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Petra Sierwald, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator
Assistant Curator
The Field Museum of Natural History
Department of Zoology - Insects
1400 South Lake Shore Drive
Chicago, IL 60605
psierwald@fieldmuseum.org
Education:
Ph.D. (Dr. rer. nat.) in Zoology, University of Hamburg; March 1985.
M.Sc. (Staatsexamen) in Biology, Geography and Biology-Education; University of Hamburg; June 1982.
Research Interests:
My research interests focus on biogeography and systematics of millipedes and spiders. I am especially interested in the evolution of the complex genitalia in both groups and their use as characters in phylogenetic reconstruction. In millipede research I currently focus on the comparative morphology of the female genitalia throughout the Diplopoda, the biogeography and systematics of the polydesmid family Pyrgodesmidae, the Caribbean millipede fauna and the systematics of the millipede order Siphoniulida. I am also working on the development of taxonomic tools, e.g., generic and species-level catalogues and identification keys.
With regards to spiders I am continuing my long-standing interest in the comparative morphology of male and female copulatory organs, the systematic the nursery-web spiders (Pisauridae and their allies) and biogeographical analysis of an East-Gondwanian distribution of various spider and millipede taxa.
Publications:
Sierwald, P. & S. I. Golovatch. 2001. Revue of the genus Poratia (Diplopoda, Polydesmida, Pyrgodesmidae). Arthropoda Selecta, Volume 9(3): 181-192.
Shelley, Rowland, P. Sierwald & S. Golovatch. Nomenclator generum et familiarum Diplopodorum II. a list of the Genus and Family-group names in the Class Diplopoda from 1958 through 1999. Pensoft Publisher, Bulgaria
Airame, S & P. Sierwald. 2000. Hunting and feeding behavior of one Heteropoda species in lowland rainforest on Borneo (Araneae: Sparassidae). Journal of Arachnology, 28(2): 251-253.
Sierwald, P. 2000. Description of the male of Sosippus placidus, with notes on the subfamily Sosippinae (Araneae, Lycosidae). Journal of Arachnology, 28(2): 133-141.
Sierwald, P. & T. Fenzl. 1999. Argyrodes in webs of the Floridian red widow spider (Araneae: Theridiidae). Florida Entomologist, 82(2): 359-361.
Sierwald, P. 1997. Phylogenetic analysis of pisaurine nursery web spiders, with revisions of Tetragonophthalma and Perenethis) (Araneae: Lycosoidea: Pisauridae). Journal of Arachnology, 25: 361-40, 101 figs.
Goodman, S. M., P.P. Parrillo, S. James & P. Sierwald. 1996. Elevational variation in soil macrofauna invertebrates on the eastern slopes of the Réserve Naturelle Intégrale d'Andringintra, Madagascar. Fieldiana, (NS) 85: 144-152.
Sierwald, P. 1993. Revision of the spider genus Paradossenus, with notes on the family Trechaleidae and the subfamily Rhoicininae (Araneae: Lycosoidea). Review Arachnologique, 10(3): 53-74.
Sierwald, P. 1990. Morphology and homologous features in the male palpal organs in spiders, with special reference to Pisauridae (Arachnida: Araneae). Nemouria, 35; 1-70, 51 figs.
Sierwald, P. 1989. Notes on the behavior of Thalassius spinosissimus. Psyche, 95(2): 243 - 252, 5 figs.
Sierwald, P. 1989. Morphology and ontogeny of female copulatory organs in American Pisauridae, with special reference to homologous features. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology, 462: 1-24, 62 figs.
Sierwald, P. 1988. Spiders of Bermuda. Nemouria, 31: 24pp, 5 figs.
Sierwald, P. 1988. with J.A. Coddington. Functional aspects of the male palpal organ in Dolomedes tenebrosus, with notes on the mating behavior (Araneae, Pisauridae). Journal of Arachnology, 16: 262 - 265, 2 figs.
Sierwald, P. 1987. Revision der Gattung Thalassius (Arachnida: Araneae: Pisauridae). Verhandlungen des naturwissenschaftlichen Vereins zu Hamburg, (NF) 29: 51 - 142, 148 figs.
Sierwald, P. 1984. Madagassische Arten der Gattung Thalassius Simon, 1885. (Arachnida: Araneae: Pisauridae). Verhandlungen des naturwissenschaftlichen Vereins zu Hamburg, (NF) 27: 405-416, 6 figs.
Sierwald, P. 1983. Morphological criteria and the discrimination of species of the genus Thalassius Simon, 1885 (Arachnida: Araneae: Pisauridae). Verhandlungen des naturwissenschaftlichen Vereins zu Hamburg, (NF) 26: 201-209, 6 figs.
Other publications
Sierwald, P. 1988. Australian Spiders. Book review. American Arachnology, 38: 3.
Sierwald, P. 1990. Note on a technique for cleaning female copulatory organs in spiders. American Arachnology, 41: 2.
Sierwald, P. 1998. (ed.) (with Norman Platnick & Marius van der Merwe). Abstracts, XIV International Congress of Arachnology. 45 pp.
Sierwald, P and C. Maier. 1992. Amazing Spiders. Educator’s Guide. Delaware Museum of Natural History, Greenvile, Delaware.86 pp.
Sierwald, P. 1994. Educator’s Guide. Smithsonian Traveling Exhibit Service.