Another Laurasian connection in the Early Eocene of India: Myrmecarchaea spiders (Araneae, Archaeidae)

The first fossil Archaeidae in Cambay amber from India, of Eocene age, is documented. The inclusion is a spider exuvium and is placed as based on the presence of elongated legs, a slightly elongated pedicel with lateral spurs, and a diastema between coxae III and IV that is similar to from Oise ambe...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:ZooKeys 2021-11, Vol.1071 (3), p.49-61
Main Authors: Wood, Hannah M, Singh, Hukam, Grimaldi, David A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis
Animalia
Arachnida
Araneae
Archaeidae
Arthropoda
Asia
Biodiversity & Conservation
Biogeography
Cenozoic
Chelicerata
Fossils
Identification and classification
India
Indian Sub-Continent and Himalayas
Invertebrata
Paleogene
Paleontology
Spiders
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Summary:The first fossil Archaeidae in Cambay amber from India, of Eocene age, is documented. The inclusion is a spider exuvium and is placed as based on the presence of elongated legs, a slightly elongated pedicel with lateral spurs, and a diastema between coxae III and IV that is similar to from Oise amber. The previous occurrences of the genus are from Baltic and Oise amber, both of Eocene age. Because most spiders, including Archaeidae, only molt as juveniles, the exuvium does not have adult features nor have distinct species-specific features, and a new taxon is not erected. This new record further extends the distribution of the family and genus to India 50-52 million years ago. in Indian Cambay amber provides additional evidence that India in the Early Eocene had affinities with the Palearctic mainland rather than showing Gondwanan insularity.
ISSN:1313-2989
1313-2970
DOI:10.3897/zookeys.1071.72515