‘Tarantulas’ invade Indian town (Assam), ‘kill’ two

Soldato
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Whilst you are right that tarantulas aren't considered "true spiders" (they're "spiders" but are Mygalomorph rather than Aranea) they are certainly venomous!

Why are they not considered true spiders? They look pretty ****ing scary and spidery to me :p

I mus admit, Imread such stories of nature killing people in far off places and frankly I don't care.
It's like elephant crushes man on game reserve, well bad luck, stuff happens.

One thing is certain from the mostly made up articles, Indian spider experts know aboutnas much about spiders as reporters do about accurately portraying events.

I don't think it's fair to say all Indian spider experts know nothing about spiders. An expert is an expert, no matter what their origins/ethnicity/race etc. these people clearly are not experts. I hate spiders and without looking at pictures or doing further research, even I could tell the spiders from eachother (not that I'd go anywhere near)

One thing to say is that this story is quite clearly BS.

Indian villages are ****ed up places in general (a lot are very nice places, but they're the minority). They are dominated by religion and a distinct lack of science or education. There probably have been spider bites. But I'm guessing there were three or four spiders and some poor kids played with them because they didn't know any better and they paid the price :(

Word spreads very quickly in tiny villages and stories become exaggerated ridiculously.
 
Associate
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Not all tarantula bites are the same. A bite from an "Old World" species can be far more painful than one from your average North American species, with quite unpleasant after effects. Still not fatal though.

This. Although no one is ever known to have died from tarantula venom (so not including infections due to a bite) as far as i'm aware, some old world species, even ones common in the pettrade, can cause incapacitating pain and cramps.
Though I do love my Poecilotheria.
 
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LOL..stinky story

Had a few T's myself. Couple smallish Avic Avic. Was never brave enough for the feisty T's. Did like the look of OBT's...but they have the attitude of a ginger step-child.
 
Soldato
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Whilst you are right that tarantulas aren't considered "true spiders" (they're "spiders" but are Mygalomorph rather than Aranea) they are certainly venomous!

Tarantula's are venomous. Where on earth did you get that from?

I meant as in none deadly venom, highly unlikely to kill anyone.

I have kept quite a few in the past, from the biggest in the world, to little pygmy ones.
 
Soldato
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"Teams of Indian arachnid experts have flocked to the town, hoping to identify the species, but so far they have drawn a blank.
They say it could be a tarantula, a black wishbone or even a funnel-web spider - or it could be a whole new species."

Well if you were truly a spider expert you could tell the difference between Theraphosidae, Nemesiidae and Hexathelidae at pretty much a glance (never mind the genus and species, we are talking 3 completely different families!) so currently I am reading absolutely nothing into this "article" at all.

EDIT

Hell, I could tell the difference and I am an amateur hobbyist!

exactly what i was thinking :/ its like saying that they are either a cow a horse or a dog :p
 
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Why are they not considered true spiders? They look pretty ****ing scary and spidery to me :p

Stan Schulz (who wrote the Tarantula Keeper's Guide) summed it up the "how" quite well:

Simple question. Complex answer. Theraphosid tarantulas (the spiders we call "tarantulas" in the vernacular) are a subgroup of a much larger group called collectively the Mygalomorphae, the mygalomorph spiders. These in turn are a subgroup of the spiders, classified as the Araneae.

"True" spiders belong in a sister group called the Araneomorphae. But don't let that confuse you. Both the araneomorphs and the mygalomorphs are really "true" spiders as opposed to something that isn't a true spider. The arachnologists of the last two centuries chose those common names to differentiate them, not to question their lineage. It was a bad choice in retrospect, but they didn't know any better at the time. Now we're stuck with the designation although we know it's wrong. (It's a lot like calling Theraphosa blondi a "birdeater!")

The original "tarantula" is a wolf spider (Lycosa tarantula) from southern Europe. It became famous (or notorious) because of its supposed tendency to cause frenzied dancing during the Italian and Spanish Inquisitions, of the "That spider made me do it!" variety.

European explorers, largely ignorant of wildlife in general and spiders in particular, chose to apply the name to any large spider that they ran across. Because the theraphosid tarantulas are much more impressive than the lycosid tarantula, the name became permanently transferred, and like "true" spiders and "goliath" birdeaters, we're stuck with it.

Enjoy your your tarantula, whatever it is!

As for the "why"

There are a few differences that separate Araneomorphs ("True" Spiders) and Mygalomorphs:

The fangs of an Araneomorph open outwards and down. Mygalomorphs have fangs that move up and down.

This is the primary difference - the others are to do with tarsal claws, adhesive patches (this is why tarantulas climb glass better than most "true" spiders), position of the venom sacs and the respiratory system differs.
 
Soldato
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Each scroll down is a calculated risk.

tarantulafacels.jpg
 
Caporegime
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"Teams of Indian arachnid experts have flocked to the town, hoping to identify the species, but so far they have drawn a blank.
They say it could be a tarantula, a black wishbone or even a funnel-web spider - or it could be a whole new species."

Well if you were truly a spider expert you could tell the difference between Theraphosidae, Nemesiidae and Hexathelidae at pretty much a glance (never mind the genus and species, we are talking 3 completely different families!) so currently I am reading absolutely nothing into this "article" at all.

EDIT

Hell, I could tell the difference and I am an amateur hobbyist!

i think it means the experts have found nothing but fro mthe descriptions of locals it could be those.
 
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