Another species of the animal kingdom that has a great diversity of specimens and a large number of individuals throughout the world is that of the Spiders, in this post some characteristics of them will be known, what they eat, how they reproduce and some fascinating specimens will be discussed to close.
Spiders
An approximate number of spider species known throughout the world would be 46.000! Something that is always mentioned is that they are the largest order that is grouped within the class Arachnida. There are other orders that can be equal to or even larger than this one in the Animalia Kingdom, even the diversity of species is something characteristic.
The diversity of species is another characteristic that even positions them in 7th place in the list of species with the most diversity in the Kingdom, since the beginning they have been varied in terms of size, colors and shape, in fact, fossils were found of spiders that measured fifty centimeters when today the largest reached only 30. The larger they are, the more fear they tend to instill in humans, many people are terrified of this species and even phobic.
All species of spiders have in common are predators, the vast majority are carnivorous, although some species are herbivorous, in addition to that they are quite solitary. In addition to that, its body is divided into two regions, the prosoma and the opisthosoma, the first comprises the cephalothorax where its head and thorax join while the second contains the abdomen. They have two mouthparts called chelicerae, two appendages called pedipalps, and eight legs.
As for their habitat, each genus or even each species has specific places throughout the world where they have been found, really on all continents a spider of any kind has been seen, the banana spider for example it is found in Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Peru and Paraguay, in Australia more than 4.000 species are grouped. The rest, all of them are distributed throughout the world, staying in spaces with a very large climatic diversity, with the exception of the Antarctic continent.
A large part of the spiders produce silk in a thread that works for them to weave webs with different patterns, these have several functions: they can be used to hunt prey (since some are very sticky), they can work to build burrows, tunnels or traps as the ones made by trapper spiders, for other species it works to create a sail that allows them to be blown by the wind.
More than 46.000 species of spiders have been discovered worldwide and have been grouped according to the classification made by biological taxonomy in 110 families, distributed in three suborders: Mesothelae, Mygalomorphae and Araneomorphae. Regarding their behavior, they are solitary and have instinctive actions, they tend to take great care of their young and the youngest spiders, they can even amputate when another spider bites them and some (the genus Mycaria) mimic.
Features
As indicated above, its body is divided into two, in the first region its head and thorax (as in crustaceans and other arachnids) forming what is called a prosoma, while its abdomen encompasses the entire second region called opisthosoma.
Its eight legs are characteristic of all species, so the answer to the question How many legs does a spider have? It will always be 8, in addition to the number of eyes that can vary depending on the gender. In terms of size, they can measure from 0,5 millimeters to 30 centimeters, which is the size of the goliath spider.
They do not have antennae, but they have pedipalps in the front part that function as tactile and olfactory organs (there are two of them), in addition to that their sense of vision is highly developed in some species (such as those of jumping spiders) and in others it can be very poor, this sometimes depends on the number of eyes they have, some have four, three or less.
Veneno
Only one -of all the families of spiders- mentioned are not poisonous, the rest have the capacity to do so and every time they capture a prey they are injected with poison. This to favor the external digestion that they carry out when eating, so that they can absorb the porridge that forms when they are injected with digestive juices and so that they remain immobile in the network.
They usually inject the venom by biting with their chelicerae, but American tarantulas have stinging agents on their bodies that irritate whatever touches them. Among the most poisonous spiders we can mention the funnel spiders belonging to the genus Atrax and Hadronyche. The Atrax robustus spider has a venom that especially affects primates and humans, its chelicerae can go through layers of very thick material.
Food
Although each species of spiders has a specific diet, they all have in common the predation of insects, rodents, lizards, crickets, mosquitoes, some eat rodents and other small animals. They catch them by creating a web of silk or by jumping (in the case of jumping spiders).
Then when they are already attached to it and the spiders pick up the vibrations of their bodies, they approach and inject the poison while holding them. They externally digest their prey by injecting digestive juices into it and then eat it.
Reproduction
The courtship carried out by the spiders is with dances, the males when noticing them begin to make movements with rhythm but with care not to be eaten by them, sometimes they give the females a prey that they have previously wrapped in the web.
Something interesting is that some species to eat other spiders pretend to courtship and give an empty silk bag for them to approach and devour, but when it comes to genuine courtship they introduce a spermatophore with their pedipalps in the sexual pathways they have. the females. Another interesting fact is that the females usually eat the males when this is over.
fascinating species
With all that has been said above, it is understood that there are many types of spiders in the world that can have many sizes and be quite extraordinary, some of the species that have caused the most commotion when they have been found are the following:
ogre face spider
Among the families mentioned is the ogre-faced spider because of its appearance, which is characterized by its large eyes, which are similar to those giant creatures of Greek mythology. The spiders that belong to this family are quite large and with an elongated body, most of the member species of this family launch the web of their webs to catch their prey and capture them when they are on them.
