Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer
Responsive image
Issue: Vol. 7 No. 2: April 2024
Type: Article
Published: 2024-04-19
DOI: 10.11646/palaeoentomology.7.2.6
Page range: 224-236
Abstract views: 90
PDF downloaded: 3

Two new long-pedipalp spiders (Araneae: Pholcochyroceridae) from mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber of northern Myanmar

College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, 105 Xisanhuanbeilu, Haidian District, Beijing 100048, China
Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Application, College of Life Sciences, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, China
College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, 105 Xisanhuanbeilu, Haidian District, Beijing 100048, China; Department of Geology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, United States; Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom
Key Laboratory of Eco-environments in Three Gorges Reservoir Region (Ministry of Education), School of Life Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, 105 Xisanhuanbeilu, Haidian District, Beijing 100048, China
Araneae Pholcochyroceridae Longissipalpus Pedipalparaneus Mesozoic new species

Abstract

The spider genera Longissipalpus Wunderlich, 2015 and Pedipalparaneus Wunderlich, 2015 of the extinct family Pholcochyroceridae Wunderlich, 2008, are reported from mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber only. Members of both genera exhibit extremely elongated pedipalps. Here, two new species are described: Longissipalpus albistriatus sp. nov. and Pedipalparaneus protumidus sp. nov., both are endemic to Kachin amber. Detailed diagnoses and illustrations are provided, and their potential living habits are also discussed.

