Citations:tarantula

English citations of tarantula

Etymology

• 1892 January, J. J. Rivers, “Description of the Nest of the Californian Turret Building Spider, with Some Reference to Allied Species”, in Townshend Stith Brandegee, editor, Zoe: A Biological Journal, volume II, number 4, San Francisco, Calif.: Zoe Publishing Company, →OCLC, page 319:

  The Californian turret building spider is closely allied to the trapdoor spider, the former however being smaller, more elongate and possessing at the base of the mandibules of the male a club-like projection covered with black bristles at the upper part of the tip, while the female has but a shallow tubercle in the same region. The other Californian species of notable spiders belonging to the Theraphosidae are: The great tarantula of Southern California, Arizona, and Texas, and the lesser tarantula belonging to the middle of California. The use of the word "tarantula" is rather wide and dubious in application. While the tarantula of the Southern States is of the same family as the true tarantula of Spain—Lycosidae—the Californian tarantula is of the Theraphosidae (Mygalidae). In fact the name carries with it no meaning of value because in each locality the name is bestowed upon the largest hairy spider of the region, irrespective of its classification or habits. The Californian trap-door spider and the Californian tarantula are also confounded, and visitors to our coast who take home with them a spider souvenir, purchased at one of our so-called Natural History Stores, are unaware they are cherishing a mis-matched memento of someone's cupidity, and, in some instances, of their own as well. The large spider called "Californian tarantula" does not fabricate a nest with a trap-door, but commercial enterprise supplies the demand by annexing a specimen of Mygale [h]entzii to the trap-door nest of Cteniza [c]alifornica. Some years ago I made an ineffectual effort to persuade one of the dealers to sell the real spider, but the man of business replied that he knew all about the matter, but the public would not be satisfied with the smaller spider, and that he could not trade without the larger animal.

Species mentioned in this paper:

Theraphosidae.

Californian turret builder = Atypoides [r]iversii [Antrodiaetus riversi (a folding trapdoor spider)]
Californian tarantula = Eurypelma (Mygale) [h]entzii [probably Aphonopelma hentzi (Texas brown tarantula)]
Californian trap-door spider = Cteniza [c]alifornica [Bothriocyrtum californicum (a cork-lid trapdoor spider)]

Lycosidae.

Southern tarantula[???] = Lycosa [c]arolinensis [Hogna carolinensis (giant wolf spider, Carolina wolf spider)]
Spanish tarantula = Lycosa tarantella [Lycosa tarantula (tarantula wolf spider)]

Noun

1. (dated) A species of wolf spider, Lycosa tarantula, native to southern Europe, the mildly poisonous bite of which was once thought to cause an extreme urge to dance (tarantism). [from mid 16th c.]
   • 1678, An Alphabetical Table of the Philosophical Transactions from March 6. 1665 to July 1677, T.:

     The story of the Tarantula's biting to be cured by peculiar Musick and Dancing, Examined in Calabria the proper place, and there suspected to be fabulous, n. 83, p. 4066