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Scytodes

Scytodes is a genus of spiders in the family Scytodidae, commonly known as spitting spiders due to their distinctive prey-capture technique of ejecting a rapid stream of sticky, venom-laced silk.^[1]^[2] Comprising 233 accepted species, the genus is predominantly pantropical in distribution, with some species achieving cosmopolitan ranges through human introduction, such as S. thoracica and S. fusca.^[1] These spiders are small, typically measuring 3–6 mm in body length, and feature a high, domed cephalothorax, long thin legs, and six eyes arranged in three dyads, differing from the eight eyes of most araneomorph spiders.^[2]^[3] The genus was established by Pierre André Latreille in 1804, with Aranea thoracica (now Scytodes thoracica) designated as the type species.^[1] Taxonomically, Scytodes belongs to the order Araneae, suborder Araneomorphae, and is the largest genus within Scytodidae, which includes four genera and 253 species total.^[1]^[4] Species diversity is highest in the Neotropics and Indo-Malayan regions, though representatives occur across all continents except Antarctica, often in warm, humid environments.^[1] In North America, nine species are recorded, including S. thoracica in the northern United States and S. univittata in the southwest.^[5] Physically, Scytodes spiders exhibit a pale yellowish body marked with dark brown or black speckles and stripes, providing camouflage on bark or walls; the abdomen is often ovoid and patterned similarly.^[2] They lack a cribellum for cribellate silk and possess specialized glands that combine silk production with venom delivery, enabling their signature spitting behavior—projecting a zig-zag spray of adhesive up to 15 mm (several times their body length) at speeds of 28 m/s to entangle prey.^[6]^[2] This method targets insects and smaller spiders, with the spiders then approaching to bite and wrap the immobilized victim.^[3] Behaviorally, Scytodes are nocturnal, solitary hunters that do not spin orb webs or sheet retreats, instead wandering actively or ambushing from low silken trip lines.^[2] They show maternal care, with females carrying egg sacs in their chelicerae and permitting spiderlings to remain nearby after hatching, sometimes exhibiting subsocial tendencies.^[3] Often synanthropic, they frequent human structures like homes and sheds in subtropical areas, posing no significant threat to humans despite their mildly toxic venom, which is used primarily for prey subjugation rather than defense.^[2]

Taxonomy and Phylogeny

Taxonomic History

The genus Scytodes was established by the French entomologist Pierre André Latreille in 1804, within his Tableau méthodique des Insectes published in the Nouveau Dictionnaire d'Histoire Naturelle.^[7] The type species, Scytodes thoracica, had been originally described two years earlier by Latreille as Aranea thoracica in 1802, based on specimens from Europe, marking the initial recognition of this distinctive spider group characterized by its unique cranial morphology. Latreille's creation of the genus highlighted the spiders' aberrant features relative to typical araneids, setting the stage for their separation from the broad Aranea Linnaeus, 1758. Early post-establishment work included a detailed description of S. thoracica by Jean Victor Audouin in 1826, who provided illustrations and confirmed its placement in Scytodes, emphasizing the female's morphology and contributing to the genus's foundational documentation. Throughout the 19th century, additional species were added, such as Scytodes fusca Walckenaer, 1837, expanding the genus's scope primarily in tropical and subtropical regions. The etymology of Scytodes derives from the Greek skytos (leather or tanned hide) combined with -odes (resembling), alluding to the leathery, mottled appearance of the spiders' exoskeleton.^[8] The genus was formally placed within the family Scytodidae, originally proposed by John Blackwall in 1864 (subsequently corrected to 1852 by Marusik in 2025 based on priority rules).^[4] This family initially encompassed spitting spiders distinguished by their modified chelicerae and hunting behavior, though early classifications often lumped them with haplogyne groups. Key 20th-century revisions included Simon's 1893 catalog, which synonymized several junior names and recognized about 50 species, and Gertsch's 1935 work on American taxa, refining generic limits by excluding some species later transferred to Loxosceles Heineken & Lowe, 1832.^[9] In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, molecular and morphological phylogenies prompted further changes; for instance, Brescovit and Rheims (2000) revised synanthropic Neotropical species, establishing synonymies and providing records from other countries based on morphological features.^[9] A significant update came in 2022 with Zamani et al.'s proposal of subfamilies within Scytodidae: Scytodinae (including Scytodes and Dictis Koch, 1872) and Microcteninae, supported by cladistic analysis of 150 morphological characters, resolving long-standing debates on family monophyly.^[10] As of November 2025, the World Spider Catalog recognizes 233 valid Scytodes species, reflecting ongoing synonymies and descriptions, particularly from Southeast Asia and the Americas, while maintaining the genus's core definition tied to its six-eyed, spitting predation strategy.^[1]

