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Tracheae in Spiders: Respiratory Organs for Special Functions

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Spider Ecophysiology

Abstract

That spiders possess tracheae besides lungs is often not known even among biologists. Tracheae give the spiders the chance to breathe and act more flexible to their environmental constraints as they can do it with lungs alone. In this chapter the tracheal system in spiders is described morphologically and potential reasons to develop such a respiratory system, most often in combination with lungs, are given. Moreover, some examples are described in more detail to give the reader the opportunity to have a close insight into this field. Finally, the most probable function of the tracheae, serving in local oxygen demand, is described.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Zoology, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms University Bonn, Bonn, Germany

    Anke Schmitz

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  1. Anke Schmitz
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Correspondence to Anke Schmitz .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Inst. Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Baltzerstr. 6, Bern, 3012, Switzerland

    Wolfgang Nentwig

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Schmitz, A. (2013). Tracheae in Spiders: Respiratory Organs for Special Functions. In: Nentwig, W. (eds) Spider Ecophysiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-33989-9_3

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