The remnant outer skin or exoskeleton is known as the exuviae. The spider is then able to escape the exoskeleton. During molting, the spider will produce certain enzymes that release the rest of its body from the underlying tissue of its exoskeleton. Depending on the age of the spider, this exoskeleton must be shed at differing intervals younger spiders tend to molt much more often. Similar to other species of spider, a hard exoskeleton coats the bodies of "P. The eyes are arranged such that there is a pair of smaller, dark eyes at the front of the prosoma followed by three parallel rows of pairs of larger eyes. phalangioides" tend to be a grey-pale brown color with a dark spot on the back of the prosoma and some dark, blurred spots on the dorsal side of the opisthosoma.Īlthough some other members of the family Pholcidae have six eyes, "Pholcus phalangioides" is an eight-eyed spider. The round, peanut-like shape of the spider's cephalothorax has earned the species the nickname "skull spider". The opisthosoma is considered the posterior part of the body which contains most of the spider's internal organs. The prosoma is commonly known as the cephalothorax, and the opisthosoma is commonly known as the abdomen. phalangioides", as with all spiders, can be divided into two parts: the prosoma and the opisthosoma. The average length of an adult female's legs is roughly 50 mm. On average, their legs are roughly 5 to 6 times as long as the spider's body. As indicated by their common name, "daddy long-legs", these spiders boast eight very long and thin legs which are covered in thin, grey bristles. The average female ranges from 7 to 8 mm in length. Males tend to be around 6 to 10 mm in length with the average male being around 6 mm. The body length of this species varies between males and females. Because there is no scientific evidence supporting the deadly poisonous supposition of cellar spider bites, there is no reason to believe that this myth is true."Pholcus phalangioides" are sexually dimorphic, where females are slightly larger than the males of the species. Because of the lack of information available on the supposed toxic effects of cellar spider venom in humans, the myth about cellar spiders’ venom being particularly poisonous remains unsubstantiated. Additionally, toxicological studies testing the lethality of cellar spider venom on mammals, such as mice don’t exist. This research has never been pursued for a number of reasons that involve Amnesty International and a humanitarian code of ethics. With no documented cases of cellar spiders biting people and causing adverse reactions, the only way to determine if these spider bites are deadly poisonous to humans would be to milk cellar spiders and inject the poison into human subjects. While no proof exists confirming the toxicity of the cellar spider venom, the insufficient length of the cellar spider’s fangs renders their venom delivery impossible during a bite, unlike brown recluse spiders who sport short fangs and are known to bite people. Nonetheless, an urban myth persists that cellar spider venom is among the deadliest on the planet. Are Cellar Spiders Poisonous? Are Cellar Spiders Venomous?Ĭellar spiders are not poisonous, although the correct terminology would be venomous, which they also are not.Ĭellar spiders are not medically important spiders because they are not known to bite people.
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