2023-09-26 12:55:38
A huge spider… for its time. Researchers recently discovered a spider fossil in a forest in New South Wales (Australia). The animal, baptized Megamonodontium mccluskyilived in the Miocene, between 11 and 16 million years before our era, reports the HuffPost .
The scientists who studied the fossil published their conclusions in mid-September 2023 in the journal Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. Unlike modern scary tarantulas, Megamonodontium mccluskyi is not so imposing: it measures 5 cm once its legs are unfolded. This specimen is however the second largest spider fossil in the world.
A spider living in a burrow
This extinct spider resembles another species discovered in the early 20th century that persists in the rainforests of Singapore, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, researchers say. It is a spider with a “cover burrow”, that is to say it builds a hiding place which it camouflages before attacking prey by surprise which passes nearby.
Noticeable difference between this current spider and its fossilized ancestor? The size. There Megamonodontium current only measures one centimeter in wingspan, it is therefore five times smaller than Mccluskyi. Researchers also assume that the ancient spider must have carried more powerful venom in order to attack larger prey, specifies the HuffPost.
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