In 2005 our much-valuated colleague Konrad Thaler passed away. He was one of the last university lecturers whose research topics focussed on the faunistics, ecology, biogeography and taxonomy of the native arachnids in Central Europe. In order to contribute to the continuation of this research tradition, the board of AraGes decided in this same year to honor the deceased scientist and committed teacher by naming a young-academics prize after him: the Konrad-Thaler-Commemoration Prize.

The Konrad-Thaler-Commemoration Prize acknowledges extraordinary theses from all fields of arachnology (except Acari). From 2007 to 2019 the price was awarded every third year during the member councils of the AraGes. The jury consists of the current board of AraGes plus one external juror; the winner is determined by simple majority vote of the jurors.

For the next award period (2022-2024) a prize of 1000 € is foreseen for an outstanding dissertation. If no thesis is considered to be prizeworthy, no prize will be awarded.

The theses are to be submitted in PDF format until the 1.9.2024 latest to:

Dr. Angelo Bolzern, Naturhistorisches Museum Basel,  E-Mail: angelo.bolzern(at)bs.ch