DawidMartyniuk
Springtails (Collembola)
Arachnids are a Class of (mainly) predatory eight-legged Arthropods, mostly composed of Spiders, but also Harvestmen, Mites, Pseudoscorpions, Scorpions, and other smaller Taxa.
Arachnids also have an additional pair of limbs that are not used for walking, but more specialised purposes such as in mating (pedipalps in male Spiders), hunting (pincers in Scorpions), or for sensing, a bit like the antennae of Insects (sensory appendages in Vinegaroons and Whip scorpions).
Entomobryomorpha
One of the best known and most abundant invertebrate predators are Spiders. They are often easily separated from other types of Arachnid by their '8' shaped bodies (made up of the cephalothorax and abdomen), venom-injecting fangs, and generally having eight eyes.
Different types of Spider have different strategies of catching prey, leading to Spiders boasting a wide variety of forms and sizes; from small, nimble jumping spiders with large eyes who actively hunt, to huge and bulky tarantulas who rely on vibrations to sense and amush their prey.
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Symphypleona
Sometimes called 'Daddy longlegs', these Arachnids have quite a distinct appearance, with 8 long legs and an often much smaller spherical body. Unlike spiders, they have two eyes, grasping claws instead of venomous fangs, and are generally omnivorous scavengers.
Harvestmen are very ancient Arachnids; 400-million-year-old rocks in Scotland contained fossils of Harvestmen very similar to those existing today, indicating they have changed very little since.
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Poduromorpha
While strongly resembling Scorpions, Pseudoscorpions are their own Order, and lack the stinging tail found in Scorpions; they also breathe through spiracles much like Insects, instead of booklungs as Scorpions and Spiders do.
Pseudoscorpions are very small (generally ~3mm), so are often overlooked. Their small size but relatively slow speed has led them to exhibit Phoresy, a dispersal strategy where Pseudoscorpions grab on to a fly or other animal, and allow it to carry them to new habitats.
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Neelipleona
By far the smallest and most diverse kinds of Arachnid are the Mites. Mites fill a vast number of habitats and niches, such as active predators, armoured detritus feeders, parasites, nimble scavengers, and there is even a species that lives on your face, feeding off the oils in your hair follicles!
This diversity has allowed them to develop an almost endless number of shapes and forms, some of which can be very bizarre.
Most of the Mites below are species that contribute to the forest ecosystem, living in the soil and leaflitter, some as small as 0.5mm in length.
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