How many paws does a spider have or the most entertaining facts about creatures living in the web. Spiders: species, body structure, reproduction. How many legs, eyes does a spider have, how does it weave a web, how long does it live, is it an insect or not? Poisonous and non-poisonous spiders: a list with Sk names

Everyone treats spiders differently. But most often these predatory, and often aggressive creatures cause only fear in a person, or maybe even some kind of disgust, someone will examine them with curiosity and interest, and someone will want to move away from that place as soon as possible, where the meeting with the spider took place.

But who really thoroughly studies these creatures, his life is arachnophiles, who just love and admire these creatures by studying them, doing all the necessary research. They are also engaged in their breeding, and a thorough study of their structure and life.

And yet these strange and, at times, incredible scary creatures , which have existed since antiquity, are of interest not only to scientists, but also often ordinary people looking at them with curiosity. But most often the question arises that worries all people, regardless of age (children and adults), about how many legs a spider has. And there is a lot of controversy surrounding this.

We study arachnology

In order to receive exact answer to the question about how many paws a spider has, you can use one of two methods:

Of course, the second method is the fastest, since all you need to do is catch the spider and simply count the number of legs it has. But you can make a mistake!

Unfortunately, not all people know that spiders have more than just legs, but also powerful mandibles, which are usually inherent in predators. Very often they are also considered, like paws. It is known that the spider uses these mandibles to capture and then hold its prey. They are located on the head. But the legs of the representatives of spiders are located on the middle segment of the body, which is also called the cephalothorax.

As for the abdomen itself, it is completely free and there are no limbs on it, except for gill legs and then atrophied. But these legs have changed so over time that they have become ordinary spider warts.

If you go looking for information that is always available, you should start with toxicology. It is known that sometimes spiders are attributed to insects, but that's not true! If they are mistaken for insects, then they should only have 3 pairs of legs. But it is known that these creatures belong to a class separate from insects, which, in their characteristics, are much closer to scorpions.

If we exclude all errors and misconceptions in this matter, then you can easily find the answer to the most important question about how many legs a spider has. It is known that they, regardless of species, have exactly 4 pairs of legs.

The structure of the spider legs and their function

So, a spider has 8 legs or 4 pairs of legs. Each of its legs consists of 7 segments:

The paws of any representative of the spider web are very sensitive. On them there is a huge number of hairs - receptors. It is the legs that help determine when the victim is approaching or in danger from any enemy. It is the paws that help representatives of the arachnids to recognize odors and navigate well in space. And the main function of the paws is to move, dig minks and shelters, weave webs, defend themselves from enemies, and attack their victims.

Experiments on spiders

At all experiment was recently in France, during which scientists tried to figure out what would happen to a spider if it suddenly lost one or two of its legs. It turned out that they did not even notice their loss.

The experiment was carried out as follows: several spider representatives were planted in a small container, in which all the paws are in place. Spiders were planted in another container, which, according to different reasons lost one or two of their legs. They were watched for some time. The scientists found that the weaving of the web, and obtaining food, and other vital procedures, the spiders in both containers performed the same way.

But the results of this study can be easily explained: nature itself took care of spiders and gave them a back pair of legs as a reserve, in case the front legs were suddenly lost. By the way, there are a lot of such individuals. But unfortunately, it is almost impossible to meet a spider with 4 or 5 legs. Usually such a loss can threaten him with the loss of life.

spider leg length

The length of the legs of representatives of the spider web depends on its type. This is usually the result of how a species has adapted to survive under certain conditions of its existence. If we make a certain pedestal of record holders for the length of the legs, then the first six positions would be occupied by the following types of spider representatives:

Very often in life a person can meet a spider with long legs and a gray body color, which moves quite quickly. Of course, each person reacts differently to them.: someone simply does not notice them, and someone is very scared. But not everyone knows that this arthropod is not a spider at all, although it is very similar in appearance to it. The people called him "false spiders." In science, they are also called "haymakers". It is very easy to distinguish between them, knowing the basic distinctive features: the abdomen of such a "spider" is dissected, it almost completely merges with the cephalothorax. But in spiders, the tummy is completely solid and it connects to the head with a thin membrane.

Knowing how many legs a spider has will help you remember how many eyes it has. It is known that representatives of the cobwebs are also owners of 4 pairs of eyes. In scientific books, they usually use a description of arachnids, indicating their total body length, but they usually do not mention the length of the legs. Therefore, these interesting data can only be found if you study some kind of arachnid species in more detail, or if you specifically look for it.

It is worth remembering that not always all spiders, which had the same body size, and even in color, may have legs of the same size. Very often found in wild nature that spiders of the same appearance have different leg lengths.

The most ancient arachnids living on Earth today are scorpions. Millions of years have passed, and they have not changed much. To date, science knows more than 700 of their species.

Scorpions are not only inhabitants of desert areas, as is commonly believed. They are also found in humid and hot tropics and subtropics, some species can be found in cooler places - in the mountains on large But ticks - a relatively young arthropod.

