Some Spiders Have Brains in Their Legs

Small spiders are just as good at spinning webs as large ones. But why is that? Scientists point to the fact that tiny spiders have relatively giant brains! They’re so big, in fact, that their brains spill into their bodies–even into their legs! The smaller the spider, the larger its brain is relative to the rest of its body. Scientists think that web-spinning might be one reason for spiders to have such large brains.

Learn more about this spider study on National Geographic News.

Watch a jumping spider stalk a bee on National Geographic Kids.

Photograph by Don Johnston, All Canada/Getty Images

Comments

dinoguy
December 23, 2011, 5:06 pm

Wow.
victoria9339
December 24, 2011, 1:19 am

WOW! THAT IS SO AWESOME! maybe they could train spiders to do 2+2, since they have brains!
LabRats1423
December 24, 2011, 8:24 pm

this is weird
wildhorse33
December 30, 2011, 4:20 pm

That is nasty I hate Spiders yuck yuck yuck!
coolcat24
January 3, 2012, 8:31 pm

Yuck but cool.
barnowl24601
January 8, 2012, 4:05 am

WOW!!!
I wish i had a brain that big!
this is all really interesting, because that can lead scientists to mabye see if we can like train them to do cool tricks and stuff!
also this could lead them to further studys!!!
ooh yeah and mabye they can, (with a brain that big!) recignize faces! like the recent discovery wasps can!
but again wasps are insects and spiders are arachnids.

barnowl24601
jamiekid
January 11, 2012, 12:00 am

if they would be smart enough for us to teach them stuff then what really would we teach them?
natureman784
January 26, 2012, 12:36 pm

weird but intresting