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A
garden spider spinning its web.
Silk can be seen coming from two spinnerets (click on image to view larger version).
The spinneret can be seen on this Cross Spider at the rear end
A spinneret is a spider's silk-spinning organ. It is usually on the underside of a spider's abdomen, to the rear. While most spiders have six spinnerets; some have four or two. They move independently and in concert to build webs.
The discovery of spinnerets on the feet of the Aphonopelma seemanni has led to questions about the origins of spinnerets. It has been hypothesised that spinnerets were originally used as climbing aids on the feet and evolved for webmaking at a later time.[1]
References
- ^ Gorb, SN; Niederegger S, Hayashi CY, Summers AP, Votsch W, Walther P (Sep 28 2006). "Biomaterials: silk-like secretion from tarantula feet". Nature 443 (7110): 407. doi:10.1038/443407a. PMID 17006505.
External links
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