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.
Highlights
Nephilids are the largest web-weaving spiders alive today and are common and spectacular inhabitants of tropical and subtropical regions [1]
Conspicuous weavers of orb webs composed of golden silk, in tropical and subtropical regions
The large size of the female spider and the brushes of long setae on the ends of the tibiae are characteristics of the genus Nephila. These features occur in some uloborids and tetragnathids, but these families show femoral trichobothria, and most tetragnathids have porrect chelicerae, which nephilids lack
Summary
Nephilids are the largest web-weaving spiders alive today (body length up to 5 cm, leg span 15 cm) and are common and spectacular inhabitants of tropical and subtropical regions [1]. We describe the largest known fossil spider: a female Nephila from the Middle Jurassic of China. The Mesozoic record consists of Cretaraneus vilaltae from the Cretaceous Supposed Cretaraneus from the Cretaceous of Brazil [9] and China [10] do not show the characters of the genus, and Archaeometa nephilina from the Carboniferous of England, described as resembling a Nephila [11], is probably not a spider [12]. The new species described here extends the fossil record of the family back by approximately 35 Ma, and the genus Nephila by approximately 130 Ma. All fossil nephilids apart from N. pennatipes are adult males and, in spite of their large size and better preservation potential in compression fossils, Nephila jurassica is only the second female fossil nephilid to be described
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