abdomen - the belly, also called the opisthosoma. It
contains the guts, heart, reproductive organs, and silk glands.
cephalothorax - the fused head and thorax, also called the
prosoma. It contains the brain, jaws, eyes, stomach, and leg
attachments.
eyes - tiny eyes (also called ocelli) that can only detect
light and dark - they are located on top of the spider's
cephalothorax. Most species of spiders have 8 eyes, but other
species have 12, 6, 4, 2 or no eyes.
jaws - also called chelicera, they are located below the
eyes. The jaws are tipped with fangs that can inject poison. |
leg - spiders have 8 legs. Each leg is made of seven
segments and has 2 or 3 tiny claws at the tip. If a leg is lost,
it will grow back.
pedicel - the spider's waist - it connects the
cephalothorax and the abdomen.
pedipalps - also called palps, these two sensory feelers
look like very short legs attached to the front of the spider -
they taste food.
spinnerets - where the spider's silk is released - they are
located at the tip of the abdomen. |
To the Adventures of Itsy the Spider