Trapdoor spiders live underground and catch their prey by building "trapdoors" out of dirt and silk. When an insect crosses the trapdoor, they fall into the hole and are eaten. If you see a spider lying on its back, don't touch it! It may not be dead. Spiders need to shed their ou...
Learn about the characteristics of the spider. Explore how spiders are classified, study the order Araneae, and discover examples of various types...
Red back spiders primarily prey on insects but they are capable to hunt larger animals that are trapped in their camouflaged webs. These prey includes trapdoor spiders, skinks, beetles, young mouse, small lizards, and king crickets. Red back spiders are also known for their lightning speed and...
The Sydney funnel-web spider is a large ground-dwelling spider. It belongs to the infraorder (an animal grouping) Mygalomorphae, which also includes tarantulas and trapdoor spiders. The species was first described (i.e. named and recognized as a species) in 1877 by English clergyman and zo...
Toward the end of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, the trio falls through the trapdoor onto the Devil's Snare plant. Hermione is the only one who knows how to defeat it, claiming they need fire. But she is clueless about how they can create flames, and even...
A trapdoor spider is any of numerous species of large bodied, burrowing spiders found across several taxonomic families. As reclusive ambush predators, trapdoor spiders construct burrows in the ground, the entrance of which features a silken-hinged door.
Trapdoor spiders have a stout body formed of a fused head and thorax, known as a cephalothorax, a round abdomen, and eight short legs. Liketarantulas, trapdoor spiders are mygalomorphs (members of the infraorder Mygalomorphae). As such, they have chelicerae (jawlike mouthparts) that move...
Operculum:In gastropods, this is a trapdoor or lid to seal the opening in the shell to protect their soft bodies from predators and drying out. The trapdoor is usually attached to the gastropod�s foot. On the right is a series of diagrams showing how a snail uses its operculum to seal...
Australia is no stranger to large and unique spiders fendercapture/Shutterstock It's no surprise that such a large spider fossil was found in Australia because the country is known for having some terrifying-looking arachnids. While there are 10 genera of brush-footed trapdoor spiders, those are...
Spiders have between two and six spinnerets at the back of their abdomen. Each one is like a tiny showerhead that has hundreds of holes, all producing liquid silk.[6] Giant trapdoor spiders are considered living fossils because they are similar to spiders that lived over 300 million years ...