Rarahu is a genus of jumping spiders endemic to Samoa. , it contains only one species, Rarahu nitida. Berland probably adapted the genus name Rarahu from Pierre Loti's book of the same name, which was published in 1880. Loti himself either used the rare Tahitian word "rarahu", meaning (amongst other things) "to eat tapu things", or changed the name of the volcano "Raraku".Mabbott 1946 The species name is from Latin nitida "shining", "handsome", or "neat" (a false cognate).
Footnotes
References (1946): The Origin of Pierre Loti's Name "Rarahu". Modern Language Notes 61(4): 288.
External links Diagnostic drawings