Class Arachnida

Taxonomically speaking, the Class Arachnida contains nearly a dozen orders of life forms. Did you know that Arachnida also includes ticks, mites and scorpions?

Known as Daddy-long-legs, Shepherd Spiders, Granddaddy-long-legs or Harvestmen, these arachnids are not actually spiders. True spiders have two body segments. One is called the cephalothorax and the other the abdomen. These segments are distinctly separated on true spiders.

Spiders also have venomous fangs. These Arachnids have neither typical spider fangs nor venomous glands. All true spiders have silk glands. These guys don’t. They do have a totally different respiratory system. And, they don't all have long legs.

Like all other Arachnids, Daddy-long-legs do have 8 legs, a fang-like mouth called a chelicerae, and 2 crab-like pincer appendages in the area of the mouth called pedipalps. They don’t have antennae.

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If you'd like to see one of the most informative and well-organized sites on the insects of Thailand, check out Thai Bugs.

All photos by Valts Vilnitis of Latvia. All shots taken on PaddleAsia trips.