Spitting spiders (Family Scytodidae) are
spiders of the
genus Scytodes and their relatives. There are five genera and over 150 species of scytodids worldwide. They catch their prey by spitting a fluid that immobilizes it by congealing on contact into a
venomous and sticky mass. They can be observed swaying from side to side, in order to cover the prey in a crisscrossed "Z" pattern; each of two pores in the
chelicerae emits half of the pattern.
Like the Sicariidae and Diguetidae these spiders are haplogyne (lack hardened female genitalia) and have six eyes, which are arranged as three pairs. They differ from these in having a dome-shaped carapace and in their characteristic flecked pattern of spots, which often resembles Arabic or Chinese writing.
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Last updated: 10-20-2005 15:56:28
