Spitting spider

Template:Short description Template:Automatic taxobox Spitting spiders are a family of araneomorph spiders, the family Scytodidae, first described by John Blackwall in 1864.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> It contains over 250 species in five genera,<ref name=NMBE /> of which Scytodes is the best-known.

DescriptionEdit

Scytodidae spiders are haplogyne, meaning they lack hardened female genitalia. They have six eyes, like most spiders in this group, arranged in three pairs. They possess long legs and a dome-shaped cephalothorax, and are usually yellow or light brown with black spots or marks. Their domed head and three eye groups tend to resemble a human skull, giving them the occasional common name "skull spiders".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Hunting techniqueEdit

Scytodidae catch their prey by spitting a fluid that congeals on contact into a venomous and sticky mass. The fluid contains both venom and spider silk in liquid form, though it is produced in venom glands in the chelicerae. The venom-laced silk both immobilizes and envenoms prey such as silverfish. In high-speed footage the spiders can be observed swaying from side to side as they "spit", catching the prey in a criss-crossed "Z" pattern; it is criss-crossed because each of the chelicerae emits half of the pattern. The spider usually strikes from a distance of Template:Convert and the entire attack sequence only lasts 1/700th of a second.<ref name=Pipe07>Template:Cite book</ref> After making the capture, the spider typically bites the prey with venomous effect, and wraps it in the normal spider fashion with silk from the spinnerets.<ref name=G&R>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Pre social behaviourEdit

Some species exhibit presocial behaviour, in which mature spiders live together and assist the young with food.<ref name=JM>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

GeneraEdit

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File:Scytodes.fusca.female.-.tanikawa.jpg

Scytodes fusca, female

Template:As of, the World Spider Catalog accepts the following genera:<ref name=NMBE>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Template:Div col

Dictis L. Koch, 1872 — Asia, Oceania, North America and Seychelles
Scyloxes Dunin, 1992 — Tajikistan
Scytodes Latreille, 1804 — South America, Africa, Asia, North America, Caribbean, Central America, Oceania, Spain
Stedocys Ono, 1995 — China, Malaysia, Thailand

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ReferencesEdit

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External linksEdit

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