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Dr. Gershom Levy

Curator of the Israeli National Arachnid Collection 1978 – 2009

Dr. Gershom Levy

Picture by Dr. Danny Simon, December 2006, in a field excursion near kibbutz Sede Boqer, Israel, at the 2nd annual meeting of the Israeli Arachnid Association.

Dr. Gershomm Levy (1937-2009) was the Curator of the Israeli National Arachnid Collection at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, from 1978 – until he passed away untimely at March 21st 2009. Gershom added many specimens from Israel and neighboring areas and improved and maintained the collection single-handed. Gershom’s career was devoted to studying the families of solifugids, scorpions, and spiders of Israel and the neighboring areas, but his taxonomic work had a wider regional importance. Taxonomic studies (see also Israel Journal of Zoology) of solifugids (five publications), scorpions (six publications), and spiders (38 publications) appeared with regularity over the span of some 45 years. His most recent paper, published posthumously, is the conclusion of many years of work on the gnaphosid spiders and includes a checklist of the 126 known species of the region. Over the years, Gershom described five new solifugid species, seven new scorpion species (including two new genera and a new family), and 126 new species and five new genera of spiders from the region. As a consequence of his curatorial activities and superb publications, the National Arachnid Collection at The Hebrew University has become an invaluable resource for researchers in the region and around the world.Publications in

Dr. Gershom Levy’s Honor

  • B. Condé and M. Nguyen Duy: Pénicillates d’Israel rassemblés par G. Levy. Bulletin du Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle (2e sér) 42 (6): 1251–1258, 1970 (1971) (Diplopoda).
  • Y. Lubin (Guest co-editor): Spiders of Israel: Systematics, Ecology, and Behavior. Festschrift issue. Israel Journal of Zoology 44 (2): 93–251, 1998.

Species named after Dr. Gershom Levy

  • Galeodes levyi Harvey, 2002 (Solifugae)
  • (Scorpiones) Androctonus amoreuxi levyi Fet, 1997
  • Phlegra levyi Prószyński, 1998 (Salticidae)
  • Enoplognatha gershomi Bosmans & Van Keer, 1999 (Theridiidae)
  • Aelurillus gershomi Prószyński, 2000 (Salticidae)
  • Agelescape levyi Guseinov, Marusik and Koponen, 2005 (Agelenidae)
  • Gamasomorpha gershomi Saaristo, 2007 (Oonopidae)
  • (Scorpiones) Compsobuthus levyi Kovařík, 2012
  • Halodromus gershomi Muster, 2009 (Philodromidae)
  • Anaptomecus levyi Jäger, Rheims & Labarque, 2009 (Sparassidae)
  • Echemus levyi Kovblyuk & Seyyar, 2009 (Gnaphosidae)
  • Nomisia levyi Chatzaki, 2010 (Gnaphosidae)
  • Draconarius levyi Wang, Griswold & Miller, 2010 (Agelenidae)
  • Ariadna levyi Wunderlich, 2011 (Segestriidae)
  • Levymanus gershomi Zonstein & Marusik, 2013 (Palpimanidae)
  • Plexippus gershomi Prószyński, 2017 (Salticidae)
  • At the laboratory of The Israeli National Arachnid Collection, we continue with Gershom’s will to progress the study of the Arachnids of The Land Of Israel.

Read more about Gershom’s academic life: