What is the scientific name for tarantula?

I've found like three names...


-Dugesiella hentzi


-Eurypelma californicum


-Aphonopelma sp


Which one's right???

What is the scientific name for tarantula?
The above answer is correct on the origin for the word "tarantula", but that is the name as applied to the wolf spider, not a true tarantula. The name was originally used to describe a spider in Italy that was said to cause people to do a locally known dance when bitten, named after the town of Taranto.





True Tarantulas are any of the typically large and hairy spiders of the family Theraphosidae. There are many, many species of Tarantulas. Kinda like the Felidae family describes many many different kinds of cats, from tigers to the domesticated cat.





The true tarantula family is divided into 12 subfamilies.





All of the scientific names you gave are species of tarantula.





Here is a Wiki list of the species of tarantulas, as you can tell it is quite huge.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_The...
Reply:The "Tarantula" spider whose scientific name is Lycosa tarantula is a wolf spider from the area around a city in Italy now called Taranto but called Tarentum in Roman times. This spider has an entirely undeserved reputation due to historical and cultural reasons, the development of a belief that the bite of this spider produces severe symptoms called tarantism. According to this belief, a person bitten by one of these spiders must be treated by indulging in a special kind of dancing. The dance, or some version of it, is now known as the tarantella. In fact, however, the bites of this spider are not known to cause severe symptoms in humans, much less endanger human life.[1] Despite their fearsome reputation, they are not particularly hairy and are visually quite attractive.[2]





http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lycosa_tara...


Kingdom: Animalia





Phylum: Arthropoda





Class: Arachnida





Order: Araneae





Family: Lycosidae





Genus: Lycosa Species: L. tarantula





(trn麓chl) (KEY) , name applied chiefly to several species of the large, hairy spiders of the families Theraphosidae and Dipluridae of North and South America. The body of a tarantula may be as much as 3 in. (7.6 cm) long and, with legs extended, as much as 10 in. (25.4 cm) across. The North American tarantula, Dugesiella hentzi, has a leg spread of up to 6 in. (15.2 cm) and is common in parts of the SW United States. The largest tarantulas may kill small vertebrates, but their usual food is other arthropods. The bite of a tarantula may be painful but is not usually dangerous to humans. Some Asian spiders are also called tarantulas, and there is a tailless whip scorpion genus Tarantula. Originally the name was applied to a spider of the wolf spider family, Lycosa tarentula, of S Europe, whose bite was supposed to cause tarantism, a nervous condition characterized by hysteria; the best cure was believed to be strenuous and prolonged dancing of the tarantella. Spider families are classified in the phylum Arthropoda, class Arachnida, order Araneae.

ninjutsu