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Department:
Evolutionary Morphology

I am the scientific head of the arachnid, myriapod and stem-group arthropod collection. My main research interests are fossil arachnids and their relatives, as well as their comparative anatomy.

Vita

1988-1991, B.Sc. (Hons.) Special Studies Zoology, The University of Leeds, UK 1991-1994, Ph.D. in Earth Sciences, The University of Manchester, UK 1994-1997, postdoctoral research, The University of Manchester, UK since 1997, curator at the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin

Further information

Awards and Prizes Wynne-Owen Prize of the University of Leeds (best final year project) Bonnet award (for services to the community) of the International Society of Arachnology Memberships Secretary of the International Society of Arachnology <https://arachnology.org/home> Membership Secretary of the European Society of Arachnology <https://www.european-arachnology.org/esa/> Editorships Editorial board member of Arachnology Letters <https://arages.de/en/journal/arachnology-letters>

Publications

Bartel, C., Dunlop, J.A., Giribet, G. (2023). An unexpected diversity of Cyphophthalmi (Arachnida: Opiliones) in Upper Cretaceous Burmese amber. Zootaxa, 5296(3), 421-445. DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5296.3.6

Chitimia-Dobler, L., Pfeffer, T., Würzinger, F., Handschuh, S., Dunlop, J.A. (2023). New larval records of the extinct hard tick Compluriscutula vetulum (Arachnida: Ixodida) from Burmese amber, with notes on its morphology. Palaeoworld, 33(5), 1327-1335. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palwor.2023.10.002

Bisong, P.T., Dunlop, J., Madruga, C. (2023). Mammalian type material from Cameroon in the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin. Zoosystematics and Evolution, 99(2), 503-517. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zse.99.110878Open Access

Wang, H., Lei, X.J., Luo, C.H., Dunlop, J.A. (2023). First jumping spider (Araneae: Salticidae) from mid-Miocene Zhangpu amber. Palaeoworld, 32(4), 716-720. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palwor.2022.06.002

Bicknell, R.D.C., Dunlop, J., Young, A., Lauer, B., Lauer, R., McCoy, V.E. (2025). Unique, dimple-like exoskeletal structures suggest syn-vivo infestations in Late Carboniferous horseshoe crabs. Biology Letters, 21(12), 20250565. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2025.0565

Sherwood, D., Dunlop, J., Sharp, A. (2024). On the identity of Opopaea euphorbicola Strand, 1909 and first records of three other non-native goblin spiders from Ascension Island (Araneae: Oonopidae). Zootaxa, 5437(1), 125-130. DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5437.1.9

Chitimia-Dobler, L., Handschuh, S., Dunlop, J.A., Pienaar, R., Mans, B.J. (2024). Nuttalliellidae in Burmese amber: implications for tick evolution. Parasitology, 151(9), 891-907. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0031182024000477Open Access

Bartel, C., Dunlop, J.A., Sharma, P.P., Selden, P.A., Tarasov, P.E., Ren, D., Shih, C. (2023). Four new Laniatorean harvestmen (Arachnida: Opiliones) from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. Palaeoworld, 32(1), 124-135. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palwor.2022.06.006

Knecht, R.J., Benner, J.S., Dunlop, J.A., Renczkowski, M.D. (2023). The largest Palaeozoic whip scorpion and the smallest (Arachnida: Uropygi: Thelyphonida); a new species and a new ichnospecies from the Carboniferous of New England, USA. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 200(3), 690-704. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlad088

Dunlop, J.A., Dernov, V.S. (2023). The first trigonotarbid arachnid from Ukraine. Acta Geologica Polonica, 181-187. DOI: https://doi.org/10.24425/agp.2022.143600Open Access

Garwood, R.J., Dunlop, J.A. (2023). X-ray microtomography of the late Carboniferous whip scorpions (Arachnida, Thelyphonida) Geralinura britannica and Proschizomus petrunkevitchi. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, 21(1), 2180450. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14772019.2023.2180450Open Access

Bartel, C., Dunlop, J.A., Wedmann, S. (2024). Iridescent harvestmen (Arachnida: Opiliones: Sclerosomatidae) from the Eocene of Messel, Germany. Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments, 104(4), 963-975. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12549-024-00607-4Open Access

Wu, Z., Dunlop, J., Klimov, P., Mai, H., Peng, A., Liu, Y. (2025). A new whip scorpion (Arachnida: Thelyphonida) with a phoretic mite (Acariformes: Trochometridiidae) from Mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber. BMC Ecology and Evolution, 25. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-025-02392-wOpen Access

