Largest Fossil Spider Found in Volcanic Ash - w/pic

[Kadie]

Largest Fossil Spider Found in Volcanic Ash

Charles Q. Choi, LiveScience Contributor,
LiveScience.com – Wed Apr 20, 7:54 am ET

The largest fossil spider uncovered to date once ensnared prey back in the age of dinosaurs, scientists find.

The spider, named Nephila jurassica, was discovered buried in ancient volcanic ash in Inner Mongolia, China. Tufts of hairlike fibers seen on its legs showed this 165-million-year-old arachnid to be the oldest known species of the largest web-weaving spiders alive today — the golden orb-weavers, or Nephila, which are big enough to catch birds and bats, and use silk that shines like gold in the sunlight.

The fossil was about as large as its modern relatives, with a body one inch (2.5 centimeters) wide and legs that reach up to 2.5 inches (6.3 cm) long. Golden orb-weavers nowadays are mainly tropical creatures, so the ancient environment of Nephila jurassica probably was similarly lush.

"It would have lived, like today's Nephila, in its orb web of golden silk in a clearing in a forest, or more likely at the edge of a forest close to the lake," researcher Paul Selden, director of the Paleontological Institute at the University of Kansas, told LiveScience. "There would have been volcanoes nearby producing the ash that forms the lake sediment it is entombed within."

more...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20110420/sc_livescience/largestfossilspiderfoundinvolcanicash


Fossil female golden orb-weaver spider (Nephila jurassica) from the Middle Jurassic of China.
CREDIT: Paul Selden.

[DirkGently]

1. Awesome!

[sinkingfeeling]

2. Neato!

[Johonny]

3. Huge

[hlthe2b]

4. pretty amazing... No doubt what that is...

[TahitiNut]

5. Did they also find the nearby fossil remains of ...

... Miss Muffet?? :dunce:

[patrice]

9. YOU! . . .

:hi: are priceless! :hi:

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[TahitiNut]

11. Au contraire ...

... I'm actually rather cheap.

:evilgrin:

[patrice]

12. me too! . . . but no takers. : - (((((((((((((((

[eowyn_of_rohan]

6. That is really cool

thanks for posting

[leveymg]

7. Amazing how much it looks like a Chinese brush painting

Not really doubting the legitimacy of this fossil, just remarking.

[RaleighNCDUer]

8. Cool as it is, from the headline I was hoping for something that was

like twice the size of today's Bird Spider, with a 6" body and 2' leg spread.

Something big enough to snare those foot-long dragonflies.

[ChoppinBroccoli]

10. Kinda Looks Like That Spider From "Gilligan's Island"

If I saw that thing crawling up the wall in my basement, I would definitely freak out. And I'm not afraid of spiders.