Triaeris stenaspis facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Triaeris stenaspis |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Scientific classification | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Triaeris stenaspis is a tiny spider that belongs to the Oonopidae family. It lives in warm, tropical parts of the world. You can find it in places like the Americas, Africa, Australia, and even some islands. It has also been found in Iran and in heated buildings in Europe.
This spider is super small! It's less than 2 millimeters long. That's smaller than a grain of rice! Scientists think that only female Triaeris stenaspis spiders exist. They might be able to have babies without a male spider, which is a special way of reproducing called parthenogenesis.
Contents
About This Tiny Spider
The male Triaeris stenaspis spider has never been found. The female spider is usually light orange or yellowish-brown. Her body is about 1.8 millimeters long.
Like many spiders in its family, Triaeris stenaspis has only six eyes. Adult spiders have hard, dark plates on their back and belly. These plates help protect their soft bodies.
Spider Legs
One special thing about Triaeris stenaspis is its long leg parts. The part of its first leg called the patella is almost as long as the tibia. These are like different segments of a spider's leg. Adult spiders also have small spines on their front legs.
Where Triaeris stenaspis Lives
Triaeris stenaspis lives in many tropical and subtropical areas. This includes places like:
- The Americas, from the southern United States down to Argentina.
- Central Africa and Madagascar.
- Taiwan and Queensland in Australia.
- Islands like the Galápagos, Hawaii, and the Cook Islands.
It has also been found in Europe. There, it usually lives in warm places like greenhouses. In big cities, where it's warmer, it can sometimes be found outside too.
This spider mostly lives in leaf litter. This is the layer of dead leaves and plants on the ground. Scientists often find these spiders by sifting through leaf litter.
What Triaeris stenaspis Eats
Scientists have studied what Triaeris stenaspis eats. In the wild, they might eat springtails or ants.
In a lab study, scientists watched Triaeris stenaspis hunt. They found that these spiders really like to eat springtails. The spider grabs the springtail and bites it behind the head. The springtail quickly stops moving. Sometimes, the springtail might jump once, but the spider holds on tight. This suggests that Triaeris stenaspis might be a special hunter that mostly eats springtails.
How Triaeris stenaspis Reproduces
Since no male Triaeris stenaspis spiders have ever been found, scientists believe the species reproduces through parthenogenesis. This means the female spider can lay eggs that hatch into new spiders, even without a male. This has been shown in spiders kept in a lab.
In the lab, female spiders hatched from eggs. They grew through three young stages, called instars. Each stage lasted about a month. After each stage, they went through a moult, where they shed their old skin and grew bigger. Adult spiders lived for about six months.
All the spiders in the study were female. Even when they were kept alone, they laid eggs that hatched into more female spiders. This proved that they can reproduce without a male, which is a special type of parthenogenesis called thelytoky.
