Guide Note

Spiders are eight legged invertebrate animals classified as arachnids. There are over 100 families of spiders, comprised of over 40,000 species.¹

Fast Facts

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Have existed for over 300 million years²
Only 25 species have venom that affects humans³

Characteristics

Spiders have special characteristics that differentiate them from insects. These features include only two main body parts: the cephalothorax and the abdomen. Each main section has four legs. Spiders also have no antennae, as most insects do. Spiders are distinct from other arachnids by the fact that they have a small waist and tough exterior over the cephalothorax.²

Spider Myths

Contrary to what many people believe, spiders are not insects. In addition, all arachnids are not spiders. The "grandaddy longlegs," properly known as the harvester, is not actually a spider. All spiders are not male, and they do require a male and female in order to mate.⁴

Categories

Science | Animals

View Note History

Spiders

The Mahalo Top 7

Burk Museum of Natural History and Culture: Spider Myths
Wikipedia: Spiders
Australian Museum Online: Welcome to Spiders
Denver Museum of Nature and Science: Spiders
Termite.com: USA Spider Identification Chart
Spiderzrule.com: Spider Pages
American Museum of Natural History: World Spider Catalog

Spiders Background and Behavior

Landcare Research: Spider Information
Anatomy of a Spider: Spiders
Dcn.davis.ca.us: Spider Facts
Spiders: Glossary
South African Museum: Spiderweb
earthlife.net: Spider Reproduction
National Geographic: Spider Facts

Spiders News and Articles

Science Daily: Spider News
Arachnology.be: Spiders in the News
WorldNetDaily: Sheik: Allah Sent Giant Spiders to Combat U.S.

Spiders and Humans

National Geographic: Vampire Spider (2005)
Insecta-Inspeca World: Arachnophobia
MSNBC: Tenn. Boy Ruled Killed by Spider Bite (2004)

Spiders Fun Stuff

Umich.edu: Headlighting for Spiders
Enchanted Learning: Spider Activities
Cornwell.edu: Spider Project
YouTube: Spiders On Drugs

Spiders Photos and Videos

Live Image Search: Spiders
Google Image Search: Spider PIctures
YouTube: Camel Spider Revealed
Metacafe.com: Spider Documentary
Metacafe.com: Various Spider Videos
YouTube: Jumping Spider Mating Behavior
YouTube Video: What Females Want and Males Will Do | Spider | PBS (Time 6:03)

Spiders Blogs and Forums

Tarantula.com: Forum
Arachnofreaks.com: Forum
Arachnopets.com: Forum

Spiders Organizations

Arachnology.org: The International Society of Arachnology
European-arachnology.org: European Society of Arachnology
Americanarachnology.org: The American Arachnological Society
Spiderwebwatch.org: Spider Web Watch

Spiders Books and Related Merchandise

Amazon.com: Books About Spiders
Kritters in the Mailbox: Gifts and Merchandise

Related Searches

Spider-Man | Scorpions | Bees | How to Treat a Spider Bite

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