Pokie vs. Tarantula

A poker machine. Mostly used in the plural (pokies). Poker machine is the standard term used in the singular.

(informal) Any of several species of arboreal tarantula in the genus Poecilotheria.

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

A species of wolf spider, Lycosa tarantula, native to southern Europe.

A member of certain other groups of spiders, generally characterized by large size, hairiness, or membership with the Theraphosidae in infraorder Mygalomorphae.

Any one of several species of large spiders, popularly supposed to be very venomous, especially the European species (Tarantula apuliæ). The tarantulas of Texas and adjacent countries are large species of Mygale.

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

large hairy tropical spider that can inflict painful but not highly venomous bites

a very large hairy spider found chiefly in tropical and subtropical America, some kinds of which are able to catch small lizards, frogs, and birds.

a large black wolf spider of southern Europe, whose bite was formerly believed to cause tarantism.

Tarantulas comprise a group of large and often hairy spiders of the family Theraphosidae (technically, spiders possess setae, not true hairs.) Currently, 1,010 species have been identified. The term tarantula is usually used to describe members of the family Theraphosidae, although many other members of the same infraorder (Mygalomorphae) are commonly referred to as or .

Example: ‘tarantulas’; ‘false tarantulas’;