Classification and Species Diversity

Scytodes is classified within the kingdom Animalia, phylum Arthropoda, class Arachnida, order Araneae, family Scytodidae, subfamily Scytodinae, and genus Scytodes.^[1] This placement reflects its position among the spitting spiders, characterized by their unique prey capture mechanism involving adhesive spit.^[11] As of November 2025, the genus Scytodes includes 233 recognized species and 1 subspecies, Scytodes univittata unilineata.^[1] No subgenera are currently recognized within Scytodes, though the genus exhibits considerable morphological variation across its pantropical distribution. Species delineation relies primarily on differences in genital morphology, including the structure of the male palpal bulb—particularly the embolus shape and conductor—and the female epigyne, with internal spermathecae patterns often requiring dissection for accurate identification.^[12]^[13] Phylogenetic analyses based on molecular data confirm the monophyly of Scytodidae within the superfamily Scytodoidea, with Scytodes as the basal and most diverse genus in the family, positioned as sister to a clade including other scytodid genera.^[14] Within Scytodes, recent molecular phylogenies using mitochondrial and nuclear markers reveal distinct clades, such as the thoracica group, which diversified through historical dispersal events driven by the Indian monsoon, highlighting biogeographic influences on species radiation.^[15] These studies underscore the genus's evolutionary history, with basal divergences estimated in the Cretaceous, supporting its ancient origins and subsequent global spread.^[15]

Fossil Record

The fossil record of Scytodes is notably sparse, with only a limited number of specimens documented across major amber deposits, in contrast to the more abundant fossils of other spider genera such as those in the families Linyphiidae or Theridiidae.^[16] One specimen is known from Baltic amber (S. weitschati) and three from Dominican amber (S. piliformis, S. planithorax, and S. stridulans), highlighting the challenges of preservation for this genus despite its representation in diverse modern ecosystems.^[17] The oldest confirmed fossil of Scytodes is S. weitschati, described from Baltic amber and dated to the Eocene epoch, approximately 43 million years ago.^[17] This specimen, including a holotype and an additional male, is incompletely preserved in amber, with one showing deformation possibly from being prey-sucked, yet it retains fine details such as a prosoma length of 0.6 mm, slender legs (e.g., leg I femur 0.55 mm, patella 0.16 mm, tibia 0.5 mm, metatarsus 0.43 mm, tarsus 0.25 mm), and a thickened femur IV measuring 0.56 mm.^[17] Morphological features include an egg-shaped opisthosoma covered in short hairs, few thin bristles, six eyes with the posterior median pair largest, slightly diverging chelicerae, and a free labium, alongside a medium to dark brown body and legs contrasting with a yellow-brown opisthosoma.^[17] The presence of S. weitschati in Eocene Baltic amber indicates an ancient distribution for Scytodes in subtropical to tropical forested habitats of northern Europe, suggesting the genus was more widespread during warmer paleoclimates than its predominantly tropical modern range implies.^[16] Its domed prosoma and cheliceral structure closely resemble those of extant Scytodes species, supporting the inference that the spitting behavior—where silk and venom are expelled to immobilize prey—had already evolved by the mid-Eocene.^[17] Younger fossils, such as S. piliformis, S. planithorax, and S. stridulans from Neogene Dominican amber, further attest to the genus's persistence but remain rare, reinforcing the limited paleontological evidence for Scytodes evolution.^[16]

