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Real-life SpiderMan: Thomas Shahan

This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American


As the science media today is carrying news of how spiders use defocus to judge distance, I thought it an opportune moment to share the portfolio of a master of spider portraiture. Oklahoma artist Thomas Shahan may scarcely be out of college, but he is recognized worldwide for his startling portrayals of jumping spiders. If you're not yet aware of Shahan's portraits, drop what you are doing right now and have a look:

Thomas Shahan

You're welcome.


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Alex Wild is Curator of Entomology at the University of Texas at Austin, where he studies the evolutionary history of ants. In 2003 he founded a photography business as an aesthetic complement to his scientific work, and his natural history photographs appear in numerous museums, books and media outlets.

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