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| Greenlynx spider with egg sac |
Sub-orders
Morphology
The Araneae comprise two body segments supported by a hard chitinous exoskeleton, 10 jointed appendages and simple, single lense eyes.
The chelicera (mouth parts) are hollow and are primarily used in predation and food consumption and the second appendages, the pedipalps, contain sensory receptors.
The opisthosoma (abdomen) terminates in spinnerets capable of producing silk.
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1) four leg pairs 2) cephlothorax 3) abdomen (opisthosoma) |
Tetragnathid displaying prominant mouth parts, eyes and modified antennae-like pedipalps |
Behavior
Many spiders construct webs to trap insects using a stong protein starnd extruded by the spider from spinnerets on the end of the abdomen.
All siders have the ability to produce silk, yet not all species utilise webs for hunting; some species use silk for climbing, forming smooth walls for burrows and cocooning prey.
Author: Ceri Thomas
Last updated: 22.11.05
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