Morphology

General Appearance

Scytodes spiders are small, pale yellow or whitish arachnids characterized by distinctive black spots and stripes on both the cephalothorax and abdomen.^[18]^[2] The cephalothorax often features variable speckled black markings, while the abdomen displays a pattern of black patches or blotches against its yellowish background. Morphological traits vary across species, including differences in size and coloration patterns. These spiders typically measure 3–6 mm in body length, though some species can reach up to 10 mm, with long, thin legs that are banded with black and extend well beyond the body, giving them a spindly appearance.^[18]^[2]^[19] Sexual dimorphism is evident in size, with females being larger.^[18]^[2] Unlike most spiders, which have eight eyes, Scytodes species possess six eyes arranged in three closely spaced dyads or pairs, forming a characteristic triangular pattern on the forward-projecting head.^[20] This reduced eye count contributes to their overall subtle and unassuming visual profile.

Unique Anatomical Features

Scytodes spiders possess paired silk-producing glands within the cephalothorax that are uniquely adapted for ejecting a venom-laced adhesive glue, distinct from the typical abdominal silk glands found in most spiders. These glands, disproportionately large relative to body size, occupy much of the domed cephalothorax and consist of an anterior compartment storing venom and a larger posterior compartment producing a mucilaginous substance, enabling the rapid expulsion of a combined silk-glue-venom mixture through a narrow orifice.^[21]^[2] The chelicerae of Scytodes exhibit specialized modifications, including diminutive size with a broad venom duct that narrows abruptly near the fang's base, facilitating precise alignment for glue ejection, while a flexible, bellows-like sac allows for rapid fang oscillation during expulsion. These structures also support egg-carrying by providing a secure grip for the egg sac, though the chelicerae remain too small to penetrate human skin effectively.^[21]^[22]^[2] Legs in Scytodes feature prominent sensory structures, particularly trichobothria—fine, hair-like mechanoreceptors—concentrated on the metatarsi of the raised front legs, which detect subtle air movements and substrate vibrations for prey localization. These front legs are notably longer and narrower than the hind legs, enhancing sensory reach and environmental exploration without dense hair coverage.^[2]^[22] The abdomen of Scytodes houses standard posterior spinnerets that produce silk for prey wrapping and egg sacs, but these spiders are ecribellate, lacking the cribellum organ present in some web-building relatives, which results in simpler silk output without cribellar threads. In species that construct minimal retreat webs or silk linings, spinneret variations include reduced spigot complexity compared to orb-weavers, prioritizing utilitarian silk over elaborate web architecture.^[2]^[21]

Ecology

Habitat Preferences

Scytodes spiders, known as spitting spiders, are predominantly nocturnal ambush predators that favor dark, sheltered microhabitats to avoid detection and optimize hunting opportunities. They commonly inhabit crevices, the undersides of rocks, loose tree bark, and similar concealed spots in natural environments, where they remain stationary during the day in a cryptic posture.^[2]^[23] In tropical settings, some species retreat to rotting logs, under palm fronds, or leaf litter for daytime shelter, contributing to their role as sit-and-wait predators in humid forest understories.^[24]^[25] A notable characteristic of many Scytodes species is their synanthropic lifestyle, allowing them to thrive in human-modified environments such as homes, cellars, cupboards, and dark corners of buildings. These spiders prefer warm, humid indoor or semi-outdoor areas that mimic their natural sheltered niches, often expanding their activity and breeding periods in such stable conditions.^[2]^[24]^[23] This association with anthropogenic structures is particularly evident in species like Scytodes thoracica and Scytodes longipes, which are frequently encountered in fields adjacent to dwellings or under overhanging stones near human settlements.^[2]^[24] Certain tropical Scytodes species have adapted to specialized subterranean habitats, including caves where they occupy tight crevices along walls in the twilight or aphotic zones, often surrounded by silk, moss, or debris.^[26] These cave-dwelling forms, such as Scytodes magna and Scytodes cavernarum, demonstrate a preference for stable, dark, and humid cave interiors that provide protection from surface fluctuations.^[26] Overall, Scytodes species avoid extreme cold, with natural populations confined to tropical and subtropical regions, though synanthropy enables survival in temperate zones through access to heated human environments.^[2]^[23]

