Water spider  (Argyroneta aquatica)

Learn about the scientific name of this species and how it fits into the tree of life at Nature Navigator.

Description

This species is the only spider in the world that spends its entire life under water (3). It has a number of adaptations for this aquatic life-style. The abdomen and legs are densely covered in short hairs that trap air when the spider is submerged (2). Although the spider is velvet-grey out of the water, when it is in the water the air trapped around its body gives it a silvery appearance, which has been likened to quick-silver (mercury) (1). This is one of the very few spiders in which the males are larger than the females (4). Although this species has been placed in a separate family, the Argyronetidae, recent scientific studies examining fossil spiders suggest that it should be placed in the family Cybaeidae (5).

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