tarantula — English Dictionary

Noun

1. Any of the large, hairy New World spiders comprising the family Theraphosidae.

   Synonyms

   bird spidermonkey spiderrain spider

   Examples

   More examples (8)

   Cockroaches, centipedes, tarantulas, scorpions, and mosquitoes are abundant in summer. [...] Tarantulas and scorpions are little noticed by those who have been there any length of time.

   In the southern portions of the State we have met with specimens of brown tarantula weighing a full Troy ounce, but these were of unusual size. The wood tarantula is the largest of all, occasional specimens weighing an ounce and a half, inhabits dead wood, is very active on a warm day, is found of sunning himself, and is quite courageous, leaping on a large lizard, with a perfect recklessness of consequences. [From the Alta California.]

   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—Lycosidæ—the Californian tarantula is of the Theraphosidæ (Mygalidæ). 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.

   Visitors to Southern Arizona find the privacy of their homes invaded in a delightfully free and easy way by the original settlers of that region, namely the scorpions, centipedes, tarantulas, etc. [...]

   Clarabelle is a pinktoe tarantula—one of the very first tarantulas described by Western scientists. The gentle pinktoes were originally tree-dwelling forest tarantulas, but these days they're happy to build their silky retreats in the eaves of houses, in shrubs, and in the tube-like curves of pineapple leaves on plantations, too.

   Tarantulas are found in parts of the United States and are frequently sold as pets. Tarantula bites usually do not cause significant envenomations but may cause local tissue swelling. Another hazard of tarantulas is that contact with the hairs of the back, which are released when the tarantula is distressed, can cause local skin reactions as well as a granulomatous reaction of the cornea and conjunctiva of the eye (ophthalmia nodosa) that requires urgent ophthalmologic attention. Dogs or cats that attempt to eat tarantulas may gag or vomit.

   The best tarantulas for cooking are the Thai Zebra variety (Haplopelma albostriatum). These are very common in Cambodia, Thailand and Malaysia, where they are a popular fast food (and one that children love to hunt for). You can go to a Cambodian market and buy live, defanged tarantulas by the dozen from huge wicker baskets, ready to take home and cook.

   However, spider enthusiasts sometimes flock to the grassy region in hopes of spotting a tarantula or capturing one to keep as a pet. […] Padilla added that while the tarantulas may give some the creeps, they munch on things that humans often consider pests, including cockroaches, beetles and other insects.

2. A member of certain other groups of spiders, generally characterized by large size, hairiness, or membership of infraorder Mygalomorphae to which Theraphosidae family also belongs.

   Usage

   • broadly

   Examples

   More examples (1)

   The small funnel-web tarantulas are sedentary but notable for their aggressiveness and the strong action of their venom on human beings. A. robustus and formidabilis have caused human deaths.

   tergites: dorsal sclerites on the body; the hard plates on the abdomen of the atypical tarantulas that indicate segmentation

   More examples (2)

   The name "tarantula" is also mistakenly applied to other large-bodied spiders, and the "dwarf tarantulas". Both are classified in different families. Huntsman spiders of the family have also been termed "tarantulas" because of their large size.

   The defining feature of MB Stadium, that fat steel tarantula crouched over downtown Atlanta, is its fancy retractable roof. According to the latest word from NFL officials, the roof IS expected to be open for Sunday’s game.

3. 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).

   Usage

   • Dated

   Examples

   [I]t is better to be pained with the ſting of a Snake, and recouer, then be tickled with the venime of Tarantula and dye laughing: [...]

   More examples (5)

   Many men catch this malady [i.e., melancholy] by [...] ſtinging with that kind of ſpider called Tarantula; [...] Their ſymptomes are merrily deſcribed by Iovianus Pontanus. Ant. dial. how they daunce alogether, and are cured by Muſick.

   A Tarantula is a venemous Spider, ſo call'd from Tarentum, an ancient City of Magna Gracia, upon the Ionian Sea. Thoſe who are once bit by it, are never quite cur'd of the Venom; for it revives every Year, and occaſions a long Series of Evils, which would be very annoying to the Patients, if they did not take due Care of their Health by Dancing and Balls.

   On May 7, 1812, during my stay at Valencia, in Spain, I took, without hurting him, a tarantula of tolerable size, which I imprisoned in a glass covered over with paper, in which I had made a square opening. [...] He quickly accustomed himself to his cell, and ended by becoming so familiar, that he would come to eat out of my fingers the living fly that I brought him. [Translated from the Annales des Sciences Naturelles, 1835.]

   We [...] passed the night at a spring in a valley of the Kalkan hills, which literally swarmed with snakes, tarantulæ, scorpions, and other reptiles; for a long time after I could not shake off the recollection of that horrible resting-place.

   I must confess they're my favorite. So bright. They quickly recognize individuals. And they respond to kindness. All tarantulae do. That's why your little Lycosa made such a good pet, Robin.

Noun

1. large southern European spider once thought to be the cause of tarantism (uncontrollable bodily movement)

   Synonyms

   European wolf spiderLycosa tarentula

   Broader terms

   wolf spiderhunting spider

2. large hairy tropical spider with fangs that can inflict painful but not highly venomous bites

   Broader terms

   spider