (= ground-living) spiders in dry meadows in the National Park Donau-Auen in Vienna (Austria) was investigated. The dry meadows are xeric alluvial biotopes located on gravel ground and characterised by flower-rich vegetation. The study was carried out at 50 randomly selected plots in the ar...

European Spider of the Year 2010

Egg of a whipworm extracted from human excrement from the prehistoric mine (length 0.05 mm) Roundworm eggs found in human excrement (length 0.06 mm) Roundworm specimen 100 Transdisciplinary research Prehistoric excrements-humans and parasites Like all humans living before and after them, people of the Hallstatt period were infected with parasites....

Occurrences of Cercarial Dermatitis in early 2003 make us creating a homepage to provide information for the people on the one hand, and to get data of persons concerned on the other hand. Main aim was the documentation of the occurrences to get an idea on possible locations for further investigations. Therefore we created a questionnaire and asked...

Cercarial dermatitis is a worldwide occurring skin disease characterized by itching and skin papulation. It is caused by cercariae of the fluke family Schistosomatidae. In the tropics and subtropics species of the genus Schistosoma can cause severe diseases of man. However, several genera (e.g. Trichobilharzia, Bilharziella) of medical significance...