A •
Abdomen or
opisthosoma: One of the two main body parts (
tagmata), located towards the
posterior end; see also
Abdomen § Other animals •
Accessory claw: Modified at the tip of the in web-building spiders; used with to grip strands of the web •
Anal tubercle: A small protuberance (tubercule) above the through which the
anus opens •
Apodeme: see •
Apophysis (plural apophyses): An outgrowth or process changing the general shape of a body part, particularly the appendages; often used in describing the male : see •
Atrium (plural atria): An internal chamber at the entrance to the in female
haplogyne spiders
B •
Bidentate: Having two •
Book lungs: Respiratory organs on the ventral side (underside) of the , in front of the , opening through narrow slits; see also
Book lungs •
Branchial operculum: see •
Bulbus: see
C •
Calamistrum (plural calamistra): Modified setae (bristles) on the of the fourth leg of spiders with a , arranged in one or more rows or in an oval shape, used to comb silk produced by the cribellum; see also
Calamistrum •
Caput (plural capita): see •
Carapace: A hardened plate (
sclerite) covering the upper (dorsal) portion of the ; see also
Carapace •
Carpoblem: The principal on the male ; also just called the tibial apophysis •
Cephalic region or
caput: The front part of the , separated from the thoracic region by the •
Cephalothorax or
prosoma: One of the two main body parts (
tagmata), located towards the
anterior end, composed of the head ( or caput) and the thorax (thoracic region), the two regions being separated by the ; covered by the and bearing the , legs, and mouthparts •
Cervical groove: A shallow U-shaped groove, separating the and thoracic regions of the •
Chelate: A description of a where the closes against a tooth-like process •
Chelicera (plural chelicerae): One of two appendages at the front of the , made up of basal portion, the , and the ; sometimes called the jaw; see also
Chelicerae •
Cheliceral furrow: A shallow groove on the basal portion of a accommodating the , usually having on its margins •
Cheliceral tooth: A tooth-like extension on the margin of the •
Chilum: A small hardened plate (sclerite) at the base of the , under the •
Claw: see •
Claw tuft: A dense group of hairs or bristles (setae) underneath the paired , usually well developed in hunting spiders is covered with red scales. •
Clypeus: The area of the between the anterior (frontmost) and the anterior edge of the carapace •
Colulus: A short protuberance in the middle of the underside of the in front of the , considered to be a modification of the •
Conductor: see •
Copulatory duct: An internal tube (duct) from the through which sperm enters the female; separate from the duct through which fertilized eggs pass in
entelegyne spiders •
Copulatory opening: An opening in the ventral of female spiders; in
entelegyne spiders, a double opening in the through which the is inserted; in
haplogyne spiders, a single opening through which male is inserted •
Coxa: see •
Crenulate: Having longitudinal ridges •
Cribellum: A sieve-like plate in front of the , used in conjunction with the ; spiders with a cribellum are called
cribellate, those without
ecribellate; see also
Cribellum •
Cuspule: A small spiny outgrowth ("wart") on the and of
Mygalomorphae •
Cymbium (plural cymbia): The end part of the of the in a mature male, usually hollowed out and bearing the
D •
Dionychous: With two on the of each leg; a feature of spiders in the clade
Dionycha •
Dorsal groove: see •
Dorsum: The upper (dorsal) portion or surface of the body or ; the adjective
dorsal may be applied to the upper portion or surface of any part of the body; see
E •
Ecribellate: see •
Embolus: see •
Endite: see •
Endosternite: An internal hardened plate (sclerite) •
Entelegyne: A spider whose female has an and separate ducts leading to for
sperm storage and to the uterus for fertilization, creating a "flow-through" system; see ; see also
Entelegynae , viewed from above •
Epigastric furrow or
epigastric fold: A transverse slit towards the front (anterior) of underside of the ; the front pair of open at the edge of this furrow as do the genital openings () •
Epigyne or
epigynum (plural epigynes): A hardened plate on the underside of the female in which the are located; only fully developed in mature females of spiders; see also
Epigyne •
Eyes: The basic number of eyes is eight, typically arranged in two rows (e.g. as in
Gnaphosidae); the front row are the
anterior eyes, the row behind the
posterior eyes; the four eyes to the edges are the
lateral eyes, the four eyes in the centre the
median eyes; the anterior median eyes are called the
main eyes or
direct eyes, while the other eyes are called the
secondary eyes or
indirect eyes; the number of eyes, their sizes and arrangement varies widely and is characteristic of spider families; see ,
F •
Falx (plural falces): A dated term for •
Fang: The final hinged part of the , normally folded down into a groove in the basal part of the chelicera; venom is injected via an opening near the tip of the fang •
Femur: see •
Fertilization duct: A duct in female spiders leading from the to the uterus •
Folium: A broad leaf-like marking along the medial line of the top of the •
Fossa (plural fossae): A pit or depression, typically in the •
Fovea (also called
thoracic furrow or
dorsal groove): A depression or pit in the centre of the of a spider marking an inward projection of the exoskeleton to which stomach muscles are attached
G •
Genital opening: see •
Gnathocoxa: see •
Gonopore: The genital opening; located in the
epigastric furrow; the opening of the duct from the uterus in females and from the testes in males; see also
Gonopore •
Gravid: A fertilised female with an enlarged abdomen section right before egg laying has begun.
