Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Mygale \Myg"a*le\, n. [L., a field mouse, Gr. ?.] (Zo["o]l.)
   A genus of very large hairy spiders having four lungs and
   only four spinnerets. They do not spin webs, but usually
   construct tubes in the earth, which are often furnished with
   a trapdoor. The South American bird spider ({Mygale
   avicularia}), and the crab spider, or matoutou ({M.
   cancerides}) are among the largest species. Some of the
   species are erroneously called tarantulas, as the Texas
   tarantula ({M. Hentzii}).