The Spider That Lives In A Bubble

The diving bell spider lives a seemingly difficult, and probably frustrating life. This type of spider is the only spider to call the water its habitat. However, this spider does not have gills, so it is forced to build small submersibles that allow for underwater travel.

Nature has endowed the diving bell spider with the ability to build vehicles that let them breath underwater. This spider constructs their “bubbles” out of underwater vegetation with the assistance of their silk. Once their bubble is created they fill it with oxygen with air from the ground in order to live within the bubble for a length of time.

Sometimes these bubbles become large enough to contain the spider’s entire body, and other times the bubble only covers a small portion of their abdomen. In fact, scientists have recently learned that diving bell spiders are able to create a super small bubble that works like a gill or a small oxygen tank to let the spider breathe underwater. It is pretty amazing that these spiders can calculate oxygen levels and build submersibles all without getting help.

Why did ancient spiders build devices to remain underwater instead of trying to live on the land?