Geographic Distribution

The genus Scytodes exhibits a cosmopolitan distribution, with species present on all continents except Antarctica and the Arctic regions.^[27]^[15] This broad range is facilitated by both natural dispersal and human-mediated introductions, particularly of synanthropic species that thrive in human-modified environments such as buildings and ships.^[1] Species diversity is highest in tropical regions, including Africa, South America, and Southeast Asia, where over 100 species are recorded in the Neotropics alone and numerous endemics occur in Afrotropical and Oriental realms.^[28]^[23] For instance, Scytodes thoracica is pantropical in its native range and has been widely introduced beyond this, contributing to the genus's global presence.^[29] However, detailed distributional data remain incomplete for many African and South American endemics, reflecting ongoing challenges in taxonomic surveys of these biodiverse areas.^[1] In temperate zones, Scytodes species are less diverse and often represent introduced populations; for example, S. thoracica has established in North America and Europe, primarily in indoor habitats.^[29]^[2] Similarly, S. fusca has spread to northern regions via human activity, underscoring the role of anthropogenic vectors in expanding the genus's range.^[1]

Behavior

Daily Activity Patterns

Scytodes spiders are strictly nocturnal, with the vast majority of their locomotor activity confined to the dark phase of the light-dark cycle, where they forage and move about their environment. In species such as Scytodes globula, approximately 95.9% of activity occurs during scotophase, exhibiting a bimodal pattern with peaks roughly 2 hours and 7 hours into the night period.^[30] This nocturnal rhythm supports their wandering lifestyle, during which they engage in foraging, including brief nocturnal hunting excursions.^[2] During daylight hours, Scytodes remain inactive to minimize exposure to predators, retreating into sheltered sites such as silk-lined hides, dark crevices, or under rocks and debris in a characteristic "retracted-legs" posture that presses the body flat against the substrate.^[31]^[32] This diurnal quiescence is entrained by light intensity, which acts as a primary environmental cue suppressing activity above thresholds around 20 lux.^[30] The solitary nature of Scytodes results in low levels of interaction among individuals outside of mating, as adults maintain independent territories and avoid conspecifics to reduce competition and aggression.^[31] However, juveniles in some species exhibit limited group living, remaining communally in the maternal web for the first three to four instars, where they may show temporary tolerance before dispersing to solitary lives following their molts.^[31]^[2] Activity peaks are further modulated by temperature, with S. globula displaying elevated thermal preferences at twilight and during the night that align with their nocturnal rhythms, allowing optimal foraging conditions within their broad thermal tolerance range.^[33]

Reproduction and Parental Care

Males of Scytodes approach females cautiously during courtship to minimize the risk of attack, employing vibrations or leg tapping on silk structures to communicate their presence and intent.^[31]^[34] In species such as S. intricata, this behavior helps navigate the female's potential aggression, with mating occurring venter-to-venter and lasting 1-2 minutes once initiated.^[34] Females can store sperm for extended periods, enabling multiple egg-laying events without repeated matings.^[2] Following mating, females construct silk egg sacs containing 20-35 eggs, which they carry in their chelicerae for protection.^[2] This carrying behavior lasts 2-3 weeks until hatching, during which females are unable to hunt effectively and may drop the sac temporarily to forage before retrieving it.^[2]^[26] A single female typically produces 2-3 such sacs per reproductive season.^[2] Maternal care extends beyond egg carrying in many Scytodes species, with females guarding hatched juveniles in their webs until the first or subsequent molts.^[2]^[25] In subsocial populations, such as those observed in Philippine Scytodes sp., mothers provision prey to offspring, allowing juveniles to feed alongside them or independently, with young remaining in the maternal web until after the third instar.^[25] For social species like S. socialis, care is more prolonged, involving cooperative interactions where mothers and juveniles share webs and prey, fostering group cohesion during early development.^[34] The lifecycle of Scytodes progresses through egg, juvenile, and adult stages, with juveniles undergoing 5-7 molts before reaching maturity.^[2] Hatching produces first-instar spiderlings that disperse gradually, often after 3-6 days and one molt, though in social contexts this is delayed to support group activities like web maintenance.^[26]^[31] Maturity is achieved in 1.5-3 years depending on species and environmental factors, with adults focusing on reproduction before a lifespan of 1.5-4 years.^[2] Scytodes spiders are generally solitary, exhibiting aggressive behaviors toward conspecifics that often result in territorial disputes over web sites and resources.^[2] This aggression manifests as charging, chasing, and spitting attacks, particularly among adults, enforcing spatial separation and minimizing prolonged cohabitation outside of brief familial associations.^[35] Encounters between individuals frequently carry risks of cannibalism, with adults showing higher propensity to consume juveniles in later instars, independent of prey availability or maternal presence.^[31] In some species, limited sociality emerges during juvenile stages, where spiderlings display cooperative behaviors such as joint web maintenance and cleaning within the maternal web. For instance, in a Singaporean Scytodes sp., juveniles remain together in the mother's web until the fourth instar, contributing to its upkeep before dispersing due to escalating aggression.^[31] Males exhibit caution during approaches to females, slowly navigating webs to avoid triggering defensive spitting or attacks, highlighting the pervasive tension in conspecific interactions.^[35] Rare observations of group hunting occur in certain tropical species, where juveniles coordinate to subdue larger intruders through collective spitting and biting, though such cooperation is exceptional within the predominantly solitary genus.^[31] In Scytodes socialis from Madagascar, web-sharing groups of mixed ages and sexes engage in similar communal prey subjugation, representing one of the few documented cases of extended sociality in Scytodidae.^[34]

