Spiders are arthropods of the order Araneae within the class Arachnida, characterized by two main body segments (prosoma and opisthosoma), chelicerae modified into venom-injecting fangs, absence of antennae, and typically eight legs. They possess silk glands (spigots on spinnerets) producing diverse silk types for web construction, prey capture, egg protection, and locomotion. Most are obligate predators, using venom and digestive enzymes for extraoral digestion. Respiration occurs via book lungs, tracheae, or both, and many exhibit complex courtship behaviors to mitigate sexual cannibalism. Araneae is highly diverse taxonomically and ecologically, occupying nearly all terrestrial ecosystems and serving crucial roles as invertebrate predators.
Soils are home to some of the most diverse animal communities on Earth. These animals—including nematodes, springtails, mites, earthworms, spiders and other arthropods—drive decomposition, regulate microbial communities and ...
Plants & Animals
May 12, 2026
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Researchers have provided new insights into the evolutionary origin of sideways walking in crabs. Their study, published today as a Reviewed Preprint in eLife, presents the largest comparative dataset on crab locomotion to ...
Plants & Animals
Apr 21, 2026
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Researchers have documented several cases of spatial orientation in tarantulas living both in trees and in underground burrows. Spatial orientation refers to the ability of an animal to understand where it is in three-dimensional ...
Plants & Animals
Apr 10, 2026
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Last year Kenya Wildlife Service warned of a growing demand for garden ants in Europe and Asia, where some people view them as exotic pets. An attempt to smuggle over 2,000 garden ants out of the country's main international ...
Ecology
Apr 8, 2026
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Members of the arachnid class—think spiders, scorpions and harvestmen (daddy long legs)—are often the targets of revulsion, disgust and fear. Yet, they are crucial for ecosystems to thrive. Given the crash in worldwide biodiversity, ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 2, 2026
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Whether it's a sudden dash across the garage or silhouette in a backyard web, spiders evoke fear in many people. But researchers don't have a clear picture of why, exactly, this phobia is so common. An interdisciplinary team ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 2, 2026
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A newly published study co-authored by University of South Florida alum Louis Coticchio and USF integrative biologist Deby Cassill challenges long-standing assumptions about the brown recluse spider, finding the species is ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 26, 2026
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What makes spider silk so extraordinarily strong and elastic at the same time? This was the focus of recent investigations carried out by researchers from the University of Greifswald, the University of Bonn and the Museum ...
Plants & Animals
Jan 27, 2026
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Male nursery web spiders (Pisaura mirabilis) use the sense of smell in their legs to find mates. Researchers at the University of Greifswald used an electron microscope to discover "olfactory hairs" on the legs of adult males. ...
Plants & Animals
Dec 3, 2025
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