Spider spinnerets. Light micrograph of the end of the abdomen of a spider, showing the six spinnerets. Two spinnerets are on the top of two flattened

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Spider spinnerets. Light micrograph of the end of the abdomen of a spider, showing the six spinnerets. Two spinnerets are on the top of two flattened cones (right) and the other four are in a line to the left of the anus (centre). Each spinneret has a swollen base, which leads to a short open tube surrounded by hair and barbs. Liquid silk is extruded from the tubes and then spun by the hairs into silk threads, which harden quickly. There are up to 100 spinning tubes on the spinnerets. Magnification: x14 when printed at 10 centimetres high.

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Size: 4313px × 4823px
Photo credit: © DR KEITH WHEELER/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: anatomical, anatomy, animal, anus, arachnid, barb, barbs, biological, biology, cut, cut-, cut-outs, cutout, cutouts, entomology, hairy, invertebrate, invertebrates, light, liquid, lm, micrograph, microscope, nature, outs, silk, spider, spiders, spinneret, spinnerets, spinning, thread, threads, tube, tubes, web, wildlife, zoological, zoology