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Spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) from the Insect Limestone (Bembridge Marls, Late Eocene) of the Isle of Wight, southern England

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 May 2014

Paul A. Selden
Paul A. Selden*
Affiliation:
Paleontological Institute and Department of Geology, University of Kansas, 1475 Jayhawk Boulevard, Lawrence, Kansas 66045, USA. Email: selden@ku.edu Department of Earth Sciences, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK
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Abstract

The arachnids from the late Eocene Insect Limestone of the Isle of Wight are reviewed. Only spiders (Araneae) have been recorded, of which several dozen are known, mostly juveniles. Nearly all are araneomorphs; the putative mygalomorph Eoatypus woodwardii McCook, 1888 was removed from that infraorder by Selden (2001), but new specimens, yet to be described, could belong in this group. Among the adult specimens, which are thus identifiable to family level, most belong to the argyronetid water-spider Vectaraneus yulei Selden, 2001; some resemble araneids, and a small number can be referred to other families. New morphological information on the holotype of Vectaraneus is presented, and three other specimens are described in more detail here, in Segestriidae, Araneidae and Salticidae. Segestriids are nocturnal sedentary hunters living in tubular retreats in rock or bark crevices. Araneids are the archetypal weavers of orb webs. Salticids are the familiar jumping spiders; the one described here is an ant mimic. Their presence suggests a drier habitat was present somewhere in the source environment for the fossil biota, and they were probably inhabitants of the raised hammocks suggested for the Insect Bed palaeoenvironment.

Keywords

AraneidaeAraneoideaArgyronetidaeDysderoideaSalticidaeSalticoideaSegestriidae
Type
Articles
Information
Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of The Royal Society of Edinburgh , Volume 104 , Issue 3-4: The Fauna and Flora of the Insect Limestone (late Eocene), Isle of Wight, UK Volume I , September 2013 , pp. 275 - 282
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal Society of Edinburgh 2014 

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