Lower Cretaceous spiders from the Sierra de Montsech, north-east Spain

Abstract

Four new specimens of spiders (Chelicerata: Araneae), from Lower Cretaceous (Berriasian-Valanginian) lithographic limestones of the Sierra de Montsech, Lérida Province, north-east Spain, are described, as Cretaraneus vilaltae gen. et sp. nov., Macryphantes cowdeni gen. et sp. nov. (two specimens), and Palaeouloborus lacasae gen. et sp. nov. All belong to the infraorder Araneomorphae. Palaeouloborus is the oldest representative of the superfamily Deinopoidea, Cretaraneus is referred to the superfamily Araneoidea, and Macryphantes is the oldest record of the superfamily Araneoidea, family Tetragnathidae (metine-tetragnathine-nephiline group). All three spiders were web weavers; Macryphantes and Palaeouloborus wove orb webs, and may have used a wrap attack to prey on the abundant contemporaneous insect life preserved in the Montsech deposit.