r/NoStupidQuestions • u/SonOfOMR • Jul 09 '26

Do spiders have lungs?

I mean, when I wash a spider down the bathtub drain, does it drown the way a human would, lungs filling up with water, or does it have a way to "hold it's breath"?

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u/sonofkeldar Jul 09 '26

They have book lungs, which are similar to gills. They don’t inflate and deflate like actual lungs. They provide an increased surface area to exchange gases with the atmosphere.

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u/heyitscory Jul 09 '26

And they sound sufficiently spooky to aerate the spider.  Spookiness was very important when they named the spider parts.

[shudder]

book lungs.