SPIDERS.FYI / The digital spider museum
Spider or not a spider?
Eight legs alone are not enough. Compare simplified body models and discover the key differences.
Your choices stay in this tab. Nothing is stored or transmitted. The diagrams show typical features and do not replace species identification.
Simplified learning diagram, not to scale or an identification reference.
Two body regions, narrow waist, eight legs.
This is the typical spider body plan. Legs attach to the front region; the abdomen carries the spinnerets.
Australian Museum · Spider structure ↗Simplified learning diagram, not to scale or an identification reference.
Eight legs, but a broadly joined oval body.
A harvestman is an arachnid of the order Opiliones. It lacks the spider’s narrow waist; harvestmen do not build silk webs.
British Arachnological Society · Harvestmen ↗Simplified learning diagram, not to scale or an identification reference.
Six legs and two antennae.
This model represents an insect. Adult insects have three pairs of legs; spiders have four and no antennae.
Australian Museum · Spider structure ↗Simplified learning diagram, not to scale or an identification reference.
An adult mite with eight legs.
Mites are arachnids too, but not spiders. This simplified model illustrates why eight legs alone cannot identify an order.
Australian Museum · Spider structure ↗