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Comments & ID Thoughts
This specimen was collected in a brook in Nova Scotia, Canada.
Initial thoughts were a long-jawed orb weaver spider (those were what we were sampling for) however it seems to be lacking the distinct abdomen of the family.
Any thoughts on what it is? Sorry for no better pictures, I accidentally ripped its legs off after this photo...
- Submitted by:
- Submitted: Jul 13, 2018
- Photographed: Jul 13, 2018
- Spider: Unidentified
- Location: Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada
- Spotted Outdoors: Freshwater river, lake, stream
- Found in web?: No
- Attributes:
Hi, it’s a harvestman, a type of Opilione, which is an arachnid but it isn’t a spider. The noticeable difference is that its head, thorax, and abdomen are all fused together into one section by the exoskeleton. A spider has a fused head and thorax but the abdomen is under a separate chitinous shell. Insects have all three seperated as adults. I hope I got that all correct. The legs do fall off easily, an evolutionary escape plan. A lost leg can keep moving independently. That is thought to have evolved to distract whatever animal that grabbed it, giving an… Read more »