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A golden orb-weaver spider (Araneae: Nephilidae: Nephila) from the Middle Jurassic of China
Selden, Paul A. Shih, ChungKun Ren, Dong
Selden, Paul A.
Shih, ChungKun
Ren, Dong
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Abstract
Nephila are large, conspicuous weavers of orb webs composed of golden silk, in tropical and subtropical regions. Nephilids have a sparse fossil record, the oldest described hitherto being Cretaraneus vilaltae from the Cretaceous of Spain. Five species from Neogene Dominican amber and one from the Eocene of Florissant, CO, USA, have been referred to the extant genus Nephila. Here, we report the largest known fossil spider, Nephila jurassica sp. nov., from Middle Jurassic (approx. 165 Ma) strata of Daohugou, Inner Mongolia, China. The new species extends the fossil record of the family by approximately 35 Ma and of the genus Nephila by approximately 130 Ma, making it the longest ranging spider genus known. Nephilidae originated somewhere on Pangaea, possibly the North China block, followed by dispersal almost worldwide before the break-up of the supercontinent later in the Mesozoic. The find suggests that the palaeoclimate was warm and humid at this time. This giant fossil orb-weaver provides evidence of predation on medium to large insects, well known from the Daohugou beds, and would have played an important role in the evolution of these insects.
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Date
2011-04-20
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Royal Society Publishing
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Keywords
Daohugou, Fossil, Inner mongolia, Mesozoic
Citation
Selden, Paul A, ChungKun Shih, and Dong Ren. 2011. “A Golden Orb-Weaver Spider (Araneae: Nephilidae: Nephila) from the Middle Jurassic of China.” Biology Letters 7 (5): 775–78. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2011.0228