Spiders

Spiders are a group of eight-legged, typically venomous arthropods that make up the largest group of arachnids, and in real life make up the seventh most numerous order of species on the planet, being found worldwide with the exception of Antarctica. They originated between 318 to 299 million years ago during the Carboniferous Period.

Their bodies appear to have two segments as the head and thorax has fused. What is normally referred to as the abdomen is not quite accurate as the area contains the heart and respiratory organs, unlike what is seen in other abdomen-bearing creatures. Unlike most arthropods, spiders have no extensor muscles in their limbs and instead extend them by hydraulic pressure.

They are best known for their silk production, created via modified appendages called spinnerets. These are usually used for web building but other uses are seen as well. Not all spiders produce silk.

Spiders use fangs to feed, though they can grind food with the base of their pedipalps. Nearly all spiders are liquivorous, though some species such as Bagheera kiplingi is herbivorous in nature; this is the only species as of 2020 in real life to have such a diet.

In real life most spiders live for at most 2 years, but certain species can live up to 25 years or more. In media, they are often seen to live for far longer, sometimes even for a millennia or more. In media, spiders are extremely common monsters and game enemies due to an inherent phobia of them ingrained into the human psyche.