Rick C. West

Key takeaways

Rick C. West belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Rick C. West to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Rick C. West from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Rick C. West (born 3 December 1951) is a Canadian arachnologist and an expert on the taxonomy of tarantula spiders. West was born in Victoria, British Columbia. He has been interested in spiders since childhood, and collected his first tarantula, Aphonopelma eutylenum, at the age of 13. He worked primarily as a Chief Constable for a local Animal Humane Society, but also have been involved with the collecting, breeding, rearing and photography of theraphosid spiders. West has traveled to over 27 countries to document and study them in their environment, has been a host, presenter and co-producer in several tarantula documentaries and has also described several genera and species.

Described theraphosid taxa

Eponymous Taxa Species

Aelurillus westi Azarkina & Zamani, 2019 (Salticidae) Antillena rickwesti (Bertani & Huff, 2013) (Theraphosidae) Melloina rickwesti Raven, 1999 (Paratropididae) Phoneyusa westi Smith, 1990 (Theraphosidae)

Filmography

Selected publications Ferretti, N., Chaparro, J. C., Ochoa, J. A. & West, R. (2023). A new tarantula (Mygalomorphae: Theraphosidae) genus endemic from Peru with a novel genitalic morphology among theraphosinae and its phylogenetic placement. Zoologischer Anzeiger 302: 102-112. Nicoletta, M., Ferretti, N. E., Chaparro, J. C. & West, R. C. (2022). First record of Tmesiphantes Simon, 1892 (Araneae: Theraphosidae) in Peru: a new species and its phylogenetic placement. Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências 94(4, e20200702): 1-17. Kaderka, R., Ferretti, N., Hüsser, M., Lüddecke, T. & West, R. (2021). Antikuna, a new genus with seven new species from Peru (Araneae: Theraphosidae: Theraphosinae) and the highest altitude record for the family. Journal of Natural History 55(21-22): 1335-1402. Nicoletta, M., Chaparro, J. C., Mamani, L., Ochoa, J. A., West, R. C. & Ferretti, N. E. (2020). Two new endemic species of Bistriopelma (Araneae: Theraphosidae) from Peru, including a new remarkable horned tarantula. European Journal of Taxonomy 644: 1-20. Ferretti, N., Cavallo, P., Chaparro, J. C., Ríos-Tamayo, D., Seimon, T. A. & West, R. (2018). The Neotropical genus Hapalotremus Simon, 1903 (Araneae: Theraphosidae), with the description of seven new species and the highest altitude record for the family. Journal of Natural History 52(29-30): 1927-1984. Sherwood, D., Ferretti, N. E., Gabriel, R. & West, R. C. (2021d). Redescription of the theraphosine Hapalotremus albipes Simon, 1903 and description of four new species of Hapalotremus Simon, 1903 from Peru and Bolivia (Araneae: Theraphosidae). Arachnology 18(9): 965-989. Montemor, V. M., West, R. C., Zamani, A., Moradmand, M., Wirth, V. von, Wendt, I., Huber, S. & Guadanucci, J. P. L. (2020). Taxonomy of the genus Ischnocolus in the Middle East, with description of a new species from Oman and Iran (Araneae: Theraphosidae). Zoology in the Middle East 66(1): 76-90. Nunn, S. C., West, R. C. & Wirth, V. von (2016): A revision of the selenocosmiine tarantula genus Phlogiellus Pocock 1897 (Araneae: Theraphosidae), with description of 4 new species. International Journal of Zoology 2016(9895234) Full Text West, R. C., Nunn, S. C. & Hogg, S. (2012): A new tarantula genus, Psednocnemis, from west Malaysia (Araneae: Theraphosidae), with cladistic analysis and biogeography of Selenocosmiinae Simon 1889. Zootaxa 3299 Abstract West, R. C. & Nunn, S. C. (2010): A taxonomic revision of the tarantula spider genus Coremiocnemis Simon 1892 (Araneae, Theraphosidae), with further notes on the Selenocosmiinae. Zootaxa 2443 Abstract West, R. C. & Nunn, S. C. (2010): A taxonomic revision of the tarantula spider genus Lyrognathus Pocock 1895 (Araneae, Theraphosidae), with notes on the Selenocosmiinae. Zootaxa 2362 Abstract West, R. C., Marshall, S. D., Fukushima, C. S. & Bertani, R. (2008): Review and cladistic analysis of the Neotropical tarantula genus Ephebopus Simon 1892 (Araneae: Theraphosidae) with notes on the Aviculariinae. Zootaxa 1849 Abstract Reichling, S. B. & West, R. C. (2000). A new species of tarantula spider (Araneae, Mygalomorphae, Theraphosidae) from the Cayo District of Belize. The Southwestern Naturalist 45: 128-132. West, R. C. (2000). Some new theraphosids from western Mexico (Araneae, Mygalomorphae). The Southwestern Naturalist 45: 299-305. Reichling, S. B. & West, R. C. (1996). A new genus and species of theraphosid spider from Belize (Araneae, Theraphosidae). Journal of Arachnology 24: 254-261.

References

External links Birdspiders World Spider Catalog

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Rick C. West

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Rick C. West claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Rick C. West before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Rick C. West ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Rick C. West

In research: Rick C. West appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Rick C. West in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Rick C. West is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1951 births, Arachnologists, Living people, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Rick C. West outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study Rick C. West in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Rick C. West means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Rick C. West out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Rick C. West in simple terms?

Rick C. West (born 3 December 1951) is a Canadian arachnologist and an expert on the taxonomy of tarantula spiders.

Why does Rick C. West matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Rick C. West?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Rick C. West.