What are spiders?

Banded tunnelweb spider. Image - B McQuillan

Spiders are animals belonging to the class known as Arachnida.

They have 2 parts to the main body:
- hard front part, the head and thorax, called the cephalothorax or prosoma;
- soft hind part, the abdomen, called the opisthosoma.
They have a narrow stalk or waist called the pedicel joining the cephalothorax and opisthosoma.
They always have 8 legs and 2 palps (used for grooming and feeding) attached to the cephalothorax.
They have no wings or antennae, although the palps at the front act like antennae.

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