Hunting and Prey Capture

Hunting Strategies

Scytodes spiders primarily employ ambush predation, positioning themselves motionless on surfaces such as leaves or bark to await passing prey, often during their nocturnal activity periods.^[25] This sit-and-wait strategy allows them to conserve energy while relying on heightened sensory capabilities for detection. They utilize trichobothria, specialized sensory hairs on their legs, to perceive subtle vibrations from approaching prey, enabling precise localization without active movement.^[36] Additionally, chemosensory hairs on the pedipalps and forelegs detect chemical cues, including scents from potential prey, facilitating slow, deliberate stalking when vibrations indicate a nearby target. Once prey is detected within striking distance, Scytodes initiates an attack from up to 10 body lengths away, first immobilizing the target to prevent escape or retaliation before a closer approach.^[37] This immobilization step is crucial, as it minimizes risk during the subsequent advance. Araneophagy is a hallmark of their predatory niche, with Scytodes frequently targeting other spiders, which comprise a significant portion of their diet due to the spiders' soft exoskeletons and predictable movements.^[25] Following immobilization, they wrap the subdued spider in silk produced from spinnerets, securing it for consumption and preventing post-capture struggles.^[36] The efficiency of these strategies varies by context, with ambush and stalking offering lower energy demands compared to more active pursuits, though overall predation success rates hover around 28% in observed interactions with web-building hosts.^[38] Spitting serves as the primary immobilization tool, but when prey is within tactile range, stalking alone can suffice, potentially reducing metabolic costs associated with venom and silk production.^[39] This tactical flexibility enhances their adaptability across diverse microhabitats, balancing energy expenditure with capture reliability.^[36]

Spitting Mechanism

Scytodes spiders possess specialized venom glands located in the cephalothorax, divided into anterior and posterior portions that enable the production of a unique mixture for prey capture and defense. The anterior portion secretes venom, while the posterior produces a fast-acting adhesive glue, which is combined with gumfoot-like silk fibers and venom generated within the same glandular system. This silk-glue-venom composite forms a viscous, sticky substance that immobilizes targets through both physical entanglement and chemical action from the venom.^[40] The ejection process is powered by rapid muscle contractions in the chelicerae, causing the fangs to oscillate at frequencies ranging from 278 to 1781 Hz, which propels the mixture through a narrow orifice (approximately 0.014 mm) at the fang base. This results in a distinctive zigzag spray pattern, created by alternating lateral-to-medial sweeps of the fangs combined with ventral-to-dorsal elevation of the chelicerae, with the entire ejection completing in less than 35 ms (mean: 25.2 ms). Velocities can reach up to 28.8 m/s (mean: 10.32 m/s), allowing the spit to cover distances of up to 20 mm—equivalent to approximately 3-7 body lengths for a typical Scytodes individual measuring 3-6 mm.^[6] The biomechanical design ensures high accuracy, with the glue beads distributed in a regular, non-random pattern (Clark-Evans index: 1.91, indicating clustering avoidance), enabling effective targeting at close ranges of 2-5 cm. Upon contact, the adhesive hardens almost immediately, and the silk contracts by 40-60% within 0.2 seconds post-ejection, generating a tensile force of 0.1-0.3 mN to further restrain the target. Following successful immobilization—often aided by prior sensory detection of prey movement—the spider approaches to administer a venomous bite for subdual. This spitting mechanism also serves a defensive role, where Scytodes individuals deploy the mixture against approaching predators to deter attacks, given their slow locomotion.^[6]^[2]

