What creatures have eight legs?

Answer 1

There are several species of creatures that have eight legs. Most of these are arthropods and are classed as Arachnids. This group includes creature such as:

• Spiders
• Mites
• Ticks
• Scorpions
• Harvestmen
• Pseudoscorpions

If "legs" is referring to appendages used for walking, then crabs can also fit the bill. Crabs actually have five pairs of legs in total, but one pair of these are called chelipeds and bear the pincer like claws. The other four pairs are called walking legs, and as their name suggests, they are used for moving around.

Another creature that is commonly thought to have eight legs is the octopus. This is actually in part a fallacy. While it is true that octopus have eight appendages, they are classified as arms and not legs as generally believed.

Land creatures? Spiders would be the best-known eight-legged creatures; they also have eight eyes.

Horseshoe crabs and sea spiders also match the description, as well as the bugs listed above.

The classes containing Arachnida fall under the subphylum (or, some say, phylum) Chelicerata. This is considered by some to refer to creatures with pseudo-jaws that go up and down, rather than from side to side as with such animals as cockroaches and beetles in general.

Chelicerata drink rather than eat, generally practising external digestion by turning their prey into a sort of soup using digestive juices.

Many museums give the title Curator of Chelicerata to those specializing in the study of these creatures; the title Curator of Arachnida gives the idea that spiders are the main part of the job description, and so some museums avoid using this title.

But getting back to the main question, creatures that have eight legs - i.e. things they use for walking on - are generally thought of as spiders, scorpions, and the aforementioned other creatures, on land or in aquatic habitats.

Answer 2

spider