{{short description|Family of spiders}} {{Automatic taxobox | name = Spitting spiders | image = Scytodes thoracica (aka).jpg | image_caption = ''Scytodes thoracica'' | image2 = Spitting Spider Slow Motion.ogg | image2_caption = ''Dictis striatipes'' spitting | fossil_range = {{Fossil range|Cretaceous|present}} | taxon = Scytodidae | authority = 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)<br/><span style="color:green">green</span>: observation hotspots (iNaturalist) }}
'''Spitting spiders''' are a family of araneomorph spiders, the family '''Scytodidae''', first described by John Blackwall in 1864.<ref name="blackwall 1864" /> It contains over 250 species in four genera,<ref name=wsc /> of which ''Scytodes'' is the best-known.
==Description== Scytodidae spiders are 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, 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 and sticky mass. The fluid contains both venom and spider silk in liquid form, though it is produced in venom glands in the chelicerae. The venom-laced silk both immobilizes and envenoms prey such as 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 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 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 |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'' Scytodes.fusca.female.-.tanikawa.jpg|female ''Scytodes fusca'' Scytodes glabula 3.jpg|''Scytodes globula'' </gallery>
{{as of|2026|1}}, this family includes four genera and 253 species:<ref name="wsc" /> {{Div col}} * ''Dictis'' <small>L. Koch, 1872</small> – Seychelles, Asia, Pacific Isles, tropical Asia. Introduced to Mexico, United States * ''Scyloxes'' <small>Dunin, 1992</small> – Tajikistan, Malaysia, Thailand * ''Scytodes'' <small>Latreille, 1804</small> – Africa, Asia, southern Europe, North to South America, Australia, New Guinea. Introduced worldwide * ''Stedocys'' <small>Ono, 1995</small> – China, 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