Spider Taxonomy: A Historical and Global Perspective

With data extracted primarily from the database of the World Spider Catalog database, we update earlier surveys and provide a more granular analysis of global trends in spider taxonomic research. It has developed exponentially during the first 25 years of the 21st century. Out of the more than 53,000 species of spiders described since 1757, a staggering total of 19,159 species (ca. 36%) were described during the last 25 years. In 59 spider families, the new species described during this period exceeded the total tallies from their respective families described during the entire 20th century. The number of new species of spiders in Asia far surpasses the number of new species in the other continental regions. Cumulatively, China leads all nations in the number of described spider species. The species described in China during the first quarter of the 21st century is 1.5 times more than the combined total described over the previous 2½ centuries. Eugène Simon, Norman Platnick, and Shu-Qiang Li top an updated list of the most productive spider taxonomists. Chinese arachnologists described 23.9% of the new spider species in the first quarter of the 21st century, underscoring their rising prominence. We discuss the driving forces behind the historical and global trends from three perspectives: differential rates of species described; contributions of the most prolific spider taxonomists; and ascendancy of China's spider taxonomists. We also highlight the importance of international collaboration.