Aussie Enviro

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An Australian community for everything from your backyard to beyond the black stump.

Topics may include Aussie plants and animals, environmental, farming, energy, and climate news and stories (mostly Aus specific), etc. New related communities will be split off when required, think like subcommunities that exist on that other platform.

Trigger Warning: Community contains mostly bad environmental news (not by choice!). Community may also feature stories about animal agriculture and/or meat. Until tagging is available, please be aware and click accordingly.

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/c/Aussie Environment acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land, sea and waters, of the area that we live and work on across Australia. We acknowledge their continuing connection to their culture and pay our respects to their Elders past and present.

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Fossil of a 'giant' Trapdoor spider found in Australia (www.bbc.co.uk)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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The fossil is between 11 to 16 million-years-old and was found in the centre of Australia in a very dry region of New South Wales, called McGraths Flat.

It's thought to be the first of this particular species to be found - and only the fourth spider fossil discovered in Australia.

Let's not take all the excitement away, this is, after all, still the second largest spider fossil ever found.

Palaeontologist Matthew McCurry, of the University of New South Wales and the Australian Museum, said: "Only four spider fossils have ever been found throughout the whole continent, which has made it difficult for scientists to understand their evolutionary history."That is why this discovery is so significant, it reveals new information about the extinction of spiders and fills a gap in our understanding of the past.

"Not only is it the largest fossilized spider to be found in Australia but it is the first fossil of the family Barychelidae that has been found worldwide," says arachnologist Robert Raven of Queensland Museum.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

Its body measures 23.31 millimetres, or just under an inch. With its legs spread, it might fit comfortably into the palm of your hand.