Anton Ausserer (5 July 184320 July 1889)Maurer, Ferdinand: ''Nachruf an Dr. Anton Ausserer.'' Programm des kk. acad. Gymnasiums in Grätz. Graz 1890 was an

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n naturalist specialising in

spider Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...

s.Bonnet, Pierre: Bibliographia aranearum, Les frères Doularoude. Toulouse 1945 His father died when he was a youth, and he and his family suffered much economic hardship, but he was supported and encouraged by

Camill Heller Camill Heller (26 September 1823 – 25 February 1917) was a zoologist and anatomist. Heller was born in Sobochleben ( Soběchleby) near Teplitz in Bohemia (now Teplice, part of the Czech Republic). He received a doctorate in medical studies in Vie ...

, professor of Zoology and Comparative Anatomy at the University of Innsbruck.

Life and career

Anton Ausserer was one of five children of a gunsmith in Bozen (

Bolzano Bolzano ( or ; german: Bozen, (formerly ); bar, Bozn; lld, Balsan or ) is the capital city of the province of South Tyrol in northern Italy. With a population of 108,245, Bolzano is also by far the largest city in South Tyrol and the third la ...

Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...

). His teachers noticed his talent at a young age, so they encouraged his father to send him to the Franciscan high school. There he had Vincenz Maria Gredler, a pioneer of zoological research in Tyrol, as his teacher. Already at this time he showed a great interest in science. At the age of 15 he became an orphan. During high school and university he had to struggle with bitter economic hardship and had to earn his living by tutoring. During this time he contracted a lung disease that was to trouble him for the rest of his life. He studied natural sciences while occupying a teaching post in

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol (state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the ...

from 1863 to 1867 and was supported there by

, professor of Zoology and Comparative Anatomy at the

University of Innsbruck The University of Innsbruck (german: Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck; la, Universitas Leopoldino Franciscea) is a public research university in Innsbruck, the capital of the Austrian federal state of Tyrol, founded on October 15, 1669. ...

. Heller inspired him to research

s. In his second year of university in 1865, Ausserer received a university award and a scholarship that made it easier for him to continue his studies. His diploma thesis in 1867, under Heller, was on the spider fauna of

. From 1868 he worked as a high school teacher in

Feldkirch Feldkirch may refer to: Places * Feldkirch, Vorarlberg, a medieval city and capital of an administrative district in Austria ** Feldkirch (district), an administrative division of Vorarlberg, Austria * Feldkirch (Hartheim), a village in the munici ...

, and later taught at the 1st State High School in

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...

. In 1869 he became secretary of the zoological section of the Natural Science Society of Innsbruck. In 1870/1871 he took leave of absence for a research semester in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. He studied with

Ludwig Karl Schmarda Ludwig Karl Schmarda (23 August 1819 – 7 April 1908) was an Austrian naturalist and traveler, born at Olmütz, Moravia. Early life and education Schmarda was born at Olmütz where he attended the Grammar School and the Philosophical Course a ...

and did research at the "k. k. zoological Hofcabinete", the forerunner of the

Natural History Museum, Vienna The Natural History Museum Vienna (german: Naturhistorisches Museum Wien) is a large natural history museum located in Vienna, Austria. It is one of the most important natural history museums worldwide. The NHM Vienna is one of the largest museum ...

. As a result, Ausserer published his pioneering work on the systematics of othognathic spiders (tarantula-like species) as well as a work on the webspinning spider '' Aculepeira ceropegia'' (1871). In 1872 he obtained his doctorate in Innsbruck. In 1875 he wrote a continuation of his work on the orthognathic spiders. From 1880 to 1881 he travelled to Sicily, and from 1886 to 1887 to Egypt. Ausserer married in 1888, but died of lung disease in

in 1889 at the age of 46; he was buried in Trautmannsdorf (Eastern Styria). Ausserer made an important contribution to

arachnology Arachnology is the scientific study of arachnids, which comprise spiders and related invertebrates such as scorpions, pseudoscorpions, and harvestmen. Those who study spiders and other arachnids are arachnologists. More narrowly, the study of sp ...

by proposing a new taxonomic classification of the spider family

Theraphosidae Tarantulas comprise a group of large and often hairy spiders of the family Theraphosidae. , 1,040 species have been identified, with 156 genera. The term "tarantula" is usually used to describe members of the family Theraphosidae, although m ...

. He described 38 new species of

tarantula Tarantulas comprise a group of large and often hairy spiders of the family Theraphosidae. , 1,040 species have been identified, with 156 genera. The term "tarantula" is usually used to describe members of the family Theraphosidae, although ...

.Norman I. Platnick: The World Spider Catalog, FAM. THERAPHOSIDAE, Version 14.0, 2000-2013, American Museum of Natural History

Selected publications

* 1867. "Die Arachniden Tirols nach ihrer horizontalen und verticalen Verbreitung, 1." ''Verhandlungen der kaiserlich-königlichen zoologisch-botanischen Gesellschaft''. Wien, 17:137–170. * 1871. "Beiträge zur Kenntniss der Arachniden-Familie der Territelariae Thorell (Mygalidae Autor)". ''Verhandlungen der kaiserlich-königlichen zoologisch-botanischen Gesellschaft''. Wien, 21:184-187. * 1875. "Zweiter Beitrag zur Kenntnis der Arachniden-Familie der Territelariae Thorell (Mygalidae Autor)". ''Verhandlungen der kaiserlich-königlichen zoologisch-botanischen Gesellschaft''. Wien, 25:125-206.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ausserer, Anton Austrian arachnologists Austrian entomologists 1843 births 1889 deaths People from Bolzano 19th-century Austrian zoologists Respiratory disease deaths in Austria Deaths from lung disease