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  • Book
  • © 2002

A Spider’s World

Senses and Behavior

  • 400 million years of development have led to a fascinating technical perfection and complexity of the spider's sensory organs
  • The renowned physiologist, Friedrich G. Barth, gives a gripping account of these achievements and the resulting behavior, taking the spider Cupiennius salei as a model
  • Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

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Table of contents (26 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages I-XIV
  2. The General Biology of Cupiennius

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1
    2. How it All Began

      • Friedrich G. Barth
      Pages 3-4
    3. The Relatives — Who Is Who?

      • Friedrich G. Barth
      Pages 5-11
    4. The Habitat

      • Friedrich G. Barth
      Pages 13-22
    5. Daily Activity Rhythm

      • Friedrich G. Barth
      Pages 23-27
    6. No Spider Without Poison

      • Friedrich G. Barth
      Pages 29-33
  3. Sensory Systems

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 35-36
    2. The Special Significance of Mechanical Senses

      • Friedrich G. Barth
      Pages 37-38
    3. The Measurement of Strain in the Exoskeleton

      • Friedrich G. Barth
      Pages 39-72
    4. The Vibration Sense

      • Friedrich G. Barth
      Pages 73-84
    5. Trichobothria — the Measurement of Air Movement

      • Friedrich G. Barth
      Pages 85-111
    6. Proprioreception

      • Friedrich G. Barth
      Pages 113-127
    7. The Eyes

      • Friedrich G. Barth
      Pages 129-143
    8. Chemoreception

      • Friedrich G. Barth
      Pages 145-150
  4. The Central Nervous System and Its Peripheral Nerves

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 163-163
    2. The Central Nervous System

      • Friedrich G. Barth
      Pages 165-174
    3. The Route for Afferent Inputs to the CNS

      • Friedrich G. Barth
      Pages 175-185
    4. Two Visual Systems in One Brain

      • Friedrich G. Barth
      Pages 187-203

About this book

Spiders are wonderful creatures. Their varied and complex range of behavior and highly developed sensory systems are excellently adapted to the environmental conditions - as is proven by their evolutionary success. Over 400 million years, spiders have developed their sensory organs to a fascinating technical perfection and complexity.
In his intriguing book, Professor Friedrich G. Barth puts this technical perfection into the context of "biology", in which the interaction between environment and sensory organs and the selectivity of the senses as a link between environment and behavior play a major role.

Reviews

From the reviews:

"Thanks to Professor Friedrich G. Barth, his numerous co-workers and students we have astonishing details about the sensorial world and behaviour of these large neotropical spiders … . even a non-arachnologist will find the text easily understandable and instructive. … The book is richly illustrated with numerous line drawings, diagrams and photographs and also contains 16 magnificent colour plates. Professor Barth’s monograph is a very useful book for all students of arthropod sensory physiology and behaviour." (J. Žd’árek, European Journal of Entomology, Vol. 99, 2002)

"This excellent book, written with authority and charm, is a scientific odyssey into the sensory world of spiders. … The book is very well produced, with a well laid-out text supported by numerous figures and photographs … . One of this great book’s many attractions is the way that the text involves the reader … . This highly readable and informative book will provide a valuable reference for researchers, students and teachers … as well as an essential addition to any arachnological bookshelf." (Mike Gray, Lab News, December/January, 2002/2003)

Authors and Affiliations

  • Institut für Zoologie Biozentrum, Universität Wien, Wien, Österreich

    Friedrich G. Barth

About the author

​Professor Friedrich G. Barth was born in Munich, Germany, in 1940. He studied biology and human physiology in Munich and Los Angeles. In 1967, he obtained his doctorate under H. Autrum, 1970 he received his Habilitation in zoology. In 1974, he was offered a chair at the University of Frankfurt/M. Since 1987, he has been professor at the University of Vienna, Austria. His main areas of research are neurobiology, sensory systems, and biomechanics. He is a member of several scientific academies and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Comparative Physiology A.

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: A Spider’s World

  • Book Subtitle: Senses and Behavior

  • Authors: Friedrich G. Barth

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-04899-3

  • Publisher: Springer Berlin, Heidelberg

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

  • Copyright Information: Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2002

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-540-42046-0Published: 06 November 2001

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-642-07557-5Published: 30 September 2011

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-662-04899-3Published: 09 March 2013

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XIV, 394

  • Number of Illustrations: 1001 b/w illustrations, 42 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: Animal Physiology, Ecology

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access