Adhesive to the feet
2006/11/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria
Researchers from the Max Planck Institute discover that the tarantulas secrete an adhesive silk on the feet. The discovery was by chance: While investigating the locomotion of the zebra tarantula of Costa Rica (Aphonopelma seemanni), they forgot to turn off the camera during a break, they realized that when returning to work the tarantula left some traces and when looking at the camera they saw that the taranttica had shed the silk of the feet.
Apparently, this silk removed from the feet is used as adhesive by the tarantula to avoid, among other things, the slip when climbing through the wall.
Well, now the researchers want to know in evolution the place of the silk of the foot and, for example, if the abdominal gland with which the fabric is made evolved by the glands of the feet, of which they segregate the same silk.
