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A spider always has four pairs of legs, for a total of eight legs. Animals with fewer legs are more likely to have been injured by one of their predators and have lost limbs in such an attack.
In a nutshell
- significantly more legs than almost any other living being
- Appearance is largely determined by the number of legs
- basically eight legs
- difference from insects
- thereby own kind, which is called Arachnida
General
Spiders have a very unique appearance that many people find gross or at least disturbing. One reason for this might be that they have more eyes than other creatures. In addition, they also have more legs than most other animals. Only the centipede moves on more legs. All spiders are equipped with four pairs of legs, so they always have eight legs by nature. This applies to tarantulas as well as tarantulas (Theraphosidae) or the native garden spider (Araneus). They use their legs
- for locomotion
- for climbing
- as a tool for network construction
- as a gripping or catching tool
Notice: Even if it is repeatedly claimed: Spiders are not insects, but form their own species as Arachnida, which differs significantly from insects.
exceptions
In the wild or in the house, we often come across a spider that has fewer than eight legs. However, this is not a mutation or an error of nature, but mostly an injury. These animals have usually lost one or more legs. Usually, a predator's attack is the reason for this loss. Typical predators of spiders are:
- birds
- lizards
- snakes
Tarantula (Theraphosidae)
Usually these predators try to catch a spider by grabbing a leg. The leg is often torn off. However, despite this serious injury, spiders can continue to live and move on. Sometimes spiders simply throw off one of their legs in the struggle to survive in order to gain time to escape. However, the leg then grows back within a relatively short period of time.
frequently asked Questions
Isn't the loss of a leg extremely painful for the animals?Unfortunately, no reliable information is possible about this. One can assume that spiders also feel pain, but it should be significantly less than in a mammal.
Are there spiders with more than eight legs?Yes, there are actually spiders with ten or more legs. However, these animals have usually fled or escaped from a laboratory. At the University of Jena, for example, it was possible to breed spiders with ten legs. However, this is then a being that has little to do with nature, but was artificially created in the laboratory.
How can a leg grow back?This has to do with the regular moulting of the spiders. In the course of a molt, a lost leg usually grows back. So spiders with fewer than eight legs are often just a temporary phenomenon that doesn't last long.