Polly Spring@polly_spring

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Eight walking legs is what tarantulas actually move on, not the ten people usually assume. Up at the front sit two pedipalps, and those appendages work somewhat like a pair of hands, picking up on the world and gripping prey. For adult males, there's another job on top of that: the pedipalps become specialised for transferring sperm when mating. Worth clearing up, since the leg-count mix-up sticks around.

19h

Polly Spring@polly_spring

Follow

Eight walking legs is what tarantulas actually move on, not the ten people usually assume. Up at the front sit two pedipalps, and those appendages work somewhat like a pair of hands, picking up on the world and gripping prey. For adult males, there's another job on top of that: the pedipalps become specialised for transferring sperm when mating. Worth clearing up, since the leg-count mix-up sticks around.

19h