How many legs does a spider have?
Spiders have eight legs, arranged in four pairs. This is one of the main ways to tell them apart from insects, which have six legs.
All eight legs attach to the front part of a spider's body, the cephalothorax. Each leg has seven segments and ends in small claws. Many spiders also have tiny hairs on their legs that sense vibrations, smells and air movement, helping them detect prey and danger.
Spiders also have a pair of short appendages near their mouths called pedipalps, which can look like a fifth pair of legs. They use them to handle food and, in males, to transfer sperm. Spiders' fangs, called chelicerae, inject venom to subdue prey.
Losing a leg
If a spider is caught by a leg, it can sometimes drop the leg to escape. Young spiders can regrow lost legs during their next molts, though the new leg may be a bit smaller at first. Adult spiders that no longer molt cannot regrow legs but usually manage fine with seven.
Did You Know?
Spiders belong to the class Arachnida, along with scorpions, ticks and mites, all of which usually have eight legs as adults.