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 name="blackwall 1864">Template:Cite book</ref> It contains over 250 species in five genera,<ref name=wsc /> of which Scytodes is the best-known.
Description
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 name="arachne" /><ref name="dnr" />
Hunting technique
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 /> 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="gilbert1985" />
Pre social behaviour
Some species exhibit presocial behaviour, in which mature spiders live together and assist the young with food.<ref name="miller2010" />
Genera
-
female Scytodes elizabethae -
female Scytodes fusca -
Template:As of, this family includes four genera:<ref name="wsc" /> Template:Div col
- Dictis L. Koch, 1872 – Seychelles, Asia, Pacific Isles, tropical Asia. Introduced to Mexico, United States
- Scyloxes Dunin, 1992 – Tajikistan, Malaysia, Thailand
- Scytodes Latreille, 1804 – Africa, Asia, southern Europe, North to South America, Australia, New Guinea. Introduced worldwide
- Stedocys Ono, 1995 – China, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand