Tarantula

:For the Bob Dylan novel, see Tarantula (book)

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Subfamily Acanthopelminae

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   Acanthopelma

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Subfamily Aviculariinae

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   Avicularia

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   Ephobopus

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   Pachistopelma

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   Psalmopoeus

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   Tapinauchenius

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Subfamily Eumenophorinae

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   Anoploscelus

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   Batesiella

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   Citharischius

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   Encyocrates

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   Eumenophorus

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   Hysterocrates

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   Loxomphalia

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   Loxoptygus

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   Monocentropus

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   Myostola

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   Phoneyusa

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   Polyspina

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Subfamily Harpactirinae

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   Ceratogyrus

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   Coelogenium

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   Eucratoscelus

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   Harpactira

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   Pterinochilus

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Subfamily Ischnocolinae

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   Chaetopelma

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   Cratorrhagus

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   Heterothele

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   Ischnocolus

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   Nesiergus

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   Plesiophrictus/Neoplesiophrictus

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Subfamily Ornithoctoninae

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   Citharognathus

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   Cyriopagopus

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   Haplopelma

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   Lampropelma

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   Ornithoctonus

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   Phormingochilus

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Subfamily Poecilotheriinae

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   Poecilotheria

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Subfamily Selenocosmiinae

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   Chilobrachys

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   Chilocosmia

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   Coremiocnemis

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   Haplocosmia

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   Lyrognathus

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   Orphnaecus

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   Phlogiellus

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   Phlogius

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   Selenocosmia

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   Selenopelma

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   Selenotholus

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   Selenotypus

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Subfamily Selenogyrinae

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   Annandaliella

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   Euphrictus

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   Selenogyrus

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Subfamily Spelopelminae

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   Spelopelma

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Subfamily Stromatopelminae

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   Heteroscodra

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   Stromatopelma

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Subfamily Theraphosinae

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   Acanthoscurria

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   Apachepelma

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   Aphonopelma

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   Brachypelma

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   Brachypelmides

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   Chromatopelma

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   Citharacanthus

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   Cyclosternum

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   Cyriocosmus

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   Cyrtopholis

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   Euathlus

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   Eupalaestrus

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   Grammostola

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   Hapalopus

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   Hapalotremus

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   Hemirrhagus

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   Homoeomma

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   Lasiodora

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   Lasiodorides

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   Megaphobema

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   Melloleitaoina

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   Metriopelma

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   Nesipelma

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   Nhandu

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   Ozopactus

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   Pamphobeteus

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   Paraphysa

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   Phormictopus

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   Plesiopelma

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   Pseudhapalopus

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   Pseudoschizopelma

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   Pseudotheraphosa

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   Schismatothele

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   Schizopelma

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   Sericopelma

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   Sphaerobothria

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   Stichoplastoris

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   Theraphosa

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   Thrixopelma

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   Tmesiphantes

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   Vitalius

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   Xenesthis

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Subfamily Thrigmopoeinae

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   Haploclastus

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   Thrigmopoeus

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Tarantulas are spiders belonging to the family Theraphosidae. They are characterized by having tarsi (feet) with two claws and claw tufts.

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The word tarantula applies to two very different kinds of spider. The spider that originally got this name is neither particularly large, particularly hairy, nor particularly venomous. Its scientific name is Lycosa tarentula, which makes it one of the wolf spiders. Its name comes from that of Taranto (or Tarentum in Latin), a town in Southern Italy. The bite of this spider was once believed to cause a fatal condition called tarantism. The cure for the disease was believed to involve wild dancing of a kind that has come to be called the tarantella. Actually, the bite of this kind of spider is not even particularly painful, let alone life-threatening. There appears to have been an entirely different kind of spider in the fields around Taranto that caused fairly severe bites (one candidate being the malmignatte or Mediterranean black widow, one of several species in the genus Latrodectus), but the tarantulas, being wolf spiders, were fairly large, out in the open, and were frequently seen running around, which drew attention to them, and so they got the blame. Join that factor with the belief in tarantism and the supposed need for wild dancing to prevent sure death, and the fearsome world-wide reputation of the tarantula was guaranteed.

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When people who knew about the tarantulas emigrated to the Americas and discovered fearsomely large and hairy spiders in the New World, they bestowed the name "tarantula" on them. Those spiders belong to the Suborder Mygalomorphae, the Family Theraphosidae (Greek for thera "wild animal, beast" + phos "light") and the Family Dipluridae. They can be quite large.

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Tarantulas can be kept as house pets. A terrarium with an inch or two of damp vermiculite or a mixture of soil and sphagnum moss (but not with cedar shavings as they are toxic to many spiders) on bottom provides an ideal habitat. (Burrowing tarantulas will require a much deeper layer.) Tarantulas can be fed a variety of living animals (insects, small mice, small fish in the water bowl, and reptiles are on their menu).

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Lycosa tarentula: REDIRECT Lycosa tarantula...

Wolf spiders: REDIRECT Wolf spider...

Taranto: Taranto is a coastal city in Apulia, southern Italy. It is the capital of Province of Taranto and is an important military and commercial port....

Tarantula related Images and Photos (experimental)

Tarantula (Half-Sheet)	Tarantula 1955	Tarantula 1955	Robyn Hitchcock: Olé! Tarantula
Tiger Army - Tarantula	Spider-Man Tarantula Action Figure -- 6''	Spider-Man Tarantula Action Figure -- 6''	Robyn Hitchcock: Olé! Tarantula
RC Tarantula with Light-up Eyes	Heroes For Hire #7 Group: Black Cat Knight Misty Tarantula Shang-Chi Wing and Colleen Fighting