Table of Contents

Introduction to the Theraphosidae.- A Molecular Approach to the Phylogeny of Theraphosidae and Their Kin.- Ischnocolinae and Schismatothelinae.- Arboreal Tarantulas and Their Allies: Aviculariinae and Psalmopoeinae.- Theraphosinae.- Biogeography of New World Tarantulas.- Tarantulas and Their Habitats.- Predation and Other Interactions.- Enemies and Defences: Urticating Setae of Theraphosidae.- Phsiological Ecology of Tarantulas:  Thermoregulation, Metabolism and Performance Traits.- Cuticular Structures of New World Tarantulas: Ultramorphology of Setae and Other Features.- Adhesive Features of the Theraphosid Tarantulas.- Biomechanics of Locomotion in Tarantulas.- Communication and Reproductive Biology of Tarantulas.- Tarantulas in Captivity: Raising and Breeding.- Situation and Conservation of Tarantulas in the Americas.- Tarantulas, Gods and Arachnologists: An Outline of the History of the Study of New World Theraphosid Spiders.

About the Author

Fernando Pérez-Miles is a Professor, Head of Entomology and former director of the Institute of Biology and Chief of the Department of Animal Biology at the Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay. A member researcher of the Sistema Nacional de Investigadores, Agencia Nacional de Investigación e Innovación, Uruguay, he has published more than 100 papers on the Taxonomy, Functional Morphology, Evolution, Reproductive Biology and Biomechanics of Mygalomorph Spiders, mainly New World Theraphosidae.