Two spider fossils, including one of the largest ever found, have been discovered in New South Wales, Australia. The larger fossil is a new species of brush-footed trapdoor spider named Megamonodontium mccluskyi. The scarcity of large fossil spiders is due to the way they are preserved, with many found encased in amber from which larger spiders could escape. The smaller fossil is a well-preserved jumping spider from the genus Simaetha, providing microscopic detail of its internal structures. Both fossils date back to the middle of the Miocene Epoch, between 11 and 16 million years ago, offering insights into the evolutionary history of spiders.
The researchers believe that jumping spiders likely originated in Australia and later migrated to Asia, supporting previous studies based on genetic sequences. The brush-footed trapdoor spiders, on the other hand, appear to have gone extinct due to changing environmental conditions, particularly as Australia experienced cooler and drier climates. This discovery provides valuable information on how nature responded to rapid environmental changes in the past, which can be useful in understanding the current changing environment.
