Spinneret

Quality 0.50 · 2 views · Updated 2 months ago

External body part of a spider

title: "Spinneret" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["spider-anatomy"] description: "External body part of a spider" topic_path: "science/biology" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinneret" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary External body part of a spider ::

::callout[type=note] the spider or insect organ ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/Australian_garden_orb_weaver_spider_spinneret.jpg" caption="The spinnerets of an [[Australian garden orb weaver spider]]."] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/Spinneret_of_Phidippus_adumbratus.jpg" caption="Black spinneret of ''[[Phidippus adumbratus]]'' visible below red abdomen"] ::

A spinneret is a silk-spinning organ of a spider or the larva of an insect. Some adult insects also have spinnerets, such as those borne on the forelegs of Embioptera. Spinnerets are usually on the underside of a spider's opisthosoma, and are typically segmented.{{cite news | last = Wiggins | first = Charlotte | date = Nov 10, 2013 | title = Gardening to Distraction: Along came a spider | url = http://www.therolladailynews.com/article/20131110/LIFESTYLE/131108863 | newspaper = The Rolla Daily News | publisher = Therolladailynews.com | access-date = December 1, 2013

Most spinnerets are not simple structures with a single orifice producing a single thread, but complex structures of many microscopic spigots, each producing one filament. This produces the necessary orientation of the protein molecules, without which the silk would be weak and useless. Spigots can be singular or found in groups, which also permits spiders to combine multiple filaments in different ways to produce many kinds of silk for various purposes. Spinneret morphology can help arachnologists identify the taxon of a specimen and the specific morphology of a spigot can determine its use as well. For example, flagelliform spigot is unique to Araneoidea, and another kind of spigot found in sets of three, referred to as cylindrical gland spots, are found only in females and used for making egg sacs. The desert grass spider, Agelenopsis aperta, has especially prominent spinnerets that extend out of the end of their abdomen.

Various species of spiders use silk extruded from spinnerets to build webs, to transfer sperm, to entrap insects by wrapping it around them, to make egg-cases, to manipulate static electricity in the air, and to fly (ballooning), etc.

Some insect larvae (including silkworms) extrude silk to make a protective cocoon for their metamorphosis. The insects known as web spinners weave silken galleries for protection from predators and the elements while foraging and breeding.

Evolution

Observations suggesting that there might be silk-producing organs on the feet of the zebra tarantula (Aphonopelma seemanni) led to questions about the origins of spinnerets. It was hypothesised that spinnerets in spiders were originally used as climbing aids on the feet and evolved and were used for webmaking at a later time.

File:Argiope bruennichi detail spinneret.JPG|The compact spinnerets of Argiope bruennichi; placed ventrally below the posterior. File:BarnSpiderSpinneret.jpg|A barn spider encases her prey in silk emanating from her spinneret seen in the foreground. File:Spinnerets.jpg|Ventral aspect of spinnerets of spider species with unusually long spinnerets.

References

References

  1. [http://zsi.gov.in/Cop-11/animal/Embioptera.pdf INSECTA: EMBIOPTERA (EMBIIDINA)] {{webarchive. link. (2013-12-03 , Retrieved December 1, 2013)
  2. (2010). "Patterning mechanisms and morphological diversity of spider appendages and their importance for spider evolution". Arthropod Structure and Development.
  3. [http://wolfspider.org/spider-identification/ Spider Identification – Types of Spiders], Retrieved December 1, 2013
  4. (Spring 1989). "Spinneret Silk Spigot Morphology: Evidence for the Monophyly of Orbweaving Spiders, Cyrtophorinae (Araneidae), and the Group Theridiidae Plus Nesticidae". American Arachological Society.
  5. Bradley, Richard A.. (2012-12-18). "FAMILY CLUBIONIDAE • Sac Spiders". University of California Press.
  6. (1977). "Imms' General Textbook of Entomology: Volume 1: Structure, Physiology and Development Volume 2: Classification and Biology". Springer.
  7. Gorb, SN. (September 28, 2006). "Bio materials: silk-like secretion from tarantula feet". Nature.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

spider-anatomy