Ms Jan Beccaloni
Senior Curator, Arachnida and Myriapoda
Division: LS Invertebrates Division
Summary
I am the Senior Curator of Chelicerata (Arachnida, Xiphosurida, Pycnogonida), Myriapoda, Tardigrada & Onychophora - collections that comprise nearly 3 million specimens. I am developing these collections through improving physical and virtual access (e.g. curation, digitisation, loans and hosting visits from specialists), as well as through fieldwork, plus collaboration with institutions around the world and UK arachnid societies.
My current research areas are:
"Xiphosurida specimens with abnormalities in the collection of the Natural History Museum, London"
"Specimens of Argas hermanni Audouin, 1827 (Ixodida: Argasidae) from an ancient Egyptian tomb"
"An annotated type catalogue of the sea spiders (Pycnogonida, Pantopoda) at the Natural History Museum, London"
"An annotated type catalogue of harvestmen (Opiliones) at the Natural History Museum, London" (international collaboration with Professor Adriano Kury, MNRJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
"A checklist and bibliography of the astigmatid mites recorded from the British Isles" with Dr Anne Baker (NHM)
My current curation areas are:
Specimen-level databasing and digitisation of the Natural History Museum's Pseudoscorpion microscope slide collection, Pycnogonida type spirit collection and Opiliones collection.
I am involved with exhibition development, marketing and publishing projects. I participate in internal Public Engagement events such as Nature Live, Night Safari and Dinosnores science shows; as well as external PEG events such as lectures to Natural History Societies, school events and radio programmes. I am also involved with training activities (e.g. running courses on spider morphology and behaviour).
Qualifications
- Diploma in Ecology & Conservation, Birkbeck College, London, 2001 - 2001
- M.A. Museum Studies, University College, London (UCL), United Kingdom, 1999 - 2000
- B.A. (Hons), The Open University, United Kingdom, 1991 - 1997
Degrees
Employment history
- Senior Curator of Chelicerata (Arachnida, Xiphosurida, Pycnogonida), Myriapoda, Tardigrada and Onychophora, The Natural History Museum, United Kingdom, 2019 - ongoing
- Curator of Arachnida, Myriapoda, Tardigrada and Onychophora, Natural History Museum, United Kingdom, 1997 - 2019
- Curator of Hemiptera and Trichoptera, The Natural History Museum, United Kingdom, 1990 - 1997
- Microbiologist, Thames Water, United Kingdom, 1986 - 1990
Academic
Non-academic
Volunteer keeper (ungulates), London Zoo, 1996 - 1998
Volunteer keeper (ungulates), London Zoo, 1989 - 1991
Committees
Other, The British Arachnological Society,
Publications
Beccaloni J, Clarke RJ (2018) Invertebrates of Slapton Ley National Nature Reserve (FSC) and Prawle Point (National Trust). Field Studies Council
Beccaloni J (2016, 1 1) The curation of Arachnida collections in alcohol: An international survey. Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC)
Beccaloni J (2012) The Arachnida and Myriapoda collections at the Natural History Museum, past and present. Bulletin of the British Arachnological Society, 15 : 303 - 312.
Dankittipakul P, Beccaloni J (2012) Validation and new synonymies proposed for Cheiracanthium species from South and Southeast Asia (Araneae, Clubionidae). ZOOTAXA, 77 - 86.
Beccaloni J (2011) A comparison of trisodium phosphate with Apegon and Decon 90 as wetting agents to hydrate dried Arachnida and Myriapoda specimens.. NatSCA News,
BECCALONI J (2009) Arachnids. Natural History Museum : London.
BECCALONI J (2008) Important British Arachnida Collections in the UK, In: Members' handbook. British Arachnological Society, Russell-Smith A (Eds). null : St. Neots, Cambs.
BAKER AS, BECCALONI J (2006) Macroynssus macroscutatus (Mesostigmata: Macronyssidae), a new mite species from bats of the genus Nyctalus (Chiroptera; Vespertilionidae) in England. Systematic & Applied Acarology, 11 : 167 - 174.
EGGLETON P, VANBERGEN AJ, JONES DT, LAMBERT MC, ROCKETT C, HAMMOND PM, BECCALONI J, MARRIOTT D, ROSS E, GIUSTI A (2005) Assemblages of soil macrofauna across a Scottish land-use intensification gradient: influences of habitat quality, heterogeneity and area. Journal of Applied Ecology, 42 (6) : 1153 - 1164. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2664.2005.01090.x
Beccaloni J (2002) WILSON, J.G. The forgotten naturalist: in search of Alfred Russel Wallace. Archives of natural history, 29 (2): 276-286.. null, 29 (2) : 276 - 286.
Beccaloni J (2002) A comparison of trisodium phosphate and Decon90 as rehydrating agents for Arachnida and Myriapoda dry specimens.. The Biology Curator, 15 - 23.
Beccaloni J, Hillyard PD, Beccaloni J (2002) Computer generated labels for wet collections.. The Biology Curator, 11 - 13.
Beccaloni J (null) Xiphosurida specimens with abnormalities in the collection of the Natural History Museum (NHMUK).. null,
Beccaloni J (null) Specimens of Argas hermanni Audouin, 1827 (Ixodida: Argasidae) from an ancient Egyptian tomb. null,
Beccaloni J, Baker, AS (null) A checklist and bibliography of the astigmatid mites recorded from the British Isles (Acari: Acariformes: Astigmata). null,
Beccaloni J, Clarke RJ (null) An annotated catalogue of the horseshoe crabs (Xiphosurida) in the collection of the Natural History Museum (NHMUK). null,
Kury AB, Beccaloni J (null) Catalogue of harvestmen types in the Natural History Museum (NHMUK). null :