Adaptations

"How does the zebra spider move ?"
      Zebra spiders actually jump more than they walk. Zebra spiders have the ability to jump from standing start. If that was not enough of an advantage over their prey, they can also jump backward and sideways with equal abilities. These types of motions are used both to capture prey and to avoid capture by predators. Whenever they jump, they will release thick, white, slightly viscid silky line, to use as anchor position. There are no extensor muscles at the 'hinge joints' of the spider leg, instead joints extension is due to the haemocoelic blood pressure in the leg. The most significant evidence that this extension is due to hydraulic forces is that the leg spines become erect during the jump, a result of increased body pressure which can be demonstrated on many other species of spiders as well. The zebra spider uses both the third and fourth pair of legs when jumping, the third pair leaving the ground after the fourth pair. Their Mean jumping velocity is estimated to be between 64 and 79 cm/s.

 

"What is the Zebra spider's dominant sense?"

    Zebra spider's dominant sense is sight, in fact, the zebra spiders are considered to have the best vision of any arthropod. They have acute vision with distinctive eye arrangement of eight simple eyes that enable them to focus in all directions. First median pair of eyes are the largest, located on front of cephalothorax, look forward, and are called "headlight" eyes. Posterior eyes are the smallest in size, located on top of cephalothorax and look upward. Zebra spider's eyes can move in or out for focusing. Also, their eyes can turn up and down, and left and right, for 360° eyesight (called "integral binocular vision"). Zebra spider's nuclei of their retinal cells in their anterior eyes have, evolved to the side, out of the path of light. They can also turn their carapace more than 45° to look around.

"How does the Zebra spider breathe?"

    Zebra spiders have two ways of breathing. First, breathes through small holes in their abdomen called trachea holes. The trachea is a hollow pipe that the spider breathes through, its windpipe. The opening to the human trachea is our mouth and nose, whereas the spider's trachea holes are on the underside of the abdomen instead. A spider does not have lungs like humans do. The trachea leads directly to the spider's internal organs. Second, a spider absorbs oxygen through a structure called book lungs, appropriately named because the organ is shaped like the pages of a book. Blood flows inside the "pages" and exchanges oxygen from the air circulating between them. These two structures vary among spiders. Now that you are familiar with the zebra spider's adaptations, learn about how they use it for nutrition.