Male Spider
Phylum Arthropoda, Subphylum Chelicerata, Class Arachnida, Order Araneae
Geological Time: Lower Cretaceous (~125 m.y.a.)
Size: 7 mm across; Matrix: 48 mm by 30 mm and 42 mm by 30 mm
Fossil Site: Liaoning, Yixian Formation, Chao Yang, Liaoning Province of China
 While
the Class Insecta is well represented in Liaoning and Hebei Provinces
of China, with over 500 species referable to over 100 families based
upon over 10,000 specimens, spiders are not so often seen. This fantastic
diversity and exquisite detail is unprecedented throughout the world.
This example is a male, as indicated by the pedipalps present. This
is a fine specimen with incredible detail from the dim past of 125
million years ago, an uncommon part/counterpart example. The reverse
of one side shows a partial abdomen from a Mayfly (Ephemeroptera). |
