Yuri Mikhailovitch Marusik (born 13 May 1962) is a Russian

arachnologist 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 ...

Early life and education

Marusik was born in Sarny, a small town in West Ukraine, to Mikhail Adamovich, a school teacher, and Tamara Andreevna, a nurse. His interest in zoology started at an early age, from reading books about animals. Marusik started his studies at Leningrad (now

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

) State University in 1979 where he specialized in

entomology Entomology () is the science, scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such ...

under the supervision of Victor P. Tyshchenko. After his graduation in 1984, Marusik was accepted into a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

program in

Magadan Magadan ( rus, Магадан, p=məɡɐˈdan) is a port town and the administrative center of Magadan Oblast, Russia, located on the Sea of Okhotsk in Nagayev Bay (within Taui Bay) and serving as a gateway to the Kolyma region. History Maga ...

, working in the lab of Daniil I. Berman. His Ph.D. dissertation (1988) was devoted to

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoo ...

, population structure and

spatial distribution A spatial distribution in statistics is the arrangement of a phenomenon across the Earth's surface and a graphical display of such an arrangement is an important tool in geographical and environmental statistics. A graphical display of a spatial di ...

spiders 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 dive ...

in the upper reaches of the

Kolyma River The Kolyma ( rus, Колыма, p=kəlɨˈma; sah, Халыма, translit=Khalyma) is a river in northeastern Siberia, whose basin covers parts of the Sakha Republic, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, and Magadan Oblast of Russia. The Kolyma is frozen ...

, northeastern

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

Contributions to arachnology

Marusik has published over 500 scientific papers dealing with

taxonomy Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...

systematics Biological systematics is the study of the diversification of living forms, both past and present, and the relationships among living things through time. Relationships are visualized as evolutionary trees (synonyms: cladograms, phylogenetic tre ...

faunistics Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is ''funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zool ...

and the

biogeography Biogeography is the study of the distribution of species and ecosystems in geographic space and through geological time. Organisms and biological communities often vary in a regular fashion along geographic gradients of latitude, elevation, ...

of spiders and other

invertebrates Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

. He has described two subfamilies and over 50 genera and 700 species of spiders, several of them named after celebrities: '' Filistata maguirei'' and '' Pritha garfieldi'' were named after the former

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...

actors

Tobey Maguire Tobias Vincent Maguire (born June 27, 1975) is an American actor and film producer. He is best known for playing Peter Parker (Sam Raimi film series), the title character from Sam Raimi's Spider-Man in film#Sam Raimi films, ''Spider-Man'' tril ...

and

Andrew Garfield Andrew Russell Garfield (born 20 August 1983) is an English and American actor. He has received various accolades, including a Tony Award, a BAFTA TV Award and a Golden Globe Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards. ''Time'' ...

, '' Labialithus lindemanni'' was named after

Till Lindemann Till Lindemann (; born 4 January 1963) is a German singer, songwriter and poet. He is best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of Neue Deutsche Härte band Rammstein and solo project Lindemann. Rammstein has sold over 25 million records w ...

, the lead vocalist and lyricist of the band

Rammstein Rammstein (, "ramming stone") is a German Neue Deutsche Härte band formed in Berlin in 1994. The band's lineup—consisting of lead vocalist Till Lindemann, lead guitarist Richard Kruspe, rhythm guitarist Paul Landers, bassist Oliver Riedel, ...

, '' Gorbiscape gorbachevi'' was named after the Russian and Soviet politician

Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet politician who served as the 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...

, ''

Loureedia phoenixi ''Loureedia phoenixi'' is a species of spider discovered in Iran in the year 2020. The species is categorized as a velvet spider. The spider is described as reclusive. It is named after the actor Joaquin Phoenix, for a color pattern which matche ...

'' was named after the actor

Joaquin Phoenix Joaquin Rafael Phoenix (; né Bottom; born October 28, 1974) is an American actor. He is known for playing dark and unconventional characters in independent films. He has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academ ...

, and '' Loxosceles coheni'' was named after the singer-songwriter, poet and novelist

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted in ...

Selected publications

Books

* & (2011): ''Spiders (Arachnida, Aranei) of Siberia and Russian Far East''. KMK Scientific Press,

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, 344 pp. [in Russian
PDF
* & (2010): ''Arachnida and Myriapoda of the Seychelles Islands''. Siri Scientific Press, Rochdale, 435 pp. * & (2003): ''A revision of the genus'' Yllenus ''Simon, 1868 (Arachnida, Araneae, Salticidae)''. KMK Scientific Press, Moscow, 167 pp
PDF
* & (2001): ''Catalogue of the jumping spiders of northern Asia (Arachnida, Araneae, Salticidae)''. KMK Scientific Press, Moscow, 300 pp
PDF
* , & (2000): ''Spiders of Tuva, south Siberia''. Institute for Biological Problems of the North, Magadan, 253 pp
PDF

References

External links

ResearchGate profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marusik, Yuri M. Arachnologists Living people 1962 births