29- Arachne

Arachnaphobes, look away- this is where all your problems originate! Today's story is basically How the Spider Came to Be. And yes, we know that about 6% of the population has a fear of spiders; let's hope Arachne's presence this episode doesn't alienate that many people... Sources for this episode: Agnarsson, I. (2023), Grand challenges in research on arachnid diversity, conservation, and biogeography. Fontiers in Arachnid Science 2: 1101141. Cohen, K. M., Finney, S. C., Gibbard, P. L. and Fan, J.-X. (2013, updated), The ICS International Chronostratigraphic Chart. Episodes 36: 199-204. The Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica (2024), Arachne (online) (Accessed 08/05/2024). Olshan, Y. (2011), Arachne: The Origin. Thesis submitted to the University of Michigan. Riley, H. T. (1889), The Metamorphoses (Ovid), Literally Translated Into English Prose, With Copious Notes and Explanations. London: George Bell & Sons. Selden, P. A., Corronca, J. A. and Hünicken, M. A. (2005), The true identity of the supposed giant fossil spider Megarachne. Biology Letters 1: 44-48. Young, E., The British Psychological Society (2021), Fear of Spiders May Have Its Evolutionary Roots in Aversion to Scorpions (online) (Accessed 12/05/2024). Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Megarachne (online) (Accessed 08/05/2024).