Arachnids

Front Cover
University of California Press, 2009 - Nature - 320 pages
With around 11 distinctive lineages and over 38,000 species of spiders alone, arachnids are an amazingly diverse group of invertebrates--and with names like the Goliath Bird-Eating Spider, the Tailless Whip Spider, and the Harvestman, they can be both spectacular and captivating. Most books about arachnids focus on spiders, neglecting scorpions, ticks, mites, wind spiders, and other fascinating yet poorly understood groups. This adventurous volume summarizes all existing knowledge about each major type of arachnid, revealing their secrets through detailed species accounts, brilliant photographs, and a compelling cast of eight-legged characters. It examines the anatomy, habitat, behavior and distribution of each lineage, from the garden spider to the death stalker scorpion and even a species of mite that lives inside a monkey's lungs. Drawing on the vast resources at London's Natural History Museum, Arachnids spins a sensational tale, debunking common myths and delving deep into the lives of these bizarre and beautiful creatures.

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Contents

Introduction Spiders arent the only arachnids
5
Araneae spiders
27
Amblypygi whip spiders
91
Copyright

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About the author (2009)

Janet Beccaloni is the Curator of Arachnida and Myriapoda at the Natural History Museum in London. She is also the conservation officer of the British Arachnological Society.

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