tarantula

Wolf spider Lycosa tarantula (family Lycosidae) with a 2.5 cm/1 in body. It spins no web, relying on its speed in hunting to catch its prey. The name ‘tarantula’ is also used for any of the numerous large, hairy spiders of the family Theraphosidae, with large poison fangs, native to the southwestern USA and tropical America.

The theraphosid Aphonopelma has a body length of 5 cm/2 in and a leg span of 12.5 cm/5 in. They are no more poisonous than other spiders of similar size. They burrow in the ground and catch their prey by pouncing on it and not by means of a web.

In the Middle Ages, the wolf spider's bite was thought to cause hysterical ailments or tarantism for which dancing was the cure, hence the name ‘tarantula’ and its popular association with the dance ‘tarantella’.