Education

1987 – 1991
Doctoral studies in zoology (ScD), studies in philosophy
University of Graz (AT)

1981 – 1986
Biology studies (Mag. rer. nat.)
University of Graz

1972 – 1980
Gymnasium Gleisdorf (AT)

Career

Since 2024
Head of Biosciences, Natural History Museum Basel (NMB)

1995 – 2023
Head of Dpt. Invertebrates, Natural History Museum Bern (NMBE)

Since 2014
Associate Professor, University of Bern

2011
Habilitation, University of Bern

2000
Visiting professor, University of Graz

Since 1996
Lecturer, University of Bern

1994
Research stay, University New Delhi (IN)

1992 – 1995
Lecturer, University of Graz

1990
Research stay, Zoological Museum, University of Turku (FI)

1989
Research stay, University of Hamburg (DE)

Scientific Interest

Diversity, evolution, and functional morphology of arthropods, especially arachnids

Nentwig W., Ansorg J., Cushing P., Kranz-Baltensperger Y., Kropf C. (2025): House spiders – worldwide. Springer, Cham. 265 pp. (German: 2024, Hausspinnen – weltweit)

Nentwig, W., Ansorg, J., Bolzern, A., Frick, H., Ganske A.-S., Hänggi, A., Kropf, C. & Stäubli, A. (2022): All you need to know about spiders. Springer, Cham. 245 pp. (German: Spinnen. Alles, was man wissen muss. Springer, Berlin. 265 pp.)

Urfer, K., Spasojevic, T., Klopfstein, S., Baur, H., Lasut, L. & Kropf, C. (2021): Incongruent molecular and morphological variation in the crab spider Synema globosum (Araneae, Thomisidae) in Europe. – Zookeys, 1078: 107-134

Kropf, C., Blick, T., (…) & Nentwig, W. (2019): How not to delimit taxa: a critique on a recently proposed “pragmatic classification” of jumping spiders (Arthropoda: Arachnida: Araneae: Salticidae). – Zootaxa 4545 (3): 444-446.

Sentenská, L., Graber, F., Richard, M. & Kropf, C. (2017): Sexual dimorphism in venom gland morphology in a sexually stinging scorpion. – Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 122 (2): 429-443.

Klopfstein, S., Kropf, C. & Baur, H. (2016): Wolbachia endosymbionts distort DNA barcoding in the parasitoid wasp genus Diplazon (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae). – Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 177: 541-557

Nentwig, W., Gloor, D. & Kropf, C. (2015): Spider taxonomists catch data on web. – Nature 528: 479

Spasojevic, T., Kropf, C., Nentwig, W. & Lasut, L. (2016): Combining morphology, DNA-sequences, and morphometrics: revising closely related species in the orb-weaving spider genus Araniella (Araneae, Araneidae). – Zootaxa 4111: 448-470

Projects and Museum Activities

2003 – 2022
Public lecture series “Winterbergs Überstunde”, together with actor Uwe Schönbeck
Natural History Museum Bern

2021/22
Scientific curator, exhibition QUEER
Natural History Museum Bern
Prix Expo 2021, Swiss Diversity Award 2022

2023
Scientific curator, exhibition INSECT DECLINE
Natural History Museum Bern

Further Activities

Co-editor of the „World Spider Catalog“ (www.wsc.nmbe.ch)

Co-editor of „Araneae – Spiders of Europe“ (www.araneae.nmbe.ch)

Council member (treasurer) of the European Society of Arachnology

Swiss correspondent of the International Society of Arachnology