Dr. Paula Cushing

Dr. Paula Cushing is the Senior Curator of Invertebrate Zoology at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, a position she has held since 1998. An evolutionary biologist with a PhD from the University of Florida, her research focuses on the intricate evolutionary patterns and processes of arachnids. She is the founder of the Colorado Spider Survey, documenting the diversity of the Rocky Mountain and Great Plains ecoregions. Dr. Cushing’s expertise extends to the taxonomy, systematics, and biogeography of spiders, scorpions, and solifuges, with notable publications on myrmecophilic spiders and their complex relationships with ant hosts. Her fieldwork has spanned the Western United States, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Panama, and India. Currently, her research centers on the order Solifugae (camel spiders), specifically investigating the North American family Eremobatidae. Beyond her research, she is a dedicated mentor and a prominent leader within the American Arachnological Society and the International Society of Arachnology. Her career bridges rigorous field exploration with high-level collection management, advancing our understanding of chelicerate evolution.