Spider silk spinning field, the spinneret apparatus of an adult "Araneus diadematus" (garden cross spider) consists of the glands shown below. Similar multiple gland architecture exists in the black widow spider. In order to artificially synthesise spider silk into fibres, there are two broad areas that must be covered. These are synthesis of the feedstock (the unspun silk dope in spiders), and synthesis of the spinning conditions (the funnel, valve, tapering duct, and spigot). There have been a number of different approaches. The molecular structure of unspun silk is both complex and extremely long. Though this endows the silk fibres with their
Iberian shrew juveniles, the fur is also adapted for cold, damp habitats: each guard hair possesses an indentation along its length that helps to prevent water from reaching the body. The skull of "S. granarius" can be used to distinguish it from other species belonging to the European "Sorex araneus" group of shrews. Comparatively, the snout of "S. granarius" is small and flat, the mandible possesses a diminished coronoid process and a narrow angular process, and the temporal fossa of the skull resembles a triangle. The "Sorex araneus" group of European shrews consists of "S. araneus", "S. coronatus", and "S. granarius", with