Daddy Long-Leggeds: Spiders or Otherwise?

[BlueMit11]

All right-so Snopes and Marylin Vos Savant have both addressed that ridiculous urban legend that daddy long-leggeds are the world’s most poisinous spider (but their jaws are too small to bite humans…what a miracle of evolution), assuring me that this is not true.

I seem to recall Marilyn saying in her answer, though, that daddy long-leggeds aren’t even truely spiders; instead that they are an arachnid relative of the spider. I also remember hearing this years before the parade chick’s answer. What’s the straight dope on that?

[Reeder]

Most folks who retell this tale have no idea that they are referring to two completely separate groups of animals: “daddy-longlegs” and “daddy-longlegs spiders”. In the animal class Arachnida, there are several lower level divisions called Orders. Scorpions are in the Order Scorpiones, spiders are in the Order Araneae, ticks and mites are in the Order Acari.

The creatures most correctly called daddy-longlegs are in their own separate Order which is Opiliones. Common names for this Order are 1) daddy-longlegs, 2) harvestmen and 3) opilionids.

http://spiders.ucr.edu/daddylonglegs.html

[GorillaMan]

@Reeder

http://spiders.ucr.edu/daddylonglegs.html

So you got the first result off Google, too?

[BlueMit11]

Heh…thanks guys. I guess I should rely on Google before the SDMB.

But it’s so damn easy…

[Peach]

what do you call a daddy long legs with no legs? Daddy?

[Zaphod7]

@Peach

what do you call a daddy long legs with no legs? Daddy?

is there such thing as a mummy long legs?

Actually i believe their real name is “deadly long legs” from a spider book i have at home and it mentions that time and mis hearing (in much more elloquent words) are responsible for chaning the name to “Daddy”

Zaphod

[adirondack_mike]

@Peach

what do you call a daddy long legs with no legs? Daddy?

Nothing, because it can’t come anyway.

[Cervaise]

@Peach

what do you call a daddy long legs with no legs?

Trail mix.

[antechinus]

In Australia we refer to Pholcus phalangioides as ‘daddy-long-legs’.

Opiliones are called harvestmen and aren’t anything like DLL’s, …except for the …long legs.

[peepthis]

There was also a Staff Report to the Daddy Longlegs question from one of Cecil’s minions. Evidently the name is used to refer to two different species of arachnid.