Spotted spiders from ... legs

Spider silk is usually created from the lower abdomen, but German researchers have recently found the hairy tropical spider that releases silk that is sticky at the feet. It seems that this silk supports them on the walls and ceiling.

The finding was accidentally discovered by the team at the Max Planck Institute in Germany, while studying the movement of Costa Rica zebra ( Aphonopelma seemanni ). Thanks to the distraction of a technician who accidentally left an active camera, these tiny silk footprints were recorded.

Footprints are formed by tiny filaments about 1 micrometre in diameter, 100 times thinner than a human hair, emitting from the legs of the spider as it walks. They seem to have the same protein composition as silk that spiders use to weave networks.

When the spiders were forced to crawl up the vertical glass, the researchers saw that the silk thread had a role to prevent them from sliding down.

Costa Rica zebra species - Aphonopelma seemanni
(Photo: bird-eating-spiders)

This finding may force people to reconsider the evolution of spider silk. Researchers initially speculate that all spiders are capable of creating silk from their feet, but this ability is gradually lost because it is not used.

Spider silk is normally produced from the spinneret, located in the lower abdomen. Stanislav Gorb, a member of the research team, said that it is possible that this spinneret evolved from the appendage in the leg. "The new discovery reinforces that hypothesis," he said.

T. An