H •
Haematodocha (also spelled
hematodocha): see •
Haplogyne: A spider whose female lacks an and in which the same ducts are used to transport sperm to the uterus and to the ; see ; see also
Haplogynae •
Heart mark: A narrow marking along the top of the roughly corresponding to the location of the heart
L •
Labio-sternum mound: A mound separating the from the , found in some
tarantulas, where it can be a diagnostic feature •
Labium (plural labia): A hardened plate (sclerite) between the at the front of the ; see also
Arthropod mouthparts: Labium •
Labrum: see •
Lamella characteristica or just
lamella: a sheet-like on the of many
Linyphiidae species •
Lateral (applied to appendages): Viewed from above or below, the sides of the leg or , i.e. the surfaces parallel to the line of sight; see , •
Laterigrade: With legs directed to the side, hence appearing like and moving like a crab; see •
Leg formula: The legs are numbered from the front from I to IV; the relative length of the legs can be represented by four numbers from the longest to the shortest; e.g. 1423 = first leg (leg I) is longest and third leg (leg III) is shortest •
Leg parts or segments: see •
Lorum: A set of covering the dorsal surface of the .
M •
Main eye: One of the two anterior median eyes (AME) that have the light-detecting units (rhabdomeres) pointing towards the source; particularly enlarged in the families
Salticidae and
Thomisidae; see , •
Mastidion (plural mastidia): A projection or bump on the chelicerae (not to be confused with ) •
Maxilla (plural maxillae; also called
endite or
gnathocoxa): Modified of the , used in feeding; not the structure called by this name in other arthropods, for which see
Maxilla (arthropod mouthpart) •
Metatarsus: see
O •
Ocular area or
ocular quadrangle: The area of the which includes the . •
Operculum or
branchial operculum (plural opercula): One of the plates on the surface of the , just in front of the , covering the , often pale, yellow or orange in colour; two pairs in
Mygalomorphae, one pair in other spiders •
Opisthosoma: see
P •
Palp: see •
Palpal bulb (also called
bulbus,
palpal organ,
genital bulb): The copulatory organ of the male spider, carried on the modified last segment of the , used to transfer sperm to the female; see also
Palpal bulb :*
Conductor: A part of the palpal bulb that accompanies and supports the embolus :*
Embolus: The final part of the palpal bulb containing the end of the sperm duct, usually thin, sharp-tipped and strongly hardened (sclerotized) :*
Haematodocha (plural haematodochae): A membranous, inflatable part of the palpal bulb :*
Median apophysis: A projection (apophysis) of the palpal bulb, below the conductor :*
Subtegulum: A hardened part of the palpal bulb nearer its base than the tegulum :*
Tegulum: The main hardened part of the palpal bulb •
Paracymbium: An outgrowth of the on the male •
Patella: see •
Paturon: The basal segment of a to which the connects •
Pedicel or
petiolus: The narrow connection between the and •
Pedipalp (plural pedipalps or pedipalpi; also called just palp): The second
appendage of the in front of the first leg; bears the in male spiders; see , see also
Pedipalp •
Plumose: Used to describe hairs () having outgrowths or appendages on two sides, giving a feather-like appearance; the appendages vary in number, size and arrangement •
Pluridentate: Having multiple •
Postembryo (also called
larva): The stage of development between hatching from the egg and first molting •
Preening brush: a dense cluster of near the tip of the posterior ; called a
preening comb when present as a transverse row of setae. •
Procurved: Used to describe a structure which is curved in such a way that the outer edges are in front of the central part; opposite •
Prolateral: Viewed from above or below, the side of a leg or nearest the mouth, i.e. the side facing forward; opposite (includes diagram) •
Promarginal: The side of the facing forward; particularly used for describing ; opposite •
Prosoma: see
R •
Rastellum (plural rastella): An often rake-like structure at end of the in
mygalomorph spiders; used in burrowing •
Rebordered: Having a thickened edge (i.e. border) (more rarely seen as
reborded, from the French , e.g. in Levy (1984)); particularly used of the •
Receptaculum (plural receptacula): see •
Recurved: Used to describe a structure which is curved in such a way that the outer edges are behind the central part; opposite •
Retrolateral: Viewed from above or below, the side of a leg or furthest from the mouth, i.e. the side facing backwards; opposite •
