Submit an article to Indago - a peer reviewed journal
Submit an article to Indago - a peer reviewed journal
Submit an article to Indago - a peer reviewed journal

Jan Andries Neethling

Museum Scientist, Arachnida Department
M.Sc in Arachnology

Appointed at the National Museum in 2015, Jan Andries Neethling is an Arachnologist in the Arachnida Department where he specializes in the taxonomy and systematics of Pseudoscorpions. His research focuses on the South African representatives of this group and specifically on taxonomic revisions and species descriptions. He is also active publically where he can be found giving talks on arachnids or scaring people with live specimens during exhibitions and open days. When not in his office or engaging in public awareness of arachnids he can often be found in the field digging, sifting through leaf litter or turning rocks in search of new pseudoscorpion species.

Jan started his studies in B.Sc Microbiology, but shifted over to Entomology after completing his degree. At the end of 2011 he obtained his Honours (cum laude) with his thesis: “Effect of moon phases on the activity patterns of trapdoor spiders, scorpions and solifugids at the Free State National Botanical Gardens”. In 2015 he obtained his Master of Science (cum laude) with his thesis: “Revision of the South African Geogarypidae (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpiones)”, which represents the first holistic taxonomic study of a South African pseudoscorpion family, taking both molecular and morphological characters into consideration.