Tarantulas

True tarantulas are spiders belonging to the family Theraphosidae (Greek for thera "wild animal, beast" + phos "light"). These spiders may also be known as bird spiders, monkey spiders, baboon spiders or rain spiders. They are characterized by having tarsi (feet) with two claws and claw tufts, called scopulae. Related families include the funnel-web spiders and the trap door spiders, which sometimes also get called tarantulas. The family Theraphosidae includes over 800 different species of tarantulas, divided over 12 subfamilies (formerly 13) and 11 genera.