Tarantula species database

C_Strike

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Jun 8, 2005
Messages
444
Hi, i was just wondering if there was anyone that had arranged a picture 'portfolio/database' of the tarantula species...
I myself have decided to find out each and every theraphosid species and find pics and a little information for each species, but i was also wondering about websites that displayd and gave the translations... maybe even the reasons for the spiders being named (Latin/Greek) what they are, though i do belive that those spiders being named after a person shouldn't be so, i think they should be named after the characteristics of the species...ie: smith--- Aphonopelma smithi- named by...smith in 1995. hehe.
It just seems to add to the confusion of the species.
As of yet, i have gathered all species of A- C..but got only about 1 3rd wit pics.
so yah...any info would be great:)
 

Michael Jacobi

ARACHNOCULTURE MAGAZINE
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 17, 2003
Messages
938
Aphonopelma smithi Smith, 1995 is not named after the species author Andrew M. Smith, but rather Russell Smith, a California entomologist who collected specimens and field data. Specific epithets that honor a person are not based on the name of the author of the species, but rather the original collector of the species or another individual deserving of the honor due to work involving related taxa.

As for etymology (the meaning of the specific epithets), you often need to look at the original description, although many descriptions, particularly older ones, do not provide this information. You may also want to look at:

Beechhold, H. F. 1997.
A key to the pronunciation and meaning of scientific names of popular species, part II.
Forum Magazine of the American Tarantula Society 6(5) 153-156.
(meanings (etymologies) of scientific names of arachnids common in the US pet trade)
This is downloadable at the ATS site (http://www.atshq.org)

Wagner, T. 2005.
Eine Einführung in die Etymologie von Gattungs- und Artnamen bei Vogelspinnen (Araneae: Theraphosidae).
ARACHNE 10(2): 13-19.

As for databases, I recommend you check out my own The Tarantula Bibliograpy, which will have additional info including etymology, type locality, type specimens, etc. added as time permits.

And of course, the greatest of all databases is Dr. Platnick's World Spider Catalog v6.0, the Theraphosidae page can be found at: http://research.amnh.org/entomology/spiders/catalog/THERAPHOSIDAE.html.

There are numerous extensive photo galleries on the 'net. The most complete is Rick West's birdspiders.com, although his photos are protected so you will not be able to download them. I recommend doing a Google search using the Images tab and scientific name to look for other photos.

Cheers, Michael
 
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C_Strike

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Jun 8, 2005
Messages
444
Thanks for your response, im using this database for the names of the species..
well, after looking down the page...there is a species described by smith, called A smithi :p lol
Im not disagreeing,lol... youv obviously got way more knowledge than me but are you sure?:)
but i aprreciate species get named after researchers that have benefited the taxonomy, but i think its misdescriptive:p my 2pence anywho:)
Peace:)
EDIT: as far as having one any research, i have drained as much of the web as poss, i have seen rickwest's and found that its protected.. i also used Dr. Platnick's World Spider Catalog v6.0 to find the A smithi:
 
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Michael Jacobi

ARACHNOCULTURE MAGAZINE
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 17, 2003
Messages
938
I stand corrected and have edited my initial post so that it doesn't mislead anyone. It is confusing, but A.M. Smith's Aphonopelma smithi honors another gentleman named Smith, not himself [see above post].

I do agree that honorifics are less desirable than species names that are based on morphology or geography.

Cheers,

Michael
 
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