Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Tarantulas: Breeding Experience & Wildlife. By Frédéric Cléton, Yannick Sigwalt, and Jean-Michel Verdez. Frankfurt am Main (Germany): Edition Chimaira. €39.80. 231 p.; ill.; no index. ISBN: 978-3-89973-302-9. [Available in the U.S. from ECO Publishing, Rodeo, New Mexico.] 2015.

2017; University of Chicago Press; Volume: 92; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1086/690894

1539-7718

Chris A. Hamilton,

Lepidoptera: Biology and Taxonomy

Previous articleNext article FreeZoologyTarantulas: Breeding Experience & Wildlife. By Frédéric Cléton, Yannick Sigwalt, and Jean-Michel Verdez. Frankfurt am Main (Germany): Edition Chimaira. €39.80. 231 p.; ill.; no index. ISBN: 978-3-89973-302-9. [Available in the U.S. from ECO Publishing, Rodeo, New Mexico.] 2015.Chris A. HamiltonChris A. HamiltonFlorida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida Search for more articles by this author Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FloridaPDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmailQR Code SectionsMoreSpiders in the family Theraphosidae, commonly known as “tarantulas,” are the most diverse lineage within the spider infraorder Mygalomorphae, spiders often thought of as “primitive.” Tarantulas are an enigmatic group of large, hirsute spiders that evokes both fear and curiosity from the public, yet have drawn very little attention from biologists. This lack of ecological, behavioral, or evolutionary research is problematic given the ecological roles these spiders represent. Along with heightening conservation concerns for this group, due to human development, habitat destruction, and increased pressures as a consequence of the pet trade, we need an understanding of their ecology and evolutionary relationships in order to help mitigate possible future species extinction events. Because of this, interest from hobbyists can help motivate research as well as conservation efforts.Tarantulas: Breeding Experience & Wildlife is a thoughtful book, filled with important husbandry information about a wide variety of species in the family Theraphosidae, and is an invaluable resource for hobbyists. This volume does a wonderful job of using photographs to show readers unique or important habitats, special morphological features and, of course, these beautiful spiders. Along with informative species accounts for those common in the hobby, the book engages readers by including novel husbandry information, being particularly insightful with regard to parasites, envenomation, and the important subject of the differences between wild-caught versus captive-bred and its impact on our Earth. Additionally, there are very nice and informative subsections for experimental observations by both the authors and contributors.Although the taxonomic referencing is not the most up to date, it is a good step toward informing casual readers, in particular, hobbyists. As this is a novel publication, not surprisingly, there is room for improvement. I did not find any gross errors, but there were numerous places where the text could be improved or revised, especially with regard to formatting and simple errors that may distract readers.What distinguishes Tarantulas: Breeding Experience & Wildlife from earlier books is the combined years of experience collecting tarantulas in the field (as well as raising and breeding them in captivity) that these authors possess. By including ecological and habitat information about popular species, something that is important for hobbyists to know in order to successfully rear certain species—and information that most husbandry volumes do not include—the authors have significantly furthered our understanding of tarantula natural history and husbandry. I find this book to be very informative and one of the most comprehensive sources of tarantula husbandry available. Previous articleNext article DetailsFiguresReferencesCited by The Quarterly Review of Biology Volume 92, Number 1March 2017 Published in association with Stony Brook University Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/690894 For permission to reuse, please contact [email protected]PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.