Wound repair in a spider, Geolycosa pikei

Abstract

Observations are presented on the wound repair process of a burrowing wolf spider, Geolycosa pikei. Awound,0.3 × 1.0 × 0.5 mm, was made in the superior lateral aspect of the abdomen and observations on tissue from the wound site were made at 2, 6, 12, 24 h, 4, 8, 16, 32, 60, 90, 120 days. The wound was plugged immediately by a hemolymph coagulum. With time, the external portion of the coagulum was reduced to a scale which bridged the hole in the exoskeleton; the internal portion of the coagulum was replaced by a fibrous mass which was gradually lost through a series of changes that eventually restored the original tissue structure.