Wanted: Sunspiders, solifugids, walzenspinnen, rooi romans, haarskeerders, jaagspinnekoppe

THE National Museum of Namibia is in urgent need of sunspiders for research purposes – as soon as possible.

The museum is currently part of a global sunspider (solifugid) project. Sunspiders are not really spiders.They are a very important animal group in Namibia, which has the highest diversity of sunspiders in the world, and many peculiar endemic species.According to current theories, Namibia is also the place from where sunspiders evolved.As part of the research project, three scientists from Germany are in Namibia to collect sunspiders for research.”But with so little known about this group, even finding them is difficult, and after days of hard work we only managed to collect five individuals,” the museum said yesterday.”We are urgently requesting any person that finds a solifugid, large or small, to catch it and bring it to the National Museum offices (old Emma Hoogenhout School, opposite the Alte Feste and next to the bank of Namibia).Please, WE NEED IT ALIVE.”The museum said it would appreciate every single individual spider, large or small, and can also arrange to have the spiders picked up.* You can contact Tharina Bird or Benson Muramba at (061) 276809/800.Sunspiders are not really spiders.They are a very important animal group in Namibia, which has the highest diversity of sunspiders in the world, and many peculiar endemic species.According to current theories, Namibia is also the place from where sunspiders evolved.As part of the research project, three scientists from Germany are in Namibia to collect sunspiders for research.”But with so little known about this group, even finding them is difficult, and after days of hard work we only managed to collect five individuals,” the museum said yesterday.”We are urgently requesting any person that finds a solifugid, large or small, to catch it and bring it to the National Museum offices (old Emma Hoogenhout School, opposite the Alte Feste and next to the bank of Namibia).Please, WE NEED IT ALIVE.”The museum said it would appreciate every single individual spider, large or small, and can also arrange to have the spiders picked up.* You can contact Tharina Bird or Benson Muramba at (061) 276809/800.