You can use this model to examine the typical morphology (body form or shape) of a spider. By manipulating the image, you can view the spider in three dimensions. This provides a close up view of both the dorsal (top) and ventral (bottom) aspects of the spider as well as anterior (front - as if you were facing the spider's head) and posterior (back - as if you were facing the rear end of the spider) views.

Your first view of the spider model is a dorsal view. As you use your cursor to manipulate the image in any direction, notice that the model has a multidimensional form. From the front (anterior) view you can clearly see a snapshot of the animal in mid-stride as some legs are raised higher or lower than others. When a spider walks, two sets of legs always move alternately. Thus, legs 2 and 4 on the left, move in synch with legs 1 and 3 on the right.

As you move the model to look at the ventral side, notice that all four pairs of legs arise from the front segment (cephalothorax) of the spider. You can also see the spider's spinnerets at the very tip of the rear segment (abdomen).

To manipulate the spider model, place your cursor over any portion of the image, and then drag it in any direction. For continual rotation, place your cursor in the bottom right corner. When you see a curved arrow click down on your mouse and the spider will rotate 360 degrees.