typhlonectes:

​Meet the Arachnid That May Add a New Chapter to the Book on
Sensory Biology

Whip spiders sense the world in weird and wonderful
ways. 

By Mary Bates 

Whip spiders, also known as tailless whip
scorpions, are actually neither spiders nor scorpions. These strange
creatures belong to a separate arachnid order called Amblypygi, meaning
“blunt rump,” a reference to their lack of tails.

Researchers have discovered that some of the more than 150 species
engage in curious behaviors, including homing, territorial defense,
cannibalism, and tender social interactions—all mediated by a pair of
unusual sensory organs.

Like all arachnids, whip spiders have eight legs. However, they walk on
only six. The front two legs are elongated, antennae-like sensory
structures called antenniform legs. These legs, three to four times
longer than the walking legs, are covered with different types of
sensory hairs. They constantly sweep the environment in a whiplike
motion, earning whip spiders their common name. Whip spiders use their
antenniform legs the way a blind person uses a cane—except that in
addition to feeling their environment, whip spiders can smell, taste,
and hear with their antenniform legs.

All aspects of a whip spider’s life center on the use of these legs,
including hunting—whip spiders are dangerous predators, if you’re a
small invertebrate that shares the arachnids’ tropical and subtropical
ecosystems…

Read more: The Scientist

photographs: Rich Bradley – Ohio State University; Eileen Hebets – University of Nebraska – Lincoln

@glumshoe Have a very strange creature.