Spiders, which come in 43,000 varieties, have thrived for nearly 300 million years on every continent except Antarctica. A new exhibit at New York's American Museum of Natural History, which boasts the world’s largest spider collection, showcases some of the arachnids.
Exhibit Brings Spiders to Life

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Charlotte’s Web author E.B. White consulted with a museum curator while writing the classic children’s book. She named the main character Charlotte A. Cavatica after a common orb weaver, Araneus cavaticus.
(© AMNH\R. Mickens)
(© AMNH\R. Mickens)

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Ornamental tarantulas can be as colorful as tropical birds, a sharp contrast to the fearsome, dark and dangerous creatures many imagine. (© AMNH\R. Mickens)

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This active hunter searches for food on foot, aided by sharp vision and its ability to sense vibrations—like those of the beating wing on an insect or the patter of steps on the soil. (© AMNH\R. Mickens)

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One of the few species harmful to people in North America, a black widow often features a red hourglass shape on its underside. (© AMNH\R. Mickens)