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Family of spiders From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Spitting spiders are a family of araneomorph spiders, the family Scytodidae, first described by John Blackwall in 1864.[2] It contains over 250 species in five genera,[1] of which Scytodes is the best-known.
| Spitting spiders Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Scytodes thoracica | |
 | |
| Scytodes male, showing pedipalps | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Scytodidae Blackwall, 1864 |
| Diversity[1] | |
| 4 genera, 252 species | |
 | |
Scytodidae spiders are haplogyne, meaning they lack hardened female genitalia. They have six eyes, like most spiders in this group, arranged in three pairs. They possess long legs and a dome-shaped cephalothorax, and are usually yellow or light brown with black spots or marks. Their domed head and three eye groups tend to resemble a human skull, giving them the occasional common name "skull spiders".[3][4]
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.[5] 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.[6]
Some species exhibit presocial behaviour, in which mature spiders live together and assist the young with food.[7]
As of January 2024[update], the World Spider Catalog accepts the following genera:[1]
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