Wheel spider

Wheel spider
Wheel spider
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Family: Sparassidae
Genus: Carparachne
Species: C. aureoflava
Binomial name
Carparachne aureoflava
Lawrence, 1966
The opening to a Wheel Spider burrow.

The Wheel spider, Golden Wheel spider, or Dancing White lady spider (Carparachne aureoflava), is a huntsman spider native to the Namib Desert of Southern Africa.[1] The spider escapes parasitic pompilid wasps by flipping onto its side and cartwheeling down sand dunes at speeds of up to 44 turns per second.[2][3]

Wheel spiders are up 20 millimeters in size, with males and females the same size. The wheel spider is nocturnal, and a free-ranging hunter. Its bite is mildly venomous, but the spider is not known to be harmful to humans.[4]

The wheel spider does not produce a web. Its principal line of defense against predation is to bury itself in a silk-lined burrow extending 40–50 cm deep. During the process of digging its burrow, the spider can shift up to 10 liters, or 80,000 times its body weight, of sand. It is during the initial stages of building a burrow that the spider is vulnerable to pompilid wasps, which will sting and paralyze the spider before planting eggs in its body. If the spider is unable to fight a wasp off, and if it is on a sloped dune, it will use its rolling speed of 1 meter per second to escape.[5]

References

Further reading

  • Henschel, J.R. (1990). "Spiders wheel to escape". South African Journal of Science 86: 151–152. ISSN 0038-2353. 

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • wheel spider — A part of a cast/forged wheel which connects the rim and the wheel hub and incorporates a spoke design …   Dictionary of automotive terms

  • Spider-Man (1994 TV series) Season 3 — The Sins of the Fathers Country of origin USA No. of episodes 14 Broadcast Original channel Fox …   Wikipedia

  • spider — [1] On a bicycle, the multi armed piece to which the chainwheels are bolted, usually welded to or part of the right crankarm. [2] A four arm piece on a constant velocity joint. [3] A central crosspiece linking the two yokes of a universal joint.… …   Dictionary of automotive terms

  • Spider-Man 2099 — Cover to Spider Man 2099 #1. Art by Rick Leonardi. Publication information Publisher Marvel Comics …   Wikipedia

  • Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew) — Spider Woman Cover to Spider Woman #1. Art by Joe Sinnott. Publication information Publisher Marvel Comi …   Wikipedia

  • Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane — Cover of Spider Man Loves Mary Jane #1. Artwork by Takeshi Miyazawa. Publication information Publisher Marvel Comics …   Wikipedia

  • Spider-Man: Web of Shadows — Desarrolladora(s) Amaze Entertainment (PSP / PS2) Griptonite Games (DS) Treyarch / Shaba Games (Wii / PS3 / X360 / PC) Motor HYBRID Engine 2.0 (Nintendo DS) Plataforma(s) …   Wikipedia Español

  • Spider-Woman (Mattie Franklin) — Spider Woman Spider Woman from The Amazing Spider Man vol. 2 #5. Art by John Byrne Publication information Publisher Marvel Comics …   Wikipedia

  • Spider-Woman (Charlotte Witter) — Spider Woman Publication information Publisher Marvel C …   Wikipedia

  • Spider — Spi der, n.[OE. spi[thorn]re, fr. AS. spinnan to spin; so named from spinning its web; cf. D. spin a spider, G. spinne, Sw. spindel. See {Spin}.] 1. (Zo[ o]l.) Any one of numerous species of arachnids comprising the order Araneina. Spiders have… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”