Origins of the Spider Orb Web (IMAGE)

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Origins of the Spider Orb Web

Caption

These two images show two examples of orb-web types. The image on the left shows the orb web of a deinopoid spider, Waitkera waitakerensis (Chamberlain) from Piha, New Zealand. This photo was taken by Brent Opell. The image on the right shows the orb web of an araneoid spider, Argiope trifasciata, from Palo Alto, California. The image to the right was taken by Mark Chappell. The image above relates to an article that appeared in the 23 June 2006 issue of the journal Science, published by AAAS. The study, by Dr. Jessica E. Garb of the University of California, Riverside, and colleagues, was titled "Silk Genes Support the Single Origin of Orb-Webs." Dr. Garb's article appeared in tandem with a second article on spider webs, titled "Early Cretaceous Spider Web with Its Prey, by E. Peñalver and D.A. Grimaldi at American Museum of Natural History in New York, NY, and X. Delclòs at Universitat de Barcelona in Barcelona, Spain.

Credit

Photograph provided by Brent Opell (left) and Mark Chappell (right), via <i>Science</i>-AAAS.

Usage Restrictions

Please cite the owner of the image when publishing. This image may be freely used by reporters as part of news coverage, with proper attribution. Non-reporters must contact <i>Science</I> for permission.

License

Licensed content

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.