A spider in motion: facets of sensory guidance

Spiders show a broad range of motions in addition to walking and running with their eight coordinated legs taking them towards their resources and away from danger. The usefulness of all these motions depends on the ability to control and adjust them to changing environmental conditions. A remarkable wealth of sensory receptors guarantees the necessary guidance. Many facets of such guidance have emerged from neuroethological research on the wandering spider Cupiennius salei and its allies, although sensori-motor control was not the main focus of this work. The present review may serve as a springboard for future studies aiming towards a more complete understanding of the spider’s control of its different types of motion. Among the topics shortly addressed are the involvement of lyriform slit sensilla in path integration, muscle reflexes in the walking legs, the monitoring of joint movement, the neuromuscular control of body raising, the generation of vibratory courtship signals, the sensory guidance of the jump to flying prey and the triggering of spiderling dispersal behavior. Finally, the interaction of sensors on different legs in oriented turning behavior and that of the sensory systems for substrate vibration and medium flow are addressed.