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The Oldest Spider Web
The amber piece was identified and discussed in the journal Nature,
August 7, 2003. This was discussed by the Swiss researcher, Dr.
Samuel Zxchokke from the University of Basel. The strand of spider web was 4 millimeters long. Along the length one
can see what appears to be sticky droplets. These droplets look like modern
day spiders. This 4 mm long strand of viscid silk is like the glue covered
type that some web-spinning spiders use to capture prey today Both modern orb-weaving spiders and comb footed spiders spin this type
of silk. If the fossil filament came from an ancestor of one of those
varieties, it was probably a comb-footed spider, says Zschokke. Today
those arachnids are the only ones that spin webs bearing viscid silk near
tree trunks, where seeping resin would likely to trap a stray strand of
silk. These spiders produce a glue that is on the web and allows other insects
to be trapped. The glue is also used to anchor the web. Spider silk itself,
is not sticky. Spider web bearing glue droplets have also been found in
Cretaceous Lebanese Amber. Also webs bearing glue have also been found
in Baltic Amber from the Eocene period.
Here is an in-depth story from National
Geographic.
All of these pictures are similar
to the spider silk found in Lebanese amber. They are actually pictures
of spider webs that have sold at Amberica West!
We currently have one piece of amber with a spider's
web (#12), for sale.
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