Ekaterina Mikhailovna Andreeva

Ekaterina Mikhailovna Andreeva also known as Katarzyna Andrejewa-Prószyńska (16 November 1941 – 18 September 2008) was an Uzbek arachnologist. She collected spiders in Central Asia and later published Spiders of Tajikistan. At least eight spider and harvestman taxa were named in her honor.

Life Andreeva was born on 16 November 1941 in Tashkent (the current capital of Uzbekistan) and spent some of her childhood in Samarkand. Her grandmother, Maria Vikentievna Jasiewicz, was Polish, but had been exiled to Central Asia in the late 1880s for her political activity, and there married a land surveyor Konstantin Pisarczik, and had four children, including Andreeva's mother, Antonina Konstantinovna. Antonina became a student of ethnography at Tashkent University, and later married a professor of ethnography from the university, Mikhail Stepanovich Andreev. Their daughter Ekaterina Andreeva was born in Tashkent in 1941, and in 1946 moved with her mother to Dushanbe in Tajikistan. She was invited by her mother on ethnographic expeditions throughout Tajikistan. Her family had to conceal their true thoughts about the Soviet Union due to fear of persecution, imprisonment, and potential execution.

In 1960, Andreeva began her biological studies at a local university, where she spent her time working alone to research spiders that are located in Tajikistan. No specialists of Central Asian spiders existed during this period. In 1966, Andreeva completed her university course and obtained a PhD scholarship in Tajikistan, spending several months each year working in the Entomology Department of the Leningrad University under the official supervision of Professor Victor Tyshchenko, who worked on spiders in Kazakhstan.

Career From 1966 to 1971, Andreeva most intensively collected spiders in Central Asia by herself, particularly in high mountainous regions.

At least eight spider and harvestman taxa were named in her honor.

Notable publications

Andreeva, E.M. 1968. Materialy po faune paukov Tadzikistana. III. Mygalomorphae. Doklady Akademii Nauk Tadzhikistan SSR 11: 68–71 (in Russian). Andreeva, E.M. & Tyshchenko, V.P. 1968. Materials on the fauna of spiders (Aranei) of Tadjikistan. II. Zodariidae. Zoologicheskiĭ Zhurnal 47: 684–689 (in Russian).

Andreeva, E.M. & Tyshchenko, V.P. 1969. [On the fauna of spiders (Araneae) from Tadjikistan. Haplogynae, Cribellatae, Ecribellatae Trionychae (Pholcidae, Palpimanidae, Hersiliidae, Oxyopidae)]. Entomologicheskoe Obozrenie 48: 373–384. (in Russian).

Andreeva, E.M. 1975 Distribution and ecology of spiders (Aranei) in Tadjikistan. Fragmenta Faunistica, Warsaw 20: 323–352. Andreeva, E.M. 1976 Pauki Tajikistana. Dushanbe, 196pp. Andreeva, E.M., Hęciak, S. & Prószyński, J. 1984. Remarks on Icius and Pseudicius (Araneae, Salticidae) mainly from central Asia. Annales Zoologici 37: 349–375.

Taxon names authored The World Spider Catalog lists the following names of which Andreeva is the author or co-author:

Alioranus avanturus Andreeva & Tystshenko, 1970 – synonym of Alioranus chiardolae Anemesia karatauvi (Andreeva, 1968) Attulus ansobicus (Andreeva, 1976) Benoitia tadzhika (Andreeva, 1976) Bogdocosa kronebergi (Andreeva, 1976) Chalcoscirtus ansobicus Andreeva, 1976 Cyrba tadzika Andreeva, 1969 – synonym of Cyrba ocellata Devade hispida (Andreeva & Tystshenko, 1969) – synonym of Devade tenella Dolomedes tadzhikistanicus Andreeva, 1976 Erigone charitonowi Andreeva & Tystshenko, 1970 – nomen dubium Evippa beschkentica Andreeva, 1976 Lathys spasskyi Andreeva & Tystshenko, 1969 Mogrus antoninus Andreeva, 1976 Mogrus faizabadicus Andreeva, Kononenko & Prószyński, 1981 Nepalicius nepalicus (Andreeva, Hęciak & Prószyński, 1984) Oecobius tadzhikus Andreeva & Tystshenko, 1969 Oxyopes takobius Andreeva & Tystshenko, 1969 Pellenes kulabicus Andreeva, 1976 – synonym of Pellenes geniculatus Pellenes tocharistanus Andreeva, 1976 Plexippus dushanbinus Andreeva, 1969 Pseudomogrus bactrianus (Andreeva, 1976) Rudakius afghanicus (Andreeva, Hęciak & Prószyński, 1984) Rudakius spasskyi (Andreeva, Hęciak & Prószyński, 1984) Styloctetor asiaticus (Andreeva & Tystshenko, 1970) – synonym of Styloctetor romanus Synageles charitonovi Andreeva, 1976 Synageles ramitus Andreeva, 1976 Ummidia gandjinoi (Andreeva, 1968) Zaitunia beshkentica (Andreeva & Tystshenko, 1969) Zaitunia martynovae (Andreeva & Tystshenko, 1969) Zodariellum surprisum Andreeva & Tystshenko, 1968 Zodarion continentale Andreeva & Tystshenko, 1968 Zodarion martynovae Andreeva & Tystshenko, 1968 Zodarion tadzhikum Andreeva & Tystshenko, 1968

Taxa named in her honor Spider and harvestman species named in honor of Andreeva include: Aelurillus andreevae Nenilin, 1984 Aelurillus catherinae Prószyński, 2000 Anemesia andreevae Zonstein, 2018 Chalcoscirtus catherinae Prószyński, 2000 Euophrys catherinae Prószyński, 2000 Homolophus andreevae Staręga & Snegovaya, 2008 (harvestman) Parasyrisca andreevae Ovtsharenko, Platnick & Marusik, 1995 Phlegra andreevae Logunov 1996