# Spitting spider

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{{short description|Family of spiders}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| name = Spitting spiders
| image = Scytodes thoracica (aka).jpg
| image_caption = ''[Scytodes thoracica](/source/Scytodes_thoracica)''
| image2 = Spitting Spider Slow Motion.ogg
| image2_caption = ''[Dictis](/source/Dictis) [striatipes](/source/Dictis_striatipes)'' spitting
| fossil_range = {{Fossil range|Cretaceous|present}}
| taxon = Scytodidae
| authority = [Blackwall](/source/John_Blackwall), 1864
| diversity = 4 genera, 253 species
| diversity_ref = <ref name=wsc />
| range_map = Scytodidae range map.svg
| range_map_caption = <span style="color:blue">blue</span>: reported countries ([WSC](/source/World_Spider_Catalog))<br/><span style="color:green">green</span>: observation hotspots ([iNaturalist](/source/iNaturalist))
}}

'''Spitting spiders''' are a family of [araneomorph](/source/Araneomorphae) [spider](/source/spider)s, the family '''Scytodidae''', first described by [John Blackwall](/source/John_Blackwall) in 1864.<ref name="blackwall 1864" /> It contains over 250 [species](/source/species) in four [genera](/source/genus),<ref name=wsc /> of which ''[Scytodes](/source/Scytodes)'' is the best-known.

==Description==
Scytodidae spiders are [haplogyne](/source/haplogyne), meaning they lack hardened female genitalia. They have six eyes, like most spiders in this group, arranged in three pairs. They possess long legs and a dome-shaped [cephalothorax](/source/cephalothorax), and are usually yellow or light brown with black spots or marks.<ref name="arachne" /><ref name="dnr" />

==Hunting technique==
Scytodidae catch their prey by spitting a fluid that congeals on contact into a [venomous](/source/venom_(poison)) and sticky mass. The fluid contains both venom and [spider silk](/source/spider_silk) in liquid form, though it is produced in venom glands in the [chelicerae](/source/chelicerae). The venom-laced silk both immobilizes and envenoms prey such as [silverfish](/source/silverfish). In high-speed footage the spiders can be observed swaying from side to side as they "spit", catching the prey in a criss-crossed "Z" pattern; it is criss-crossed because each of the [chelicerae](/source/chelicerae) emits half of the pattern. The spider usually strikes from a distance of {{convert|10|to|20|mm}} and the entire attack sequence only lasts 1/700th of a second.<ref name=Pipe07 /> After making the capture, the spider typically bites the prey with venomous effect, and wraps it in the normal spider fashion with silk from the spinnerets.<ref name="gilbert1985" />

==Pre social behaviour==
Some species exhibit [presocial](/source/Sociality) behaviour, in which mature spiders live together and assist the young with food.<ref name="miller2010" />

== Habitat and lifestyle ==
They are ground and plant dwellers, free-running and nocturnal spiders. They are found throughout the region in all biomes, usually collected from vegetation and from under stones and dark places on the soil surface.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dippernaar-Schoeman |first=Ansie |title=Field Guide to the Spiders of South Africa |publisher=[LAPA Publishers](/source/LAPA_Publishers) |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-7993-6018-9 |edition=1st}}</ref>

== Genera ==
<gallery mode=packed heights=140px>
Scytodes elizabethae 301140463 542636782.jpg|female ''[Scytodes elizabethae](/source/Scytodes_elizabethae)''
Scytodes.fusca.female.-.tanikawa.jpg|female ''[Scytodes fusca](/source/Scytodes_fusca)''
Scytodes glabula 3.jpg|''[Scytodes globula](/source/Scytodes_globula)''
</gallery>

{{as of|2026|1}}, this family includes four genera and 253 species:<ref name="wsc" />
{{Div col}}
* ''[Dictis](/source/Dictis)'' <small>[L. Koch](/source/Ludwig_Carl_Christian_Koch), 1872</small> – [Seychelles](/source/Seychelles), Asia, Pacific Isles, tropical Asia. Introduced to [Mexico](/source/Mexico), [United States](/source/United_States)
* ''[Scyloxes](/source/Scyloxes)'' <small>Dunin, 1992</small> – [Tajikistan](/source/Tajikistan), [Malaysia](/source/Malaysia), [Thailand](/source/Thailand)
* ''[Scytodes](/source/Scytodes)'' <small>[Latreille](/source/Pierre_Andr%C3%A9_Latreille), 1804</small> – Africa, Asia, southern Europe, North to South America, [Australia](/source/Australia), [New Guinea](/source/New_Guinea). Introduced worldwide
* ''[Stedocys](/source/Stedocys)'' <small>Ono, 1995</small> – [China](/source/China), [Japan](/source/Japan), Malaysia, Thailand
{{Div col end}}

==References==
<references>
  <ref name="wsc">{{cite web | url=https://wsc.nmbe.ch/family/84 | title=Family: Scytodidae Blackwall, 1852 | publisher=World Spider Catalog | doi=10.24436/2 | accessdate=2026-01-18}}</ref>
  <ref name="arachne">{{cite web |title=SCYTODIDAE Spitting spiders |url=https://www.arachne.org.au/01_cms/details.asp?ID=2310 |access-date=25 April 2024 |website=Arachne.org.au}}</ref>
  <ref name="blackwall 1864">{{cite book |last=Blackwall |first=J. |title=A history of the spiders of Great Britain and Ireland |publisher=Ray Society, London |year=1864 |pages=175–384}}</ref>
  <ref name="dnr">{{cite web |title=Spitting spider |url=https://dnr.illinois.gov/education/wildaboutpages/wildaboutinvertebrates/wildaboutspiders/family-scytodidae/waspspittingspider.html |access-date=25 April 2024 |website=Illinois Department of Natural Resources}}</ref>
  <ref name="gilbert1985">{{cite journal |last1=Gilbert |first1=C. |last2=Rayor |first2=L.S. |date=1985 |title=Predatory behavior of spitting spiders (Araneae, Scytodidae) and the evolution of prey wrapping |journal=Journal of Arachnology |volume=13 |issue=2 |pages=231–241 |jstor=3705028}}</ref>
  <ref name="miller2010">{{cite web |last1=Miller |first1=Jeremy |date=2010 |title=Taxon page for ''Scytodes socialis'' Miller, 2006. |url=http://araneae.lifedesks.org/pages/34605 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120331171641/http://araneae.lifedesks.org/pages/34605 |archive-date=2012-03-31}}</ref>
  <ref name="Pipe07">{{Cite book |last=Piper |first=Ross |author-link=Ross Piper |year=2007 |title=Extraordinary Animals: An Encyclopedia of Curious and Unusual Animals |publication-place=Westport, Conn. |publisher=Greenwood Press |isbn=978-0-313-33922-6 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/extraordinaryani0000pipe }}</ref>
</references>

==External links==
* {{inaturalist taxon}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20031208183121/http://www.arachnology.org/Arachnology/Pages/Araneae.html Arachnology Home Pages: Araneae]
* [http://www.xs4all.nl/~ednieuw/Spiders/Scytodidae/Scytodidae.htm Info about Spitting spider ''Scytodes thoracica'']

{{Araneae}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q11710}}

*
Category:Taxa named by John Blackwall

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Spitting spider](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spitting_spider) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spitting_spider?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.