Taubaracna maculosa: First fossil spider from paleogene in South America

Abstract

Spiders (Order Araneae) can be found in all continents, except Antarctica. This order has a long evolutionary history that began during the Paleozoic Era. Despite this prolonged span and the diversity of extant species, the fossil record of spiders is relatively modest, with most specimens preserved in amber and found in the Northern Hemisphere. Taubaracna maculosa nov. gen. et sp., preserved in Oligocene sediments from the Tremembé Formation, Taubaté Basin, Brazil, is described here based on a single medium-sized fossil that presents elongated legs with bristles and spines and a reduced prosoma and opisthosoma. Unusually, the specimen presents a banding pattern (light and dark pigments) still preserved on the exoskeleton, suggesting a camouflage pattern common to many extant spider species.