Information about Scopula
Scopula pads (pl. 'scopulae') are tufts of hair at the end of a tarantula's legs and pedipalps. They consist of microscopic hairs, each covered in even smaller hairs called setules. The result is a massive surface area.
When the scopulae are splayed out and placed against a surface, remarkable adhesion is produced due to the van der Waals force, which is an attractive force acting between individual molecules. This enables spiders with scopulae to climb even sheer, smooth surfaces such as glass. The adhesion is so great that the spider could grip using this force and support 170 times its own weight.
Scopulae are found in addition to, not instead of, two claws at the end of each appendage, called tarsal claws. They do not occur on all spiders.
When the scopulae are splayed out and placed against a surface, remarkable adhesion is produced due to the van der Waals force, which is an attractive force acting between individual molecules. This enables spiders with scopulae to climb even sheer, smooth surfaces such as glass. The adhesion is so great that the spider could grip using this force and support 170 times its own weight.
Scopulae are found in addition to, not instead of, two claws at the end of each appendage, called tarsal claws. They do not occur on all spiders.
Theraphosidae
Thorell, 1870
Diversity
113 genera, 897 species
Subfamilies
Acanthopelminae
Aviculariinae
Eumenophorinae
Harpactirinae
Ischnocolinae
Ornithoctoninae
Poecilotheriinae
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Thorell, 1870
Diversity
113 genera, 897 species
Subfamilies
Acanthopelminae
Aviculariinae
Eumenophorinae
Harpactirinae
Ischnocolinae
Ornithoctoninae
Poecilotheriinae
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Pedipalps, the second pair of appendages of the cephalothorax in Arachnida, is homologous with mandibles in Crustacea, and corresponding to the mandibles of insects. The pedipalps are appendages of six segments: the coxae, a single trochanter, the femur, a short patella, the tibia,
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Adhesion is the molecular attraction exerted between bodies in contact.
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Mechanisms of Adhesion
Five mechanisms have been proposed to explain why one material sticks to another:Mechanical Adhesion
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van der Waals force is sometimes used as a synonym for the totality of non-covalent forces (also known as intermolecular forces). These forces, which act between stable molecules, are weak compared to those appearing in chemical bonding.
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Araneae
Clerck, 1757
Diversity
111 families, 40,000 species
Suborders
Mesothelae
Mygalomorphae
Araneomorphae
See table of families
Spiders
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Clerck, 1757
Diversity
111 families, 40,000 species
Suborders
Mesothelae
Mygalomorphae
Araneomorphae
See table of families
Spiders
..... Click the link for more information.
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Herod_Archelaus
