Diving: Bell spider Argyroneta aquatic can spend a significant part of its life under water. How is it possible? How does it get oxygen?

Now scientists have revealed that spiders use their gills to extract oxygen and remain hidden under the surface.

Though demand of oxygen gets satisfied, bubble goes on shrinking because nitrogen dispersed back into water thus compelling it to come to surface to resupply the bell.

So, the question is what is survival average of the bubble? Roger Seymour  from the University of Adelaide and Stefan Hetz from Humboldt University, Germany, while calculating  the rate of diffusion of nitrogen of bubble, were stunned to see that spiders could spend more than a day in water.

“The previous literature suggested they had to come to the surface as often as every 20min throughout the day,” Seymour said.

It is beneficial for spiders to continue in water for so long without coming on the surface. It protects them from predation.

The study was promulgated in the Journal of Experimental Biology.