katipon.
/ˈkatɪpəʊ/ A large, black, venomous New Zealand spider, Latrodectus katipo, closely related to the Australian jockey spider (jockey n. Compounds 2) and the American black widow (black adj. 8).
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the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Arachnida > [noun] > order Aranea > suborder Labidognatha or Dipneumones > family Theridiidae or genus Theridion > latrodectus katipo (red-backed spider)
katipo1843
jockey spider1933
1843 E. Dieffenbach Trav. N.Z. II. iii. ix. 366/2 Katipo—a black spider on the seashore, regarded as poisonous.
1852 G. C. Mundy Our Antipodes II. xiii. 371 A bite on the face by a venomous spider, called by the natives Katipo.
1870 Chapman in Trans. New Zeal. Inst. II. 82 Proofs of the violently poisonous nature of the bite of the Katipo.
1915 Chambers's Jrnl. May 319/1 The katipo spider..is the Dominion's [sc. New Zealand's] one poisonous creature.
1934 Bulletin (Sydney) 4 July 21/4 I gathered katipo by the dozen on the sandhills at the entrance of the Wanganui.
1942 C. Barrett On Wallaby ii. 29 The katipo or red-backed spider enjoys a very wide distribution in Australia.
1963 Evening Post (Wellington, N.Z.) 20 Dec. The katipo spider..is black with a red stripe on its back.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1901; most recently modified version published online March 2018).
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