Araneomorphae

The Araneomorphae, (previously called the Labidognatha), are a suborder of spiders. They are distinguished by having chelicerae that point diagonally forward and cross in a pinching action, in contrast to the Mygalomorphae (tarantulas and their close kin), where they point straight down. Most of the spiders that people encounter in daily life belong to this suborder.

Distinguishing characteristics

Note the difference in the orientations of the chelicerae (fangs) of the two spiders below, representatives of the Mygalomorphae (orthognath) and the Araneomorphae (labidognath).

Mygalomorph

This Atrax robustus (Atypidae) is making a threat display, and by so doing shows very clearly the orientation of its chelicerae, which go up and down, parallel to the long axis of the spider's body. So it stands as a representative of the suborder Orthognatha (Mygalomorphae) and not Araneomorphae.

Araneomorph

Click on this image of a Metellina sp. (Tetragnathidae) to see how the fangs slope toward each other. This alignment of the chelicerae is typical of the Araneomorphae.

Unlike Mygalomorphae, which can live for up to 25 years, most Araneomorphae die after about a year. ^*

Spiders included

Almost all of the familiar spiders are included in this group. The major exception is constituted by the Tarantulas, which have now become so common as pets that many people have seen them. There are a few other members of Mygalomorphae that one might see around homes or gardens, but they typically are relatively small and not easily noticed. For instance, the females of one such species lives and hunts from within a long silken tube, so unless one opens the tube or chances upon a male looking for a mate they will never be seen. The Araneomorphae, to the contrary, include the weavers of spiral webs, the cobweb spiders that live in the corners of our rooms and between windows and screen windows, the crab spiders that lurk right on the surface of the flowers in our gardens, the jumping spiders that look back at us curiously from walls and tree trunks, the wolf spiders that sometimes carpet good hunting spots in a sunny spot in the lawn, the large Huntsman spiders that sometimes frighten people by getting into their cars or taking up residence behind wall clocks.

Gallery

Here is a brief gallery of Araneomorphae that one might see on any day in the summer: Image:Dewy spider web.jpg|Spider web early in the morning Image:Micrommata virescens.jpg|Micrommata virescens Image:Agelenidae_labyrinthica.JPG|Agelena labyrinthica Image:Araniella cucurbitina I.jpg|Araniella cucurbitina Image:Florinda_coccinea-b.jpg|Florinda coccinea (Blacktailed Red Sheetweaver) Image:Philodromus sp.jpg|Philodromus sp. Image:Pisaur mira.JPG|Pisaura mirabilis? Image:Phidippus_audax3.JPG|Phidippus audax For even more, click the Wikipedia Commons "Spider" link below.