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• Spiders are eight legged invertebrate animals classified as arachnids. There are over 100 families of spiders, comprised of over 40,000 species.World Spider Catalog: Intro: Counts

• Fast Facts

  1. Kingdom: Animalia
  2. Phylum: Arthropoda
  3. Subphylum: Chelicerata
  4. Class: Arachnida
  5. Order: Araneae
  6. Have existed for over 300 million yearsExplorit Science Center: Spider Facts
  7. Only 25 species have venom that affects humansNational Geographic: Spider Sense: Fast Facts on Extreme Arachnids (June 23, 2004)

• 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.Explorit Science Center: Spider Facts

• 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.Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture: Spider Myths

• Related Mahalo Pages

  Banana Spider | Spider-Man | Scorpions | Bees | Cockroaches | How to Treat a Spider Bite | Spider Eats Bird | Huntsman Spider

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