A peer-reviewed version of this preprint was published in PeerJ on 31 October 2017. View the peer-reviewed version (peerj.com/articles/3972), which is the preferred citable publication unless you specifically need to cite this preprint. Mammola S, Michalik P, Hebets EA, Isaia M. 2017. Record breaking achievements by spiders and the scientists who study them. PeerJ 5:e3972 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.3972 Spider World Records: a resource for using organismal biology as a hook for science learning Stefano Mammola Corresp., 1, 2 , Peter Michalik 3 , Eileen A Hebets 4, 5 , Marco Isaia Corresp. 2, 6 1 Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, Italy 2 IUCN SSC Spider & Scorpion Specialist Group, Torino, Italy 3 Zoologisches Institut und Museum, Ernst-Moritz-Arndt Universität Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany 4 Division of Invertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA 5 School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska - Lincoln, Lincoln, United States 6 Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, Torino, Italy Corresponding Authors: Stefano Mammola, Marco Isaia Email address:
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[email protected] The public reputation of spiders is that they are deadly poisonous, brown and nondescript, and hairy and ugly. There are tales describing how they lay eggs in human skin, frequent toilet seats in airports, and crawl into your mouth when you are sleeping. Misinformation about spiders in the popular media and on the World Wide Web is rampant, leading to distorted perceptions and negative feelings about spiders. Despite these negative feelings, however, spiders offer intrigue and mystery and can be used to effectively engage even arachnophobic individuals.