Arachnids are a class (Arachnida) of chelicerate arthropods studied across zoology, ecology, and evolutionary biology as a diverse group that includes spiders, scorpions, mites, ticks, harvestmen, and related lineages. Research on arachnids focuses on their morphological specializations (e.g., chelicerae, pedipalps, spinnerets in spiders, pectines in scorpions), respiratory structures (book lungs, tracheae), and reproductive and developmental strategies. They serve as key models in venom biochemistry, neurobiology, sensory ecology, and biomechanics, and several groups (notably ticks and mites) are of major importance in medical and agricultural entomology as vectors, parasites, and bioindicators within terrestrial and, to a lesser extent, freshwater ecosystems.
A team of researchers from the University of Adelaide, in collaboration with cavers, has uncovered a large number of eyeless, cave-adapted invertebrates—including spiders, cockroaches, centipedes, and, remarkably, a wasp.
Plants & Animals
Jun 25, 2025
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A research team led by Occidental College has identified a previously unknown symbiosis; deep sea spiders that cultivate and feed on bacteria that oxidize methane.
It might be hard to imagine, but dropping a limb or two is routine for spiders. If molting goes wrong or a leg gets stuck, the pragmatic arachnids simply detach the limb just beyond the body joint. Then it regrows within ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 17, 2025
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A research team has found that a common spider kills its prey with poison but does not inject it into them—instead, it covers them with a web of silk and then covers the silk with regurgitated toxins. In their study published ...