This type of spider has been seen mostly in the continents: Africa, South America and Oceania although few specimens have been found in countries outside of them, most of them exceed two meters and appear more frequently at night (something natural in their behavior night). Something that also characterizes it about its large eyes is the ability that these give it to see in the dark much better than other species.
To catch their prey, after weaving their web, they keep it between their legs and remain motionless until the prey has come close enough to jump on them. These types of attacks have been recreated by many fighters and hence the nicknames they get that have the term "spider".
golden silk spider
These spiders are part of the genus Nephilia and like other species it produces silk, only these create threads that when they reflect the sunlight they look gold. Something curious is that they build and rebuild their webs every morning, mostly females and they do it with circular patterns in a radial way, then they return to fill in some remaining holes, this fabric is quite resistant and is used for clothing in Indonesia. They live in Australia, Africa and some South American countries.
They also usually vibrate when they feel that a predator is close, however, they have a neurotoxic venom that is very similar to that of spiders known as black widows, only the effect is a little softer and it is not lethal to humans. , it only causes redness, pain and blisters (this only lasts a day depending on the organism of the person who was bitten). Some of the species of this genus are:
- Comorian Nephila
- nephila constricta
- Nephila cornuta
- Nephila dIrangensis
- nephila kuhlii
- nephila pakistaniensis
- nephila robusta
- nephila vitiana
Goliath Spider – Theraphosa blondi
This spider is also known as giant tarantula, goliath tarantula or Theraposa blondi and is part of the family Theraphosidae, just as the giant hunting spider is considered the one with the longest legs, this is considered the largest spider of the order, it can measure 30 centimeters and weigh more than 100 grams, a female specimen found weighed 155 grams, setting a record in this species , its size and weight cause a very strange metallic sound when walking.
The goliath bird-eating spider lives mostly in the South American continent, in countries such as Brazil, Colombia, Guyana and Venezuela, they have solitary habits and all of them are quite aggressive. They feed on giant centipedes, crickets, lizards and some rodents, in fact, they build their burrows on top of those built by rodents.
trapper spider
This is the name by which more than 300 species of spiders from 44 genera of the family are known. Barychelidae they are differentiated from the rest because they build traps in the form of burrows and have parts of their body that allow them to work in those burrows with ease, for example, a rake located on the front of their body, the hairs on their body that allow them to contain air bubbles, among other things.
Three subfamilies are grouped within this great family: Barychelinae, Trichopelmatinae and Sasoninae, all of them have in common that particular way of building burrows mostly in rotten motherwort. Some of the trapper spiders make a strange sound when they rub their legs together.
jumping spiders
The Salticide It is made up of more than 6000 species of spiders that jump to catch flies and are called jumping spiders for that ability, they also have two large eyes in the middle of others that add up to eight, these give them incredible vision compared to other animals, what that allows them to hunt and move much faster and be more accurate.
Even so, quite discreet and somewhat curious is that they do not build spider webs. They are seen mostly in places with temperate climate, deserts and forests.
Eresus sandaliatus – Ladybug Spider
This is a spider that has been seen more frequently in Europe, they are characterized by their large and small black points that together with the orange, yellow or red color make them similar to ladybugs. It is possible to see various shades of these three colors in each species. The females can reach 10 or 16 millimeters in length, the males are a little smaller.
These are called "Velvet spiders" and are found mostly in central Europe or in the north, they create their webs with silk and cover the burrows with it, something curious is that only the males are the ones that have on their back the characteristic red dots, the females contrary to them have a uniform black color throughout their body. In fact, males only start to get spots when they are already adults.
Haplopelma Lividum Cobalt Blue – Cobalt Blue Tarantula
This species belongs to the family Theraphosidae and as its name indicates, its body is cobalt blue and its legs are quite iridescent in shades of blue, it can measure up to 13 centimeters, they are quite aggressive, very fast and poisonous, but they do not cause much damage to humans , only pain.
Heteropoda maxima – Giant huntsman spider
This is considered the largest spider species in the world, knowing the number of species where many have long legs, calling this the one with the longest already means a great length. The length of its legs can only reach 30 meters while its body itself can reach 8 centimeters in length, that is, a common ruler measures the same as its legs, if you have one at hand you can use it to have a clear idea.
