About the Author

Author Norman I. Platnick is Peter J. Solomon Family Curator Emeritus of Spiders at the American Museum of Natural History where he curates the world's largest collection of spiders. A Ph.D recipient from Harvard University, Platnick has described over 1,800 species of spiders, making him the second most prolific arachnologist in history. He originated the World Spider Catalog; a fully accessible database of the 45,000 species, a resource that is unmatched for any other group of organisms. Platnick is recognized as a world leader in spider taxonomy. Expert contributors include: Gustavo Hormiga, Professor of Biology at George Washington University; Peter Jager, Head of Arachnology at the Senckenberg Research Institute; Rudy Jocque, Head of Invertebrates at the Royal Museum for Central Africa; Martin J. Ramirez, CONICET; and Robert Raven, Senior Curator at Queensland Museum.