Glossary
abdomen
the second segment of a spider's body
anterior
closer to the front of the body or to the cephalothorax
anterior median eyes
middle pair of eyes in the front of the carapace
appendages
the legs and pedipalps of a spider
arachnologist
scientist who studies arachnids
Araneae
the Order to which spiders belong
arthropod
animals with external skeletons and jointed legs; includes insects, spiders, and crabs
biodiversity
number and kinds of living organisms
book lungs
one type of respiratory organ found in spiders
boss
a bump found at the base of the chelicerae of some spiders
calamistrum
bristles on metatarsus IV of some spiders used to comb silk from the cribellum
carapace
first segment of spider's body
cephalothorax
first segment of spider's body
chelicerae
jaws of a spider
cobweb spider
spider in the family Theridiidae
combfooted spider
spider in the family Theridiidae
coxa
leg segment closest to the body
crab spider
spider in the family Thomisidae
cribellum
a flat spinning plate covered with thousands of silk spigots anterior to the spinnerets in cribellate spiders
cribellate
a group of spiders possessing a cribellum and calamistrum
daddy-long-legs spiders
spiders in the family Pholcidae
dorsal
on top
dragline
a safety line of silk
ecosystem
a community of species that lives in a particular habitat
Ecribellate
group of spiders lacking a cribellum and calamistrum
endites
platelike structures on either side of the opening to the mouth used to macerate prey and filter out large particles from the mouth
epigynum
scleritized plates surrounding the genital opening on the ventral surface of the female's abdomen
fang
claw-like structures at the ends of the chelicerae with openings leading to poison glands
femur
the third segment of the leg or pedipalp
fishing spider
spider in the family Pisauridae
funnel weavers
spiders in the family Agelenidae
genitalia
pedipalps and epigyna, or external sexual organs in spiders
hairy mygalomorph
spider in the family Theraphosidae
intromittent organs
male organs used to inject sperm into females; pedipalps are intromittent organs
jumping spider
spider in the family Salticidae
labium
a platelike structure located between the two endites
lampshade spider
spider in the family Hypochilidae
lateral
side
long jawed spider
spider in the family Tetragnathidae
lynx spider
spider in the family Oxyopidae
median
middle
metatarsus
sixth leg segment away from the body
morphology
the study of body form and structure
nursery web spider
spider in the family Pisauridae
orb-weaving spider
spider in the family Araneidae
patella
the fourth segment of the leg or pedipalp counting from the tip of the appendage
pedicel
the stalk linking the cephalothorax to the abdomen
pedipalps
the leg-like first pair of appendages on a spider
pirate spider
spider in the family Mimetidae
posterior
closer to the spinnerets
posterior median eyes
middle pair of eyes closer to the back of the carapace
sac spiders
spiders in the family Clubionidae
scleritized
hardened and thickened
scopula
a fringe of fine hairs on the ventral surface of the tarsus and metatarsus
sheet-web weaver
spider in the family Linyphiidae
sperm web
a platform of silk upon which the male deposits a droplet of sperm
spiderlings
baby spiders
spinnerets
organs through which silk emerges from a spider's body
spiracle
opening to the respiratory organs (the book lungs or the tracheae)
sternum
hardened plate forming the ventral surface of the cephalothorax
stridulating area
area with parallel chitinous ridges that are rubbed by another structure to produce sounds
tarantula
mygalomorph spider
tarsus
last segment of the leg or pedipalp
taxonomy
the science of classification; in biology the taxonomic categories from greatest to smallest are Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species
tibia
the third segment of the leg counting from the end
tracheal spiracle
opening to the tube-like respiratory organs called tracheae that extend inside the spider's body
trapdoor spider
spider in the family Ctenizidae
trochanter
the second segment of the leg or pedipalp counting from the body
truncate
squared off
ventral
''belly'' side wolf spider in the family Lycosidae