Scytodidae

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Protostomia
Cladus: Ecdysozoa
Cladus: Panarthropoda
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Classis: Arachnida
Ordo: Araneae
Subordo: Opisthothelae
Infraordo: Araneomorphae
Taxon: Neocribellatae
Series: Haplogynae
Superfamilia: Scytodoidea

Familia: Scytodidae
Genera (5): Dictis – Scyloxes – Scytodes – Soeuria – Stedocys
Name

Scytodidae Blackwall, 1864
References

Paquin, P.; Vink, C.J.; Dupérré, N. 2010: Spiders of New Zealand: annotated family key & species list. Manaaki Whenua Press, Lincoln, New Zealand. ISBN 9780478347050

Links

Platnick, N. I. 2008. The World Spider Catalog, version 9.0. American Museum of Natural History. [1]

Vernacular names
বাংলা: স্পিটিং মাকড়সা
English: spitting spiders
日本語: ヤマシログモ科

Spitting spiders (Scytodidae) is a family of araneomorph spiders first described by John Blackwall in 1864.[1] It contains over 250 species in five genera,[2] of which Scytodes is the best-known.
Description

Like recluse spiders and coneweb spiders, they have six eyes arranged in three pairs and are haplogyne, meaning they have less complex female genitalia. They differ from these families in having a dome-shaped carapace and in their characteristic flecked pattern of spots.
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 10 to 20 millimetres (0.39 to 0.79 in) and the entire attack sequence only lasts 1/700th of a second.[3] 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.[4]
Presocial behaviour

Some species exhibit presocial behaviour, in which mature spiders live together and assist the young with food.[5]
Genera
Main article: List of Scytodidae species
Scytodes fusca, female

As of April 2019, the World Spider Catalog accepts the following genera:[2]

Dictis L. Koch, 1872 — Asia, Australia
Scyloxes Dunin, 1992 — Tajikistan
Scytodes Latreille, 1804 — South America, Africa, Asia, North America, Caribbean, Central America, Oceania, Spain
Soeuria Saaristo, 1997 — Seychelles
Stedocys Ono, 1995 — China, Malaysia, Thailand

See also

List of Scytodidae species

References

Blackwall, J. (1864). A history of the spiders of Great Britain and Ireland. Ray Society, London. pp. 175–384.
"Family: Scytodidae Blackwall, 1864". World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum Bern. Retrieved 2019-04-24.
Piper, Ross (2007). Extraordinary Animals: An Encyclopedia of Curious and Unusual Animals. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0-313-33922-6.
Gilbert, C.; Rayor, L.S. (1985). "Predatory behavior of spitting spiders (Araneae, Scytodidae) and the evolution of prey wrapping". Journal of Arachnology. 13 (2): 231–241. JSTOR 3705028.
Miller, Jeremy (2010). "Taxon page for Scytodes socialis Miller, 2006". Archived from the original on 2012-03-31.