Web Construction and Use

Scytodes spiders produce irregular sheet webs or tubular retreats, primarily in tropical species, distinguishing them from orb-webs constructed by many other araneids. These structures consist of loosely woven silk sheets spanning leaf surfaces or crevices, often connected to a three-dimensional tubular nest via a small opening, built using silk extruded from the spinnerets to form non-sticky shelters rather than capture lines. In social species such as Scytodes socialis from Madagascar, webs integrate dead leaves, debris, and branches, achieving an average volume of approximately 219 cm³, and are positioned above 1.25 meters in vegetation.^[25]^[34]^[41] Construction of these webs relies on silk for structural support, with juveniles in cooperative species like the undescribed Singaporean Scytodes sp. participating in nest maintenance and expansion alongside adults, though detailed building sequences remain understudied. The silk forms sparse, irregular sheets without adhesive properties, emphasizing shelter over entrapment. Tropical species, such as those in the Philippines, typically erect these on green or dead leaves, creating enclosed retreats.^[31]^[25] These webs serve non-capture functions, including resting sites for adults and juveniles, protection of egg sacs enclosed in silk, and amplification of vibrations to detect nearby prey or intruders without direct contact. In S. socialis colonies, multiple individuals—up to three males, one female, and juveniles—cohabitate within the web for shelter, with egg cases guarded by solitary females, pairs, or groups. Webs are often temporary, abandoned after juveniles disperse post-moult or upon colony relocation, leaving behind silk remnants.^[31]^[34]^[25] Species variation is notable: web-building occurs in select tropical taxa like S. socialis and Philippine Scytodes sp., where communal structures support subsocial behaviors, whereas many temperate species, such as S. thoracica, forgo webs entirely, relying on ambulatory hunting without silk shelters. This dichotomy highlights evolutionary adaptations in web use across the genus.^[34]^[25]^[41]

Diet

Prey Selection

Scytodes spiders primarily select soft-bodied insects as prey, including moths (Lepidoptera), mosquitoes and flies (Nematocera and other Diptera), as well as hemipterans and orthopterans.^[42] These preferences stem from the spiders' specialization on arthropods with soft chitin, as harder exoskeletons in groups like beetles (Coleoptera) and certain hymenopterans are typically refused during feeding experiments.^[42] Araneophagy is also prominent, with small spiders forming a significant portion of the diet, particularly web-building species and jumping spiders (Salticidae), which can be dominant in some field observations.^[42]^[43] This selectivity aligns with the efficacy of their spitting mechanism in subduing appropriately sized targets without excessive risk.^[42] Opportunistic scavenging of dead prey occurs but is rare in natural settings, with field observations limited compared to active hunting.^[44] Dietary composition exhibits regional variations, with tropical populations consuming more insects while spider prey is more common outdoors.^[42] In temperate synanthropic environments, where species like S. thoracica predominate, the diet shifts toward a higher proportion of spiders alongside soft-bodied household pests like flies, reflecting available synanthropic fauna.^[2]