It was first found in 2001 by a naturalist who kept it in captivity while she studied it. It has only been seen in the Lao People's Democratic Republic, which is located in the southeast of the Asian continent, that specimen was already quite developed since they only come out of their caves when they have to look for prey but they are big enough to hunt them, something curious is that develop slowly, but due to its large size it was quickly popularized.
It belongs to the genus heteropoda and to order spiders, It feeds mostly on frogs, its speed is surprising, they walk sideways easily and do not fall when they pass over smooth surfaces, in addition to that they are extremely deadly due to their lethal sting that they use not only against their prey but also against humans.
Maratus elephans – Elephant Spider
The so-called elephant spider is part of the group of spiders that have been called "peacock spiders" belonging to the family SalticideThis is because they have colors on their abdomen and they usually display it when they are courting females of their species. These really are the best looking and most "beautiful" spiders within the many species of this order, their colors greatly reduce the fearful impact they can cause on people when seen.
In Australia in 2015 several of these spiders were found and when studied they were called by different names because it was determined that they were different subspecies, that is how the elephant spider was called one that simulated the silhouette of an elephant with its body (because of the flaps on the back).
They can measure up to 5 millimeters and even less (3), they are really quite small and you have to detail them with a magnifying glass to see their abdomen colors. While other peacock spiders usually measure between four and six millimeters, other species in this family are:
- Maratus anomaliformis
- marathus avibus
- maratus bitaeniatus
- Maratus calcitrans
- Maratus chloropthalmus
- maratus dialeucus
- Maratus digitatus
- maratus furvus
- marathus karrie
- marathus karschi
- maratus linnaei
- Maratus nigromaculatus
- Dark Maratus
- Maratus Pavonis
- maratus personatus
- maratus pilosus
- maratus plumosus
- marathus sarahae
- Maratus skeleton
- maratus spicatus
- maratus splendens
- flying maratus
- maratus watagansi
Misumena vatia – Crab Spider
These spiders are very common in North America and Eurasia, specifically in China, Japan, Korea, Russia, Mongolia and some have been found in Peru, they are very striking with their white or yellow color and white stripes, some can have an apple green tone that It is a green reaching a very light yellow, although the females have darker tones and even a brown tone on the abdomen. Even so, you can see specimens of white, cream or the common green and yellow.
These spiders generally live among flowers that have white or yellow colors, something that is related to their diet of bees. They can measure from 2,5 millimeters to 4 if they are males, females can reach up to 12 millimeters in length and they are not among the Endangered animals in the world.
Scytodes globula – Tiger Spider
This is a well-known spider and in fact is part of many children's drawings or children's film productions, it is found in many Latin American countries and in the urban areas of their cities, specifically in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador , Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay. With the tigers they not only share their body full of yellow and black stripes but also their way of hunting, at night they stealthily approach their prey and spit the fabric on them.
They usually eat cockroaches, mosquitoes, ants, flies and can eat spiders of other species, mostly the corner ones. Something natural knowing that they live in urban areas, the curious thing is that they are not harmful to people, they know how to hide very well from them. As for their size, they can measure between 3 centimeters when they are young up to 7 centimeters when they are mature, a specimen was even found in 2013 located in Sri Lanka that was much larger and poisonous to humans.
Theridion grallator – Happy face spider
On the Oahu, Maui, Hawaii and Molokai islands it is very common to see happy face spiders, which are so called because on their back they have a red shape with a black border that simulates a smile and further back they have four points where two are larger than the eyes appear. They can measure 5 millimeters in length, they are quite harmless which gives them a much more graceful and friendly appearance with humans. They are known as Happy face and belongs to the genre Theridion.
black widow
The capulin spider, wheat spider or black widow belongs to the family Theridiidae which can measure up to 50 millimeters (females) or 12 millimeters (males), females generally have a uniform black color throughout their body and a red spot on the lower part of their abdomen. Males can be brown with orange tones and often have red and white stripes. As for its venom, it is neurotoxic, causes severe muscle pain and paralyzes the central nervous system of the prey.
These spiders are seen mostly in the United States, Venezuela and Mexico, they are nocturnal and stay in spaces with little light, under stones, on plants, in holes in houses, barns, etc. They are not really aggressive, they are very solitary and shy, they are so called because this is one of the species that always devours the males after the courtship and mating ends. Their life expectancy does not exceed one year and they usually eat insects, which fall on their thick fabric.