But in my article, I will give preference not to ticks and scorpions, but to spiders, although I don’t particularly favor them. It is interesting to trace how the reduction and simplification took place in the process of evolution. external structure spider, caused by the fusion of segments and distinguishing it from a scorpion. Here I will answer the age-old controversial question of how many legs a spider has, and also tell you what its web is made of. Go!

What does he look like

The external structure of the spider also fundamentally distinguishes it from insects. If their body clearly consists of three sections: the head, thoracic and abdominal, then the arachnids have only two of these sections: the cephalothorax, formed by the fusion of the head and chest and consisting of strong chitin, and a soft abdomen. There are as many as eight eyes on the cephalothorax! Do not be surprised, but in general the minimum number of spider eyes is six, the maximum is twelve.

The cephalothorax is connected to the soft abdomen by a very thin and small tube. At the end of the non-segmented abdomen are the so-called spider warts. I will tell you about their purpose below.

How many legs does a spider have

Many of us still cannot correctly answer the question of how many legs a spider has and probably think that there are six of them, like all insects. But it was not there! This is where the main difference lies - the presence of exactly eight legs, while insects, indeed, have only three pairs of legs. The first pair of spider legs are chelicerae. These are poisonous head limbs that serve to capture and crush food. Next come three pairs of legs designed for walking.

So you and I know how many legs a spider has, what departments it consists of, how many pairs of eyes it has, and, perhaps, most importantly, that it is not an insect! These are his main external signs. Let's move on to the internal "spider review".

The internal structure of the spider

This nervous system controlled by the brain located in the cephalothorax. The spider also has a heart, which is located in the upper front of the soft abdomen (red in the figure). The heart rate is 30-70 beats per minute, but if the spider is tense or exhausted for any reason, then this frequency increases to ... 200 beats per minute! At the end of the abdomen are the so-called spinning organs. They produce silk and are associated with glands that produce various proteins. As a result of mixing and polymerization of proteins, thin silk is obtained, passing through special spinning organs and turning into a thread. Here it is - the web!

Spiders are distributed absolutely all over the world - from Antarctica and highlands to deep gorges and caves. Many of them live on land, and some live in the seas, in fresh springs and in groundwater.

How many legs a spider has, the answer is always unequivocal - 8. They are attached to the cephalothorax, consist of segments, and have a complex structure. The limbs end with a paw, with which they hold on to the surface. In some species of spiders, chelicerae are highly developed, which are almost as long as the forelimbs and perform almost the same functions. Outwardly, it looks like the animal has 10 limbs.

How many legs does a spider have

There are 42,000 people in the world who live on different continents the globe. Differ in size, lifestyle, appearance. You can always answer with accuracy that the spider has 8 legs. 4 on each side of the cephalothorax. All legs are walking, as they help the arthropod to move.

Leg structure:

• pelvic joint;
• swivel;
• femoral part;
• knee part;
• shin;
• calcaneal segment;
• paw.

The last part often ends with a claw, is armed with spikes or looks like claws. The longest of all pairs of legs are the front ones, the hind legs are the fourth. The second are the shortest, the third are of medium length. The average size of walking legs is 2 cm, the most long legs equal to 15 cm, according to some sources - 35 cm.

Limb functions

Regardless of the species, the legs of the spider perform identical functions. The most important of them is walking, which allows the animal to move. The length, structure may differ slightly, so the speed and method of movement change. Spiders crawl slowly, run fast, walk sideways, jump long distances in length.

8 pairs of legs are covered with villi, which perform the functions of the organs of smell, touch. It is the limbs that help the animal navigate in space, hear smells, sounds. Being in an unknown area, the spider gently shifts its paws in front of itself, and only then begins an active movement.

The functions of the forelimbs of the spider are very diverse. With them, the predator captures, holds the prey, digs the ground to build holes, forms a cocoon, puts the cubs on its back, and then dumps them over a long distance.

Chelicerae and pedipalps

In some species of spiders, long chelicerae are formed on the anterior part of the cephalothorax, which are only slightly inferior to the forelimbs. They are often confused with legs, claiming that the spider has 10 paws. The situation is similar with pedipalps. The functions of chelicerae, pedipalps are to chew, grind, knead food. The first are in front oral cavity, resemble claws, in rare cases end with a claw. Pedipalps are movable tentacles with which the spider kneads food. A photo of animals with the most developed chelicerae, pedipalps is located below.

Why does a spider have 8 legs

For Everyday life, to perform all the functions of an arachnid, 6 limbs are enough, as is the case with insects. The eighth pair is a reserve, in case the legs are torn off or injured in a fight with the enemy. In the wild, a lot of spiders live not with full-fledged 8 paws, but 7, 6, 5. When such specimens are found, doubts creep up on a person whether the experts counted correctly.

