a European comic variation ofthe scientific name Tarantula. It is applied inAustralia to a spider belonging to a quite different genus, Voconia, a perfectly harmless spider, though popularlysupposed to be poisonous. It has powerful mandibles, but willattack nobody unless itself attacked.
1846. C. P. Hodgson, `Reminiscences of Australia,' p. 173:
«The tarantulas, or `triantelopes,' as the men call them, arelarge, ugly spiders, very venomous.»
1860. A Lady, `My Experiences in Australia,' p. 151:
«There is no lack of spiders either, of all sorts and sizes, upto the large tarantula, or tri-antelope, as the commonpeople persist in calling it.»