Hypertext Webster Gateway: "tarantulas"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Tarantula \Ta*ran"tu*la\, n.; pl. E. {Tarantulas}, L.
{Tarantul[ae]}. [NL., fr. It. tarantola, fr. L. Tarentum, now
Taranto, in the south of Italy.] (Zo["o]l.)
Any one of several species of large spiders, popularly
supposed to be very venomous, especially the European species
({Tarantula apuli[ae]}). The tarantulas of Texas and adjacent
countries are large species of Mygale. [Written also
{tarentula}.]
{Tarantula killer}, a very large wasp ({Pompilus formosus}),
which captures the Texan tarantula ({Mygale Hentzii}) and
places it in its nest as food for its young, after
paralyzing it by a sting.
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