Andrew Smith DVD

First the history – we tell the story of how three nineteenth century railway engineers found Poecilotheria regalis,

Poecilotheria formosa and Poecilotheria metallica for Reginald Pocock’s classic 1899 scientific paper. Then we go to India to follow in their footsteps and film these iconic spiders in the field. This three hour documentary contains the first location footage ever filmed of these magnificent, but increasingly rare, spiders.

Length: 174 mins

DVD-only BONUS FEATURE : POECILOTHERIA : HANUMAVILASUMICA – ON THE EDGE OF EXTINCTION ?

The second documentary tells the story of the discovery of Andrew Smith’s Poecilotheria hanumavilasumica  which was found by Smith and Paul Carpenter in 2003. Sadly, it is highly likely that this spider will be the first Indian Poecilotheria species to become extinct. The story is a familiar one of relentless human pressure on a fragile ecosystem and the tragic failure to save the tamarind plantations from redevelopment where these spiders once flourished.

Length: 64 mins

Available as:

2-Disc DVD PACKAGE

DVD-only BONUS FEATURES : The History of Captive Breeding Tarantula Spiders / Mexican Tarantula Spider Folklore & Mythology / Extended Interview with Jorge Mendoza