Alice White
The largest spider has been found by paleontologists. The number of insects on the planet has not yet been established. Scientists constantly manage to find new species, to audit existing ones. And of course, the fossil species are of interest.
Today, a large number of members of the genus Nephila are known, a feature of which is their talents for creating huge networks. The female found was the largest arachnid fossil ever found. The body itself – the cephalothorax and abdomen – are not so large, the legs have become the main size-forming factor. Their scope has reached 15 cm. Modern orb-webs reach only 10-12 cm. This progenitor of the orb-webs was discovered in China during research by a group of scientists from Great Britain, the USA, and China.
Orb webs are characterized by bright gender dimorphism, that is, a large difference in the sizes of males and females. They found females lived 165 million years ago. This turned out to be much more than previously thought, previous studies found crumbs no older than 34 million years old, and arachnids are generally limited to 310 million years old.
The golden nets of modern cereals are admired and attempt to use this thin, lightweight, and very durable material. The largest spider found by paleontologists also had well-developed spinning organs and the size of the cobweb was no less than the current 1.5 meters.