Santos, A.A., Dunlop, J.A., Hernández-Orúe, A., Selden, P.A., Diez, J.B., McLoughlin, S. (2025). Trigonotarbids (Arachnida) hidden in plant debris from a Late Pennsylvanian tropical forest at El Bierzo, Castilla y León, Spain. PalZ, 99(4), 567-580. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12542-025-00745-wOpen Access

Selden, P.A., Dunlop, J.A. (2024). A remarkable spiny arachnid from the Pennsylvanian Mazon Creek Lagerstätte, Illinois. Journal of Paleontology, 98(3), 395-401. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/jpa.2024.13Open Access

Dunlop, J.A., Garwood, R.J. (2024). A review of fossil scorpion higher systematics. PeerJ, 12, e18557. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.18557Open Access

Knecht, R.J., Benner, J.S., Swain, A., Azevedo-Schmidt, L., Cleal, C.J., Labandeira, C.C., Engel, M.S., Dunlop, J.A., Selden, P.A., Eble, C.F., Renczkowski, M.D., Wheeler, D.A., Funderburk, M.M., Emma, S.L., Knoll, A.H., Pierce, N.E. (2024). Early Pennsylvanian Lagerstätte reveals a diverse ecosystem on a subhumid, alluvial fan. Nature Communications, 15(1), 7876. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-52181-0Open Access

Dunlop, J., Bartel, C. (2025). A new species of fossil Phrynus Lamarck, 1801, from Dominican Republic amber (Amblypygi: Phrynidae). Zootaxa, 5563(1), 64-72. DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5563.1.7

Dunlop, J.A., Erdek, M., Bartel, C. (2023). A new species of camel spider (Arachnida: Solifugae) in Baltic amber. Arachnology, 19(4), 772-776. DOI: https://doi.org/10.13156/arac.2023.19.4.772

Sherwood, D., Cobo, S.A., Dunlop, J.A., Tsavalas, A.T., Geci, D., Lucas, S.M., Brescovit, A.D. (2025). Reidentification of historical specimens assigned to Cupiennius oculifer (Karsch, 1879) (Araneae: Trechaleidae). Zootaxa, 5723(1), 138-142. DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5723.1.8

Bartel, C., Dunlop, J.A. (2023). First eupnoid harvestmen (Arachnida: Opiliones: Eupnoi) from mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber, with notes on sexual dimorphism in Halitherses grimaldii (Arachnida: Opiliones: Dyspnoi). Palaeoentomology, 6(3). DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/palaeoentomology.6.3.11

Garwood, R.J., Dunlop, J.A. (2023). Consensus and conflict in studies of chelicerate fossils and phylogeny. Arachnologische Mitteilungen: Arachnology Letters, 66(1). DOI: https://doi.org/10.30963/aramit6602Open Access

Dunlop, J.A. (2023). The first Palaeozoic spider (Arachnida: Araneae) from Germany. PalZ, 97(3), 497-504. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12542-023-00657-7Open Access

Siyam, M., Dunlop, J.A., Kovařík, F., Mohammad, A. (2023). Additions to the distribution of Sudanese scorpions. Zoosystematics and Evolution, 99(1), 45-53. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zse.99.90875Open Access

Dunlop, J.A., Wellman, C.H., Prendini, L., Shear, W.A. (2023). A pectinal tooth with peg sensilla from an Early Devonian scorpion. The Journal of Arachnology, 51(3). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1636/JoA-S-22-024

Šlapeta, J., Halliday, B., Dunlop, J.A., Nachum-Biala, Y., Salant, H., Ghodrati, S., Modrý, D., Harrus, S. (2023). The “southeastern Europe” lineage of the brown dog tick Rhipicephalus sanguineus (sensu lato) identified as Rhipicephalus rutilus Koch, 1844: Comparison with holotype and generation of mitogenome reference from Israel. Current Research in Parasitology & Vector-Borne Diseases, 3, 100118. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crpvbd.2023.100118Open Access

Cianferoni, F., Dunlop, J.A., Ceccolini, F. (2023). Atypus affinis Eichwald, 1830 in Tuscany. Quaderno di Studi e Notizie di Storia Naturale della Romagna, 57, 145-150. URL: http://www.ssnr.it/57-7.pdfOpen Access

Dunlop, J.A., Garwood, R.J. (2023). The status of two fossils assigned to the scorpion genus Palaeophonus and its interpretation as a senior synonym of Allopalaeophonus. Arachnology, 19(6), 940-943. DOI: https://doi.org/10.13156/arac.2023.19.6.940