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Animal India

Scytodes is a genus of spitting spiders that is found in North America, Argentina, India, Australia, and New Zealand. It has six eyes instead of the eight spiders usually have. Scytodes is a spitting spider, so called because it spits a venomous sticky silken substance over its prey or escaping predators. Sticky gum is expelled from their fangs and can be shot up to ten body lengths from the spider. When the string of venomous substance is shot, anywhere from 5 to 17 parallel overlapping bands cover in a crisscrossed ''Z'' pattern the meal and kill it. The spider typically bites the prey with a venomous effect. The spider usually strikes from a distance of 10 to 20 millimeters (0.39 to 0.79 in) and the entire attack sequence only lasts 1/700th of a second. The carapace is unusual in sloping upwards towards its rear end, whereas the abdomen slopes downwards. Spitting spiders are typically solitary until mating or hunting due to their aggressive nature. In the presence of humans, these spiders are found in dark corners, cellars, cupboards, and closets of houses. A brown spitting spider (Scytodes fusca) hides under a home decor ''Rakhi'' and preys on a Winged Carpenter Ant at Tehatta, West Bengal; Indiaon 08/07/2023. (Photo by Soumyabrata Roy/NurPhoto)

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