Spiders

Spiders

Any arachnid of the order Araneae, having a body divided into a cephalothorax with eight legs, two poison fangs, and two feelers as well as an unsegmented abdomen with several spinnerets that produce the silk used to make nests, cocoons, or webs for trapping insects.

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Beijing, China

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Spiders

autospasy

Animals; Spiders

The loss of appendages by breaking them at a predetermined locus of weakness when pulled by an outside form; frequent in spiders and arachnids.

autotomy

Animals; Spiders

The act of reflex self-mutilation by dropping appendages; unknown in the arachnids.

ballooning

Animals; Spiders

Aeronautical dispersal by means of air currents acting on strands of silk.

book lung

Animals; Spiders

An air-filled cavity, containing stacks of blood-filled leaves, opening on the underside of the abdomen.

book lungs

Animals; Spiders

The respiratory pouches of the arachnids, filled with closely packed sheets or folds to provide maximum surface for aeration; believed to be modified, insunk gills.