Plagiarized Spiders

A correspondent sent me this link from Arachnol. Mitt. 34 (2007) pp. 41-42 to an article published instead of a book review. It seems that a senior spider researcher was asked to review a new book on spiders, and was shocked to find 50 of his own illustrations. He has redrawn the diagrams on the basis of an older book that was correctly referenced.

The new book has the same diagrams, but now referenced as if the newer author had redrawn the diagrams on the basis of the older book. The reviewer spent months trying to get some action out of the publishers involved, who much rather would wash their hands of the whole thing. He was finally able to get the book withdrawn, but is puzzled as to why the publishers were not interested in reacting. He inquires in the end as to why the author of the new book had not just written him and asked him if he could use the pictures. With correct attribution he would have been glad to let the colleague have these pictures.