The exhibition “Opiliones de Chile, ni araras ni cangrejos” makes available to the public these small and spectacular invertebrates from our country, which, due to their appearance, are often confused with spiders or crustaceans.
José Ignacio Silva, Journalist of the MNHN Communications Unit.- The National Museum of Natural History (MNHN), an institution under the National Cultural Heritage Service of the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage, is pleased to present a new temporary exhibition: «Opiliones de Chile, neither spiders nor crabs», which may be visited since April 19, 2023in the Central Hall of the National Museum of Natural History, located inside the Parque Quinta Normal, in Santiago.
Those who visit this exhibition in the museum will be able to appreciate for the first time the collection of opiliones from the MNHN, a group of invertebrates that has been sufficiently studied by scienceand that when seen in nature, they are often confused with other beings, such as spiders, due to their similar appearance, calling them “patona spiders” or “crab spiders”, among other names, which do not fit what they really are, this ie, a completely different order of arachnids.
Jorge Pérez-Schultheiss, curator of the Invertebrate Zoology Area of the National Museum of Natural History points out that «In Chile around one hundred species of harvestmen are known and many more are still waiting to be discovered and described. In general, they are little-known arachnids, which remain ignored by people, despite being a very interesting and colorful group. The Chilean harvestman fauna contains a wide diversity of species, most of them endemic, including some of the most spectacular harvestmen, such as the species of the genus Sadocus. This new exhibition of the MNHN seeks to show the unknown natural treasure that the Chilean harvestmen represent, to arouse interest in these arachnids in the general public.
Mario Castro, director of the National Museum of Natural History, points out that “We are particularly excited about this new Harvest exhibit, because it allows people to spread the spectacularity and diversity of these arachnids, which are still not fully studied by researchers. This exhibition is also a great opportunity for the public that visits the MNHN to meet our collections and appreciate them first hand”.
The temporary exhibition «Opiliones de Chile, neither spiders nor crabs» will be open to the public in the Central Hall of the National Museum of Natural History, inside the Quinta Normal Park in Santiago, with free admission. The exhibition will be valid until July 2023.
