a spider with a skull on its back
Steatoda nobilis
title: Spider anatomy text: retains this more primitive character; hence they are sometimes called segmented spiders. The abdomen and cephalothorax are connected by a thin waist called the pedicel. Unlike insects, spiders have an endoskeleton in addition to their exoskeleton. The cephalothorax, also called prosoma, is composed of two primary surfaces: a dorsal carapace and a ventral sternum. Most external appendages on the spider are attached to the cephalothorax, including the eyes, chelicerae and other mouthparts, pedipalps and legs. Like other arachnids, spiders are unable to chew their food, so they have a mouth part shaped like a short drinking straw that they use title: Skeleton tarantula text: Skeleton tarantula The skeleton tarantula, Ephebopus murinus, is a species of spider belonging to the family Theraphosidae (tarantulas), sub-family Aviculariinae. A New World species, it is native to several South American countries. Its common name is derived from the skeleton-like markings on its legs. The species was first described by Charles Athanase Walckenaer in 1837 as "Mygale murina". In 1892, Eugène Simon placed it in his genus "Ephebopus". Frederick Octavius Pickard-Cambridge described it as "Santaremia pococki" in 1896 (creating a new genus). Later Reginald Innes Pocock (1903) synonymised "S. pococki" with "E. murinus", which remains the species' accepted scientific name title: Pholcus phalangioides text: Pholcus phalangioides Pholcus phalangioides, also known as the longbodied cellar spider is a spider of the family Pholcidae. It is also known as the skull spider due its cephalothorax resembling a human skull. Females have a body length of about 9 mm and males are slightly smaller. The length of its legs are about 5 or 6 times the length of its body (reaching a legspan up to 7 cm in females). "Pholcus phalangioides" has a habit of living on the ceilings of rooms, caves, garages or cellars. This spider species is considered beneficial in parts of the world because title: Spider text: Spider Spiders (order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs and chelicerae with fangs able to inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other orders of organisms. Spiders are found worldwide on every continent except for Antarctica, and have become established in nearly every habitat with the exceptions of air and sea colonization. , at least 45,700 spider species, and 113 families have been recorded by taxonomists. However, there has been dissension within the scientific community as to how all these families should be classified, as evidenced by title: Austracantha text: Austracantha Austracantha is a genus of spider with a single species, Austracantha minax, commonly known as the jewel spider or the Christmas spider. It is a member of the family Araneidae (the orb-weavers) and is endemic to Australia. They are relatively small spiders, reaching a maximum total body length of only around for females, and for males. Their abdomen has six distinctive projections ("spines") that makes them easy to identify. They are predominantly a shiny black, with variable white, yellow, and orange patterns. Melanistic forms also occur during autumn. They are facultatively gregarious, and can be found in large aggregations