A Conversation for Arachnids

Tarantulas

Post 1

Shaon2992

Tarantulas are a family of spiders. They do, in fact, exist, and are not merely an alternate name.

Bird eating spiders (namely the Goliath Bird-eating Spider, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theraphosa_blondi) are members of the Tarantula family.


Tarantulas

Post 2

Apollyon - Grammar Fascist

No they don't. 'Tarantula' is an informal term which refers to a variety of spiders. The ones you and The Wiki refer to are in fact bird-eating spiders (which, incidentally, do not eat birds).

The word 'tarantula' is a bit like 'shellfish' - common in everyday speech, but doesn't really mean anything in particular.


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