SPIDERS - THE EIGHT LEGGED WONDERS

Spiders are amazing. I think Spider-Man made them even more super. Some kids probably thought that getting bitten by spiders would give them Spider-Man powers.

   That aside let's get to know more about these eight legged wonders. Let's start with their taxonomy

TAXONOMY 

Spiders are of the kingdom Animalia, Phylum Arthropoda, Sub-phylim chelicerae, Class Arachnida, Order Araneae and Clade Tetrapulmonata.

DESCRIPTION

According to Wikipedia, spiders are Air breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all others of organisms.

SPIDER SPECIES

Here are some of the spider species:

1. Jumping spider 

2. Black house spider

3. Red back spider

4. European garden spiders

5. Tarantula 

6. False widow

7. Wolf spider 

There are many more species. There are about 45000 know species in the world.

PARTS OF A SPIDER

What are the parts of a spider? Well they are:

1. Cephalothorax: this the joined head and thorax. The brain, the jaws, eyes, stomach and leg attachments can be found there.

2. Eyes: spider eyes aren't as sharp as human eyes. They detect only bright and dark objects or places.

3. Chelicerae: this is basically the jaw.

4. Pedipalps: these are their sensory parts that serve as more or less their taste buds and hold their prey.

5. Abdomen: this can be called the Opisthosoma. The guts, reproductive organs, heart and silk glands can be found there.

6. Pedicel: this links the cephalothorax with the abdomen.

7. Fangs: As said before it is used to inject venom.

8. Venom sac: As the name implies, it is used to store venom In order to kill their prey.

9. Leg:  as we know spiders have eight legs. You may ask, since they have that much legs, how fast are they? Although speed varies with species the can reach speeds of up to 1mph.

10. Spinnerets: this is where the spider silk is produced.

11. Spider silk: the famous spider silk can be used for egg sacs, webs or cocoons etc.

HABITAT AND FEEDING 

You may be wondering , where do spiders live? Well, for spiders, home is it's back rests. It can live anywhere. You may seen them in your gardens or some place in your house. They live anywhere as long as they love it there. And then another question arises; what do they eat? Well,  the simple answer is that they eat insects. For some, they webs help them catch insects, others actually hunt their prey, either by waiting or just chasing.

Spiders are truly amazing. Here are some extra fun facts about spiders:

1. Spider legs actually grow back if cut off

2. Some spiders have eight eyes, others either 12, 6, 4, 2, or none at all.

3. Spider silk is ounce for ounce stronger than steel.

4. Spiders are neither bugs nor insects, they are Arachnids.

Spiders are wonderful. Hope to learn more about them in future.

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