Glider spiders
Arachnids that glide to safety may mirror the evolution of insect flight
AS FAR as biologists can tell from the fossil record, only four groups of animals have evolved sustained, powered flight. These are the insects, the pterosaurs, the birds and the bats. Many others, though, can manage powered flight’s precursor, gliding. The more researchers look into the matter, the more sorts of glider they find. And the latest to be added to the list is, scarily for arachnophobes, a type of spider.
This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “Glider spiders”
From the August 22nd 2015 edition
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