Q 01/05

Spiders belong to which order?

A) Araneae

B) Acari

C) Scorpiones

D) Opiliones

Answer · why

A) Araneae

They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in species diversity among all orders of living things.

Q 02/05

Which is the only continent with no spiders?

A) Australia

B) South America

C) North America

D) Antarctica

Answer · why

D) Antarctica

They have adapted to almost every habitat elsewhere, from mountaintops to one species that lives underwater.

Q 03/05

Unlike insects, spiders lack which sensory feature on their heads?

A) Antennae

B) Eyes

C) Mouthparts

D) Hairs

Answer · why

A) Antennae

They also have their body segments fused into just two parts, the cephalothorax and the abdomen, joined by a narrow pedicel.

Q 04/05

How do spiders extend their legs, since they have no extensor muscles?

A) Elastic tendons

B) Twisting the joints

C) Muscles in the abdomen

D) Hydraulic pressure

Answer · why

D) Hydraulic pressure

That is why a dead spider's legs curl inward: the pressure is gone.

Q 05/05

Which spider, named for a Jungle Book character, was described in 2008 as the only mostly herbivorous one?

A) Portia fimbriata

B) Maratus volans

C) Bagheera kiplingi

D) Phidippus audax

Answer · why

C) Bagheera kiplingi

It lives on Central American acacias and eats their protein-rich Beltian bodies; every other known spider is a predator.