Feeding and Digestion

Scytodes spiders employ extra-oral digestion following prey immobilization, where venom injected via a bite contains astacin-like metalloproteases that degrade extracellular matrix proteins, initiating the liquefaction of internal tissues.^[40] These enzymes, along with other proteolytic components such as longistatin serine proteases, facilitate the breakdown of prey proteins, enabling efficient nutrient extraction.^[40] Once liquefied, the spider regurgitates additional digestive fluids from its midgut onto the prey, further dissolving soft tissues through a combination of proteases, lipases, and other hydrolases typical of spider extra-oral digestion processes.^[45] The resulting nutrient-rich slurry is then sucked up through the spider's sucking stomach, while indigestible remnants like the exoskeleton are discarded.^[46] This feeding method allows Scytodes to process a variety of insect and spider prey, providing high-protein nourishment that supports metabolic demands and reproductive cycles.^[47]

References

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Spitting spiders - nature's strangest hunters
Nov 20, 2017 · They tend to be more active at night, and gravitate towards the warm and cosy confines of caves or houses, keeping out of sight in dark crevices ...
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Adaptation of the spiders to the environment - PubMed Central - NIH
The araneomorph spiders Loxosceles laeta and Scytodes globula have greater daily variations in preferred temperatures at twilight and during the night, which ...Missing: cues | Show results with:cues
[33]
[PDF] Web-sharing Sociality and Cooperative Prey Capture in a Malagasy ...
Dec 28, 2006 · With future advances in phylogeny, Scytodidae may become a useful system for studying the evolution of sociality including an independent ...
[34]
The evolution of sociality in the spitting spider, Scytodes fusca ...
Aug 7, 2025 · This spider is tolerant of most conspecific intruders on the web but adults, particularly females, do display aggression to other adults by ...
[35]
(PDF) Scytodes vs. Schizocosa: predatory techniques and their ...
Aug 7, 2025 · We investigated sexual dimorphism in feeding behavior and morphological characteristics associated with prey capture in the wolf spider ...<|control11|><|separator|>
[36]
(PDF) Interpopulation variation in the risk-related decisions of Portia ...
Aug 10, 2025 · labiata from Sagada in the Philippines (allopatric to Scytodes) fails to make comparable risk-related adjustments. ... body lengths away ...
[37]
Risky behaviors by the host could favor araneophagy of the spitting ...
Aug 6, 2025 · Leaving the retreat, approaching the predator, and touching the invader apparently made the host spider vulnerable to predation in 55 % of those ...
[38]
Predation by Spitting Spiders: Elaborate Venom Gland, Intricate ...
Jun 26, 2016 · The spitting requires considerable metabolic expenditure both in the form of maintenance of impressively large venom glands and in the form of ...
[39]
Spitting Performance Parameters and Their Biomechanical ... - PMC
Nov 19, 2009 · Spitting spiders Scytodes spp. subdue prey by entangling them at a distance with a mixture of silk, glue, and venom.
[40]
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6692171/
[41]
Feeding ecology of the tropical spitting spider Scytodes longipes ...
Feeding experiments and prey collections in Panama have shown the tropical spitting spider Scytodes longipes to be a specialized feeder on soft-chitinized.
[42]
Parental and predatory behaviour of Scytodes sp., an araneophagic ...
Mar 1, 1999 · Females take prey to their juveniles and either feed alongside the juveniles or leave the juveniles to feed alone. Keywords. spiderScytodes ...
[43]
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-zoology/article/parental-and-predatory-behaviour-of-scytodes-sp-an-araneophagic-spitting-spider-araneae-scytodidae-from-the-philippines/BBDBE8E52931996337F5B924376E5E139
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Characterisation of protein families in spider digestive fluids and ...
Aug 10, 2017 · For this purpose, spiders have evolved potent venoms to immobilise prey and digestive fluids that break down nutrients inside the prey's body by ...Missing: Scytodes | Show results with:Scytodes
[45]
Molecular gut content analysis of different spider body parts
Spiders are liquid feeders utilizing a process of extra-oral digestion for prey consumption. Following ingestion of liquefied material, their midgut branches ...
[46]
Feeding ecology of the tropical spitting spider Scytodes longipes ...
Feeding experiments and prey collections in Panama have shown the tropical spitting spider Scytodes longipes to be a specialized feeder on soft-chitinized ...Missing: composition araneophagy percentage<|separator|>