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It may be surprising to some that there are thousands of undescribed species just sitting in museums awaiting description. One of the main reasons this problem exists is that taxonomy is undervalued and underfunded, a trend that coincides with the devaluing of studies on natural history.

Have a seat and listen to tale of twisted taxonomy from your friendly neighborhood arachnologist. This is a story about our RESURRECTION of the tiny linyphiid spider, Ceratinopsis tybeensis, known from eastern USA. #taxonomy #spiders

This mite is a walking topographical map.

This jumping spider (Colonus sp.) caught her meal for the week today!

A gorgeous boy! Dipoenoides quinquemaculata, in all his glory. From a DNR property in southern Indiana - a new distribution record for the state.

He's just a lil pinchy guy.

A spitting spider (Scytodidae) from southern Texas. These spiders spit a glue that sticks their prey to a surface. They then can safely envenomate it without harm. I like the look of this one with the black stripes on a light background. It reminds me of an old timey prisoner's uniform.

We found another long-lost species! This one is Mermessus paulus, a species that was last seen 90 years ago (1936) in southern Texas. This one was collected in the same county as the original specimen in March 2026. We also found the undescribed male, which will appear in an upcoming manuscript...

Some fairy wasps (I think?) from southern Texas in Cameron Co. at Laguna Atascosa NWR.

Momma sparassid (huntsman spider) with egg sac in southern California. I flipped a rock and there she was. Post-photographs, the rock was replaced so she can raise her little ones in peace.

It's true, after years of work, Jackson Means, myself, and the late Dr. Richard Hoffman compiled a 130-page tome of Virginia spiders in the journal, Banisteria. The journal dedicated the entire first issue to this work. We add over 140 new species records to the state to stand at 713.

@mhedin.bsky.social recognize your namesake from Arizona?

This lil spikey swampy guy has spines even on his eyes! Yikes!

A cubed flat top for this southern Alabama boy.

RE-DISCOVERY #4 Emblyna suwanea (Gertsch, 1946) (Dictynidae) was last collected by the great V. Wilton Ivie in 1943 near Sylvania, GA and hasn't been seen or collected since (82 years). We found a single male by vacuuming in the Okefenokee Swamp NWR along the Chesser Island boardwalk trail.

Oh to be a little tank living my life out in the soil.

RE-DISCOVERY #3 Scotinella pennimani Platnick and Chamé-Vázquez, 2024 (Phrurolithidae) was described just last year from specimens collected in 1967 (58 years ago). We found this lady in Okefenokee NWR on Trembling Earth Nature Trail just north of Stephen C. Foster State Park in SE Georgia.

Introduce yourself with 5 animals you've seen in the wild: [this spider has no common name] [this spider has no common name] [this spider has no common name] [this spider has no common name] [this spider has no common name]

Also featuring the incredible @mhedin.bsky.social and Kefyn Catley!

RE-DISCOVERY #2 Our trip to Okefenokee NWR has resulted in another re-discovery of a long-lost species. Ceratinopsis sutoris Bishop & Crosby 1930 was last seen in 1927 (98 years ago!) and we collected several males and females. The species has a orange-red carapace with black around the eyes.