David Hirst (arachnologist)

David B. Hirst
Known for	Research on the family Sparassidae
Scientific career
Fields	Arachnology
Institutions	South Australian Museum
Author abbrev. (zoology)	Hirst

David B. Hirst is an arachnologist previously based at the South Australian Museum in Adelaide.[1][2] He left the Museum on 22 February 2011. He has described more than 40 species and genera in the huntsman spider family, Sparassidae,[3] and was regularly called on by New Zealand authorities to identify huntsman spiders that entered their country.[4]

Hirst's work includes revision of many Sparassid genera including Delena, Holconia, Isopeda, Isopedella, Keilira, Pediana, Rhacocnemis, Thomasettia and Typostola.[5]

Hirst has been a consultant in cases where spiders were said to have been found in bottles of wine from South Australia. The finders of the spiders were from the United Kingdom. In some cases he was able to rule out the bottles as the source of the spider because the specimens presented were not found in Australia. He however found a Clubiona sac spider more likely to have been in the bottle when filled because he was able to find the species present in wine growing areas.[6]

References

1. Hirst, David B. (1992). "Revision of the Genus Isopeda Koch (Heteropodidae : Araneae) in Australia". Invertebrate Taxonomy. 6 (2). Collingwood, Victoria, Australia: CSIRO Publishing: 337–87. doi:10.1071/IT9920337. ISSN 1445-5226. OCLC 50150601.
2. Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Adelaide (2012). "Clinical Toxinology Short Course 2012" (PDF). Adelaide, Australia: University of Adelaide. p. 2. Retrieved 12 April 2012.^[permanent dead link‍]
3. Platnick, Norman I. (10 December 2011). "Fam. Sparassidae" (PDF). The World Spider Catalog, Version 12.5. New York, NY, USA: American Museum of Natural History. doi:10.5531/db.iz.0001. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
4. Hirst, David B.; Waldock, Julianne M.; Bennett, Shaun J.; Hall, Grace (September 2006). Framenau, Volker (ed.). "The Huntsman Spiders (Sparassidae) of New Zealand" (PDF). Australasian Arachnology (75). Australia: Australasian Arachnological Society: 11–13. ISSN 0811-3696. OCLC 24764624. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
5. "NMBE - World Spider Catalog". wsc.nmbe.ch. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
6. Hirst, David (June 2003). "Australasian Arachnology". Australasian Arachnology. 67: 7.