Pets Hunters

World of Tarantulas

Tarantulas are the largest and most revered of all spiders, comprising just over 900 species in the mygalomorph family Theraphosidae.

The name tarantula originated around the 14th century from two genera of poisonous spiders, Lycosa (Wolf spiders) and Latrodectus (Widow spiders), found on the outskirts of the Italian city of Taranto in the State of Apulia.


Rick West is one of the leading authorities on tarantulas (Theraphosidae) in the world and has traveled to over 27 countries to document and study them in their environment.

The World of Tarantulas: Birdspiders is a fascinating website full of information, history and photographs.

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