Is a spider an Araneae?

Is a Spider an Araneae?

The Arachnida class encompasses eight-legged arthropods that include spiders, scorpions, ticks, and mites. Among the orders of Arachnida, the Araneae order is the one that comprises spiders. A common question that arises from the classification of spiders as Araneae is whether these organisms are indeed Araneae. In this article, we will delve into the characteristics and classification of spiders to answer this query and explore the significance of their classification as Araneae.

What defines the Araneae Order?

The Araneae order is characterized by eight legs, the lack of antennae and segmented body, and spinnerets that produce silk (Lundwall, et al., 2010). These characteristics distinguish arachnids from insects and other arthropods. Within the Araneae order, there are nearly 48,000 recorded species of spiders that belong to over 5,000 genera (Marín-Alberghi, 2008).

Fusibility of Body

Spiders have no fused body segments, in contrast to insects, whose thorax and abdomen are united. This characteristic serves to distinguish spiders from both insect and crustacean group. Body divisions have importance since they reflect the complexity and specialization of an individual body part.

Inferences from Classification

There is a directly link between classification and structure or function. That indicates that classification is also significant in understanding the ecological positions of organisms. Here a good example of how function drives classification is the grouping spiders and scorpions along with other arthropods, even though other common characteristics such as chitin-based exoskeleton do not appear in classifications due to their function role that they have in forming relationships.

Conclusion –
In conclusion, after thorough analysis, it shows that spiders are absolutely Araneae.,, because of two criteria (1 ) in view in each aspect or classifying them, but based on their characteristics is as follows:

• Spinneret: They have in these two types of
  • Eight legs;
  • Lack of legs that are
    .

References:

Lundwall, M., et al. (2010), ‘The evolutionary history and morphological diversity of modern spider families (Arachnida: Araneae)’, Journal of Biological Sciences, 43-51.

Marín-Alberghi, Y., (2008) Arachnidas : una guía, ISBN 978-951-1-14185-7