References

  1. Barrantes, G., Segura-Hernández, L. & Solano-Brenes, D. (2023) A novel prey capture strategy in pirate spiders (Araneae: Mimetidae). Animal Behaviour, S0003347223001665. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2023.07.001
  2. Benavides, L.R. & Hormiga, G. (2016) Taxonomic revision of the Neotropical pirate spiders of the genus Gelanor Thorell, 1869 (Araneae, Mimetidae) with the description of five new species. Zootaxa, 4064 (1), 1–72. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4064.1.1
  3. Cui, Y.Y., Bardin, J., Wipfler, B., Demers-Potvin, A., Bai, M., Tong, Y.J., Chen, G.N., Chen, H., Zhao, Z.Y., Ren, D. & Béthoux, O. (2024) A winged relative of ice-crawlers in amber bridges the cryptic extant Xenonomia and a rich fossil record. Insect Science. https://doi.org/10.1111/1744-7917.13338
  4. De Francesco Magnussen, I., Müller, S.P., Hammel, J.U., Kotthoff, U. & Harms, D. (2022) Diversity of schizomids (Arachnida: Schizomida) revealed by new fossil genera and species from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber with implications for a Gondwanan origin of the Burma Terrane. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 196, 792–844. https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlac034
  5. Dunlop, J.A., Penney, D. & Jekel, D. (2023) A summary list of fossil spiders and their relatives, World Spider Catalog, Natural History Museum Bern. Available from: http://wsc.nmbe.ch (accessed 19 February 2024).
  6. Giribet, G. (2015) Morphology should not be forgotten in the era of genomics—a phylogenetic perspective. Zoologischer Anzeiger, 256, 96–103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcz.2015.01.003
  7. Gu, J.J., Yuan, W., Ma, L.B., Nel, A., Xu, Z.Q., Wang, N., Jiang, C.X., Ren, D. & Yue, Y.L. (2023) More than a name: Mid-Cretaceous amber fossils link crickets and mole crickets (Orthoptera, Ensifera). Systematic Entomology, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1111/syen.12621
  8. Guo, X.B., Selden, P.A., Shih, C.K. & Ren, D. (2020) Two new lagonomegopid spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) from the Cretaceous of Myanmar, with comments on the superfamilial placement of Lagonomegopidae. Cretaceous Research, 106, 104257. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2019.104257
  9. Hodge, M. & Marshall, S. (2017) Sexual dimorphism in the lampshade spider Hypochilus thorelli (Araneae: Hypochilidae). Southeastern Naturalist, 16 (3), N24–N28. https://doi.org/10.1656/058.016.0315
  10. Jiang, T.Y., Xin, Y.F., Yao, Z.Y. & Li, S.Q. (2020) Two new spider families from Late Cretaceous Kachin amber (Arachnida: Araneae). Zoological Systematics, 45 (4), 266–280. https://doi.org/10.11865/zs.202033
  11. Lin, Y.J. & Li, S.Q. (2020) Taxonomic studies on the genus Ectatosticta (Araneae, Hypochilidae) from China, with descriptions of two new species. ZooKeys, 954 (2), 17–29. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.954.52254
  12. Magalhães, I.L.F., Azevedo, G.H.F., Michalik, P. & Ramírez, M.J. (2020) The fossil record of spiders revisited: implications for calibrating trees and evidence for a major faunal turnover since the Mesozoic. Biological Reviews, 95 (1), 184–217. https://doi.org/10.1111/brv.12559
  13. Magalhães, I.L.F., Porta, A.O., Wunderlich, J., Proud, D.N., Ramírez, M.J. & Pérez-González, A. (2021) Taxonomic revision of fossil Psilodercidae and Ochyroceratidae spiders (Araneae: Synspermiata), with a new species of Priscaleclercera from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber, northern Myanmar. Cretaceous Research, 121, 104751. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2020.104751
  14. Mao, Y.Y., Liang, K., Su, Y.T., Li, J.G., Rao, X., Zhang, H., Xia, F.Y., Fu, Y.Z., Cai, C.Y. & Huang, D.Y. (2018) Various amberground marine animals on Burmese amber with discussions on its age. Palaeoentomology, 1 (1), 91–103. https://doi.org/10.11646/palaeoentomology.1.1.11
  15. Morrill, E., Crews, S., Esposito, L., Ramírez, M.J. & Griswold, C. (2023) A revision of the genus Porteria and the phylogeny and biogeography of Porteriinae (Araneae: Desidae). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 198 (2), 368–461. https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlac093
  16. Nentwig, W. (2013) Spider ecophysiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, 529 pp. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-33989-9
  17. Penney, D. & Selden, P.A. (2002) The oldest linyphiid spider, in Lower Cretaceous Lebanese amber (Araneae, Linyphiidae, Linyphiinae). The Journal of Arachnology, 30 (3), 487–493. https://doi.org/10.1636/0161-8202(2002)030[0487:TOLSIL]2.0.CO;2
  18. Poinar, G., Jr. (2018) Burmese amber: evidence of Gondwanan origin and Cretaceous dispersion. Historical Biology, 31 (10), 1304–1309. https://doi.org/10.1080/08912963.2018.1446531
  19. Schneider, J. & Andrade, M. (2011) Mating behaviour and sexual selection. In: Herberstein, M.E. (Ed.), Spider behaviour: flexibility and versatility. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 215–274. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511974496
  20. Selden, P.A. & Penney, D. (2010) Fossil spiders. Biological Reviews, 85, 171–206. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-185X.2009.00099.x
  21. Selden, P.A. & Ren, D. (2017) A review of Burmese amber arachnids. Journal of Arachnology, 45 (3), 324–343. https://doi.org/10.1636/JoA-S-17-029
  22. Selden, P.A., Shcherbakov, D.E., Dunlop, J.A. & Eskov, K.Y. (2014) Arachnids from the Carboniferous of Russia and Ukraine, and the Permian of Kazakhstan. Paläontologische Zeitschrift, 88, 297–307. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12542-013-0198-9
  23. Selden, P.A., Shih, C.K. & Ren, D. (2011) A golden orb-weaver spider (Araneae: Nephilidae: Nephila) from the Middle Jurassic of China. Biology Letters, 7 (5), 775–778. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2011.0228
