Michael G. Rix | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Australian |
| Alma mater | University of Western Australia |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | biology, zoology, arachnology |
| Institutions | Queensland Museum |
| Thesis | Taxonomy and systematics of the Australian Micropholcommatidae (Arachnida: Araneae) (2009) |
| Author abbrev. (zoology) | Rix |
Michael Gordon Rix is an Australian arachnologist, whose publications mainly concern spiders.
As of February 2020[update], he was Principal Curator of Arachnology and Research Fellow in the Biodiversity and Geosciences Program at the Queensland Museum.[1] He has held numerous professional appointments including President of the Society of Australian Systematic Biologists and Associate Editor of the Journal of Arachnology. He is widely published and cited.[2] The World Spider Catalog lists 166 species names[3] and 22 genus names[4] authored or co-authored by Rix, as of February 2020[update]. Pseudoanyphaena michaelrixi, discovered in 2003, was named after him.[5]
His interest in spiders developed as a boy.[6] He has interest in Australian trapdoor spiders and his research into their decline over the past decade.[7][8]
In early 2020 Rix expressed concern over the likely extinction of the assassin spider — Zephyrarchaea austini — also called the pelican spider, which is only known to occur in the Western River Wilderness Protection Area on Kangaroo Island, as a result of the catastrophic 2020 bush fires.[9]