Many of us have encountered the daddy longlegs in our day-to-day lives. They're far from the most venomous spider in the world; these creatures can't penetrate human skin, but the myth about their toxic venom exists nonetheless.

But are daddy longlegs spiders — as in, are they actually, technically, spiders? Not if you're talking about a harvestman, one of the roughly 6,000 species that gets lumped into the "daddy longlegs" common name.

"Common names are troublesome," Rick Vetter tells us via email. A biologist and author, Vetter is an arachnid expert who's confronted plenty of misconceptions about spiders and their kin.

Animal Taxonomy vs. Common Names

"Red-backed salamander," "shortleaf pine tree" and "pygmy sperm whale" are all examples of common names. They're the catchy, p

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