Spider researcher calls for Danish names for all native spider species

Only one in three of Denmark’s approximately 600 spider species has a Danish name, and a leading spider researcher wants to change that, according to DR.

Frederik Leck Fischer, one of Denmark’s foremost spider researchers, is working with the nature partnership “Vores Vilde Natur” this week to raise awareness of Danish spiders and help the public get better acquainted with the eight-legged creatures.

“When animals don’t have a name, it distances most people from them. It’s hard to go and read about a spider if you don’t have a name to look up. And let’s be honest, scientific names are not for laypeople,” said Fischer.

He argues that those with specialist knowledge have a responsibility to make that knowledge accessible to ordinary people.

Rare Bornholm spider among those without a Danish name

One example of a species still lacking a Danish name is Heliophanus auratus, a small black spider with a green-shimmering abdomen found only on the island of Bornholm. Fischer recently visited the island to record and photograph the species, and he proposes it should be named “Klippesortspringer,” meaning “cliff black-jumper” in English.

“It is the only one of the four Danish black jumping spiders that lives on cliffs, and therefore only on Bornholm. Klippesortspringer hits the mark precisely, because it describes the spider and at the same time distinguishes it from all other black jumping spiders, since they are not found in the same place,” Fischer said.

Fischer sits on a scientific committee currently assigning Danish names to animal species living in Denmark. The work has already resulted in around 30 spider species receiving Danish names in recent months, including the Lyngløbeedderkop (Rhysodromus histrio), the Steppe-rudeedderkop (Thanatus arenarius), which is found only at Raghammer on Bornholm, and the Sivbøjersækspinder (Clubiona stagnatilis).

“Part of the task of giving spiders Danish names is to look at how they appear and where they live, so it is clear how they differ from their closest relatives. That way the name can also serve as a kind of memory aid,” Fischer said.