Spiders are represented by 40 thousand species. They feed on smaller predators than themselves, as well as various insects. Arachnids differ in the structure of the body, which consists of both the cephalothorax and the non-dissected abdomen, connected by the thinnest stalk. Limbs are located directly on the cephalothorax. How many legs a spider has is easy to find out by counting them in at least one specimen. The number of legs is 8 pieces - unchanged for any type of spider. It does not depend on the size of the individual and the habitat.

Not only do they allow rapid movement, but they are also the "hands" with which the cocoons are held and carried. Small processes can be found on the abdomen of spiders. Interestingly, not all limbs are spider paws. Leg tentacles are located in front, with the help of which it orients itself around itself. Before moving, the spider probes the path and receives a signal about what is nearby, as well as where to move.

As soon as the prey is caught, it will enter the spider mouth with the help of the jaws. The leg tentacles are especially clearly visible in representatives of large sizes. The jaws are located in front of the mouth. These are chelicerae that play a significant role in defense against attacks.

With their help, the spider is able to pierce through the enemy (victim) or dig a mink in the ground. Through such limbs, poison is injected into the victim. During the mating season, the leg tentacles are used by males to fertilize spider females.

The legs of a spider are an amazing organ of smell and at the same time a means of transportation. Eight - that's how many spider legs! But if you count the joints, it turns out that there are 48 of them. This is due to the fact that each leg has 6 joints. The legs help determine if individuals stuck to the web are edible. Thin legs pick up vibrations from the victim dying in the web. If the spider needs to catch up with the insect, then it develops quite great speed and quickly overtakes its prey. Some spiders make jumps that are approximately 50 times their size. own body. You can see spiders that, for various reasons, do not have one or two legs.

It turns out that the question of how many legs a spider has in a normal environment can be answered - 6-7 pieces.

This is due to the fact that individuals very often lose limbs. Three pairs of legs are enough for a spider to exist, hunt or run normally - the fourth pair exists in case one of them is lost. The length of the legs can reach 15 cm, and their span - up to 28 cm.

They perform important functions for arachnids, such as:

1. Orientation in space.
2. Fast movement.
3. Hunting for prey.
4. Odor recognition.
5. Web weaving.
6. Digging and deepening the earth for minks.

Arachnids detect odors through hairs located on their legs.

Interestingly, spiders pick up the vibrations that are generated by playing the violin, like the thrill of the victim during the hunt. Using violin music, the spider is easy to lure out of the mink.

Almost every spider species is busy weaving webs. It can be in the form of a warm cocoon, a trapping net.

When observing arachnids, it is noticeable that these types of webs are more common:

• Strong - it has especially strong threads that can withstand the weight of a bird and even a person.
• Round is a network with vertical arrangement. Almost the entire surface is covered with an unpleasant adhesive substance.
• Hammock - has a horizontal arrangement of the base, to which vertical threads are attached. Having become entangled in them during the flight, the insects fall directly onto the hammock, where they will meet with the hunter.

The web has a different density, size and stickiness. Regardless of this, it performs an important function - it catches prey in a reliable trap. As soon as the victim is in a dense spider net, he will be wrapped in a cocoon. Then the spider uses its saliva, poison, and sucks out (like a pump) the resulting slurry.

How many legs do arachnids have? It is important for them to have three pairs of legs and a fourth as a spare. This allows you to easily move along your own web and not stick to it. There are spider species that do not weave webs. Special structure bodies and a large number of legs help them successfully balance.

For many, spiders cause fear and some hostility. I treat them with indifference. I won’t say that I’m afraid of them, but I don’t feel love for them either. Outside the window I have a tree with lush foliage, in summer time one small spider settled there. Once I watched him, and noticed some features. I think you will also be interested in learning about them.

How many legs does a spider have

Spiders can be found everywhere: in nature, in an apartment, in a country house. Many people call spiders insects, but this is not so. Spiders are arachnids. Their main difference from insects is number of paws. All insects have only 3 pairs of legs. If you ever looked at a spider up close, you would immediately notice that it has 8 paws, that is 4 pairs.

Observations of spiders have shown that spiders are often found in nature, which for some reason lost one or two legs, but at the same time it is quite normal to do without them. It turns out that a spider can lead a normal life with only 3 pairs of legs. He has one pair just in case. if he loses one of them.

Spider leg functions

Depending on the type of spider and its habitat the length of its paws can reach 15 centimeters. But why does he need them in such quantities? All his limbs perform a whole a number of functions. With their help, spiders:

• recognize odors;
• orient in space;
• move around;
• dig minks for themselves;
• weave a web;
• hunt for prey.

It turns out that the legs of the spider are very multifunctional and are involved in many life processes. Some species can move very quickly.

Arachnophobia

Many people are just in a panicafraid of spiders. Such fear called arachnophobia. But in fact, these small representatives of the living world have much more reason to fear a person. Well, think about how a little spider that settled on the balcony can harm you?

There is a certain theory according to which, the fear of spiders went to man from his predecessors. In the distant past there were many poisonous spiders, so primates from them could be seriously affected. Now dangerous species little left, but fear has not disappeared in the process of evolution.