Review Article
The Role of Behavior in the Evolution of Spiders, Silks, and Webs
- Fritz Vollrath1 andPaul Selden2
- View Affiliations and Author NotesHide Affiliations and Author Notes1Department of Zoology, Oxford University, Oxford OX1 3PS, United Kingdom; email:[email protected]2The Paleontological Institute, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045, and Department of Palaeontology, Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, United Kingdom; email:[email protected]
- Vol. 38:819-846(Volume publication date December 2007)
- © Annual Reviews
- View CitationHide Citation
Fritz Vollrath, Paul Selden. 2007. The Role of Behavior in the Evolution of Spiders, Silks, and Webs.Annual Review Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics.38:819-846.https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.37.091305.110221
Abstract
Spiders’ silks and webs have made it possible for this diverse taxon to occupy a unique niche as the main predator for another, even more diverse taxon, the insects. Indeed, it might well be that the spiders, which are older, were a major force driving the insects into their diversity in a coevolutionary arms race. The spiders’ weapons were their silks and here we explore the evidence for the evolution of silk production and web building as traits in spider phylogeny.
