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spider
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References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics
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lynx spider
Witness an orb-weaving spider using silk wrappings to immobilize grasshopper prey
spider
Do we really swallow spiders in our sleep?
Red widow spider A medically significant arachnid sheet-web weaver spider
Know how some spiders walk on the surface of the water
spider: trichobothrium Australian funnel-web spider
For Students
spider summary
Quizzes
Sea otter (Enhydra lutris), also called great sea otter, rare, completely marine otter of the northern Pacific, usually found in kelp beds. Floats on back. Looks like sea otter laughing. saltwater otters
Animal Group Names
Lion (panthera leo)
Deadliest Animals Quiz
Mute swan with cygnet. (birds)
Match the Baby Animal to Its Mama Quiz
Green tree python snake (Chondropython viridis) in a rainforest.
Creepy Crawlers Quiz
vulture. An adult bearded vulture at a raptor recovery center. The Gypaetus barbatus also known as the Lammergeier or Lammergeyer, is a bird of prey and considered an Old World vulture.
Animal Factoids
Read Next
Black widow spider
9 of the World’s Deadliest Spiders
Wasp spider. Argiope bruennichi. Orb-weaver spider. Spiders. Arachnid. Cobweb. Spider web. Spider's web. Spider silk. Black and yellow striped wasp spider spinning a web.
Do We Really Swallow Spiders in Our Sleep?
Discover
Mona Lisa, oil on wood panel by Leonardo da Vinci, c. 1503-06; in the Louvre, Paris, France. 77 x 53 cm.
Why Is the Mona Lisa So Famous?
All Saints Day. All Souls Day. Candles in cemetery in Poland on All Saints Day, November 1. All Souls Day, November 2. Christian church, All Hallows, Solemnity of All Saints, Feast of All Saints, purgatory, Roman Catholic church
7 Unique Burial Rituals Across the World
NBA Lakers Celtics Finals Kevin Garnett shooting.
10 Great Sports Rivalries
African Americans demonstrating for voting rights in front of the White House as police and others watch, March 12, 1965. One sign reads, "We demand the right to vote everywhere." Voting Rights Act, civil rights.
Timeline of the American Civil Rights Movement
Ice Sledge Hockey, Hockey Canada Cup, USA (left) vs Canada, 2009. UBC Thunderbird Arena, Vancouver, BC, competition site for Olympic ice hockey and Paralympic ice sledge hockey. Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, Vancouver Olympics
10 Best Hockey Players of All Time
Submerged sperm whale off east Sri Lanka coast, mammal
How Did the Sperm Whale Get Its Name?
Agnes with a lamb near her feet. St. Agnes (Saint Agnes) design drawing for stained glass window by J&R Lamb Studios, ink, mount size 10.5 x 14.5 in.
Roman Catholic Saints

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Also known as: Araneae, Araneida
Written by
Joseph Culin
Professor of Entomology, Clemson University, South Carolina.
Joseph Culin,
Lorna R. Levi
Coauthor of A Guide to Spiders and Their Kin; cotranslator and coeditor of Invertebrate Zoology by A. Kaestner.
Lorna R. Levi•All
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The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
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News •

New Caterpillar Found in Hawaii Wears Dead Bugs and Lives With Spiders • Apr. 25, 2025, 4:31 AM ET (Gizmodo)