  24. Selden, P.A., Shih, C.K. & Ren, D. (2013) A giant spider from the Jurassic of China reveals greater diversity of the orbicularian stem group. Naturwissenschaften, 100, 1171–1181. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-013-1121-7
  25. Selden, P.A., Zhang, W.W. & Ren, D. (2016) A bizarre armoured spider (Araneae: Tetrablemmidae) from Upper Cretaceous Myanmar amber. Cretaceous Research, 66, 129–135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2016.06.007
  26. Shi, G.H., Grimaldi, D., Harlow, G.E., Wang, J., Wang, J., Yang, M.C., Lei, W.Y., Li, Q.L. & Li, X.H. (2012) Age constraint on Burmese amber based on U-Pb dating of zircons. Cretaceous Research, 37, 155–163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2012.03.014
  27. Smith, R. & Ross, A. (2016) Amberground pholadid bivalve borings and inclusions in Burmese amber: implications for proximity of resin-producing forests to brackish waters, and the age of the amber. Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, 107 (2–3), 239–247. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1755691017000287
  28. Wang, J.J., Zhang, W.T., Engel, M.S., Sheng, X.Y., Shih, C.K. & Ren, D. (2022) Early evolution of wing scales prior to the rise of moths and butterflies. Current Biology, 32, 3808–3814. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2022.06.086
  29. Wang, L.Y., Zhao, J.X., Irfan, M. & Zhang, Z.S. (2021) Review of the spider genus Ectatosticta Simon, 1892 (Araneae: Hypochilidae) with description of four new species from China. Zootaxa, 5016 (4), 523–542. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5016.4.4
  30. Westerweel, J., Roperch, P., Licht, A., Dupont-Nivet, G., Win, Z., Poblete, F., Ruffet, G., Swe, H., Thi, M.K. & Aung, D.W. (2019) Burma Terrane part of the Trans-Tethyan arc during collision with India according to palaeomagnetic data. Nature Geoscience, 12 (10), 863–868. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-019-0443-2
  31. Wood, H.M. (2017) Integrating fossil and extant lineages: an examination of morphological space through time (Araneae: Archaeidae). Journal of Arachnology, 45 (1), 20–29. https://doi.org/10.1636/JoA-S-16-039.1
  32. Wood, H.M., Gillespie, R.G., Griswold, C.E. & Wainwright, P.C. (2015) Why is Madagascar special? The extraordinarily slow evolution of pelican spiders (Araneae, Archaeidae). Evolution, 69 (2), 462–481. https://doi.org/10.1111/evo.12578
  33. Wood, H.M., Griswold, C.E. & Gillespie, R.G. (2012) Phylogenetic placement of pelican spiders (Archaeidae, Araneae), with insight into evolution of the “neck” and predatory behaviours of the superfamily Palpimanoidea. Cladistics, 28 (6), 598–626. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1096-0031.2012.00411.x
  34. Wood, H.M. & Wunderlich J. (2023) Burma terrane amber fauna shows connections to Gondwana and transported Gondwanan lineages to the northern hemisphere (Araneae: Palpimanoidea). Systematic Biology, 72 (6), 1233–1246. https://doi.org/10.1093/sysbio/syad047
  35. World Spider Catalog (2024) World Spider Catalog. Version 25.0, Natural History Museum Bern. Available from: http://wsc.nmbe.ch (accessed 19 February 2024).
  36. Wu, Q., Radchenko, A., Engel, M., Li, X.Q., Yang, H.R., Li, X.R., Shih, C.K., Ren, D. & Gao, T.P. (2024) Cretaceous crown male ant reveals the rise of modern lineages. Zoological Research. https://doi.org/10.24272/j.issn.2095-8137.2023.390
  37. Wunderlich, J. (2008) The dominance of ancient spider families of the Araneae: Haplogyne in the Cretaceous, and the late diversification of advanced ecribellate spiders of the Entelegynae after the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary extinction events, with descriptions of new families. Beiträge zur Araneologie, 5, 524–675.
  38. Wunderlich, J. (2012) On the fossil spider (Araneae) fauna in Cretaceous ambers, with descriptions of new taxa from Burmese (Burma) and Jordan, and on the relationships of the superfamily Leptonetoidea. Beiträge zur Araneologie, 7, 157–232.
  39. Wunderlich, J. (2015) On the evolution and the classification of spiders, the Mesozoic spider faunas, and descriptions of new Cretaceous taxa mainly in amber from Myanmar (Burma) (Arachnida: Araneae). Beiträge zur Araneologie, 9, 21–408.
  40. Wunderlich, J. (2017) New and rare fossil spiders (Araneae) in mid Cretaceous amber from Myanmar (Burma), including the description of new extinct families of the suborders Mesothelae and Opisthothelae, as well as notes on the taxonomy, the evolution and the biogeography of the Mesothelae. Beiträge zur Araneologie, 10, 72–279.
  41. Wunderlich, J. & Müller, P. (2018) Fossil spiders (Araneae) in Cretaceous Burmese amber. Beiträge zur Araneologie, 11, 1–167.
  42. Wunderlich, J. & Müller, P. (2021) Descriptions of new fossil spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) in Late (Mid) Cretaceous Burmese amber with focus on the superfamilies Palpimanoidea and Deinopoidea and members of the RTA-clade, as well as remarks on palaeobehaviour, palaeofauna, taxonomy and phylogenetics. Beiträge zur Araneologie, 14, 25–262.
  43. Yang, H.R, Engel, M.S., Shih, C.K., Song, F., Zhao, Y.S., Ren, D. & Gao, T.P. (2023) Independent wing reductions and losses among stick and leaf insects (Phasmatodea), supported by new Cretaceous fossils in amber. BMC Biology, 21, 210. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-023-01720-0
  44. Yu, T.T., Kelly, R., Mu, L., Ross, A., Kennedy, J., Broly, P., Xia, F.Y., Zhang, H.C., Wang, B. & Dilcher, D. (2019) An ammonite trapped in Burmese amber. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116 (23), 11345–11350. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1821292116
  45. Zhang, Y.J, Rasnitsyn, A.P., Zhang, W.W., Song, F., Shih, C.K., Ren, D., Wang, Y.J., Li, H. & Gao, T.P. (2024) Stem chewing lice on Cretaceous feathers preserved in amber. Current Biology, 34, 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.027
  46. Zhu, M.S. (1998) Fauna Sinica: Arachnida: Araneae: Theridiidae. Science Press, Beijing, 436 pp. [In Chinese]