Retrolateral tibial apophysis: A backward-facing projection on the tibia of the male ; distinguishing feature of the
RTA clade •
Retromarginal: The side of the facing backward (towards the posterior end of the spider); particularly used for describing ; opposite •
Rostrum (also called
labrum): A component (the "upper lip") of the mouthparts, concealed by the ; see also
Arthropod mouthparts: Labrum S •
Scape: An elongated process or appendage of some •
Sclerite: A single hardened (sclerotized) part of the external covering (tegument, exoskeleton) •
Scopula (plural scopulae): A brush of hairs (setae); called a when on the end of the foot (tarsus), where it improves adhesion •
Scutum (plural scuta): A hardened (sclerotized) plate on the of some spiders •
Secondary eye: An eye belonging to the three pairs – anterior lateral eyes (ALE), posterior median eyes (PME) and posterior lateral eyes (PLE) – that are primarily movement detectors and have the light-detecting units (rhabdomeres) pointing away from the source; see , •
Segments or articles of the legs and : :*
Coxa (plural coxae): First leg segment, between body and trochanter; the coxa of the is heavily modified to form the or endite :*
Trochanter: Second leg segment, between coxa and femur :*
Femur (plural femora): Third leg segment, between trochanter and patella :*
Patella (plural patellae): Fourth leg segment, between femur and tibia :*
Tibia (plural tibiae): Fifth leg segment, between patella and metatarsus :*
Metatarsus (plural metatarsi; also called basitarsus): Sixth leg segment, between tibia and tarsus; absent in the :*
Tarsus (plural tarsi; also called telotarsus): Seventh (last) leg segment, after the metatarsus •
Serrula: A row of tiny teeth along the edge of the •
Seta (plural setae): A bristle; spiders have a variety of hair-like structures of increasing size that are referred to as hairs, bristles (setae) or •
Sigillum (plural sigilla): A circular indentation on the outside of the spider, showing where an internal muscle is attached; particularly on the in some
Mygalomorphae and on the in some
Araneomorphae •
Sperm duct: A duct in the male used to store sperm •
Spermatheca (plural spermathecae; also called
receptulacum, receptulacum seminis): A structure in the of female spiders used to store sperm after insemination and before fertilization; see also
Spermatheca •
Spigot: A small pointed or cylindrical structure at the tip of a from which silk emerges •
Spine: A pointed, rigid structure on body and legs, usually with a basal joint; spiders have a variety of hair-like structures of increasing size that are referred to as hairs, bristles (setae) or spines •
Spinneret: An appendage borne on the , typically one of six arranged in three pairs: anterior (anterior median, AMS), median (posterior median, PMS) and posterior (posterior lateral, PLS); silk emerges from small on the spinnerets; see also
Spinneret •
Sternum: The lower (ventral) portion of the •
Stridulating organ: A series of thin ridges on a hardened part of the body; rubbing this with a matching series of short, stiff bristles (setae) elsewhere on the body creates a sound •
Subadult: A spider in the last stage of development (penultimate
instar) before becoming a sexually mature adult •
Subtegulum: see
T •
Tapetum (plural tapeta): A light-reflecting layer in a making the eye appear pale •
Tarsal claw (claw): One of a set of claws at the tip of the ; there may be a single pair, often concealed in a , or an additional third central claw, much smaller than the other two •
Tarsal organ: a small pit, usually spherical and on the surface of each , believed to respond to
humidity •
Tarsus: see •
Teeth: Pointed growths or bumps along the margins of the •
Tegulum: see •
Thoracic furrow: see •
Tibia: see •
Trachea (plural tracheae): A thin hardened internal tube, part of the respiratory system in many
araneomorph spiders; opens on the underside of the via a
tracheal spiracle; see
Trachea § Invertebrates •
Trichobothrium (plural
trichobothria): A slender hair-like structure of variable length on the legs and , arising from a special socket; used to detect air movements, including sounds; see , •
Trochanter: see
U •
Unidentate: Having a single tooth
V •
Venter (or
ventrum): The lower (ventral) portion or surface of the body or ; the adjective
ventral may be applied to the lower portion or surface of any part of the body; see •
Vulva: The internal copulatory organs of a female spider, including the , , and ==Abbreviations==