Monday, November 2, 2009 | Science : Evolution and Biology | print version

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Fossil hunter finds 140-million-year-old spider's web

by Telegraph.co.uk

Thanks to Scottishgeologist for the links.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/6467024/Fossil-hunter-finds-140-million-year-old-spiders-web.html

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The tiny tangled filaments date back 140 million years and are linked to each other in the roughly circular pattern familiar to gardeners everywhere.

The web appears to be similar to those of modern orb web spiders, which weave a spiral of silk to catch insect prey.

The amber was found by an amateur fossil hunter whilst looking for dinosaur remains, and was handed over to palaeobiologist Professor Martin Brasier whose findings are published in the the Journal of the Geological Society.

The tiny threads about 1 millimetre (1/20th of an inch) long are held in suspension amid bits of burnt sap and fossilized vegetable matter.

Prof Brasier, of the University of Oxford, said: "This amber is very rare. It comes from the very base of the Cretaceous period, which makes it one of the oldest ambers anywhere to have inclusions in it."

As well as threads of spider webs the amber contains plant matter, insect droppings and ancient microbes that were trapped during the early Cretaceous Period, a time when the world was a much warmer place, and dinosaurs such as the Iguanodon and the Allosaurus were in their prime.
...
Continue reading
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/6467024/Fossil-hunter-finds-140-million-year-old-spiders-web.html
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And from BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/sussex/8335719.stm

Spider web confirmed as 'oldest'

Spider webs encased in amber which were discovered on an East Sussex beach have been confirmed by scientists as being the world's oldest on record.

The amber, which was found in Bexhill by fossil hunter Jamie Hiscocks and his brother Jonathan, dates back 140 million years to the Cretaceous period.

Professor Martin Brasier said they were the earliest webs to be incorporated into the fossil record.

He has published his findings in the Journal of the Geological Society.

Professor Brasier, who is a palaeobiologist at the University of Oxford, said: "This amber is very rare. It comes from the very base of the Cretaceous, which makes it one of the oldest ambers anywhere to have inclusions in it."
...
Continue reading
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/sussex/8335719.stm

Posted: Monday, November 2, 2009 | Permalink

Comments 1 - 16 of 16 |

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1. Comment #428966 by fossil-fish on November 2, 2009 at 6:19 pm

I looked very hard for fish hooks but couldn't find any.

An amazing discovery. Fascinating.

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2. Comment #428967 by Flapjack on November 2, 2009 at 6:20 pm

Surely you'd need a thicker thread to catch Iguanadons and Allosauruses?
[Sorry, ignore that last paleontology based comment... it's been carbon dated by experts and belongs to the Cretinous period!]

Other Comments by Flapjack

3. Comment #428974 by Linda Ward Selbie on November 2, 2009 at 6:33 pm

I was surprised to learn about the geological diversity of the little island of Britain. Last week's In Our Time podcast on 'The Geological Formation of Britain' is particularly interesting on the subject.

Around six hundred million years ago, the island that we now call Britain was in two parts, far to the south of the Equator. Scotland – and north-western Ireland – were part of a continent (Laurentia) that also included what is now North America. To the south-east, near the Antarctic Circle, meanwhile, you would have found Southern Ireland, England and Wales. They formed a mini-continent (Avalonia) with what is now Newfoundland.

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4. Comment #428989 by aoratos philos on November 2, 2009 at 7:08 pm

140 million year old fossil... Gimmie a break!
Any Fundie knows that the world is less than 10k years old! ;)

Other Comments by aoratos philos

5. Comment #429002 by TIKI AL on November 2, 2009 at 7:24 pm

I like the new Rorschach feature at RD.net.

I see a long extinct one eyed human skull and the earliest known candy lifesaver.

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6. Comment #429066 by NewEnglandBob on November 2, 2009 at 9:40 pm

Charlotte? Is that you?
- Wilber

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7. Comment #429069 by InYourFaceNewYorker on November 2, 2009 at 9:46 pm

Damn, interesting article! :D

Other Comments by InYourFaceNewYorker

8. Comment #429109 by Crazycharlie on November 2, 2009 at 11:20 pm

It's the handiwork of the Devil. He's trying to tangle us into his evil web of deceit.

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9. Comment #429152 by flistr8 on November 3, 2009 at 3:10 am

I think someone hacked my dentist's office and posted my recent x-rays. But seriously, it's the Devil's handiwork.

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10. Comment #429216 by Animavore on November 3, 2009 at 11:38 am

This backs up Haran Yahya's claim that creatures don't evolve and have remained, as Allah created them, for all of time.

[sarcasm]

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11. Comment #429219 by 1town on November 3, 2009 at 11:52 am

Give me a call when they extract dinosaur DNA from something in amber.

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12. Comment #429239 by corvis_9 on November 3, 2009 at 2:14 pm

Nice article, except for that last sentence.

No, damn it, not everything needs to be sexed up with a movie reference.

Freaking editorial insertions.

Other Comments by corvis_9

13. Comment #429254 by mordacious1 on November 3, 2009 at 4:03 pm

What was this scientist doing in my garage?

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14. Comment #429336 by Jake Sigren on November 3, 2009 at 10:17 pm

This article got me a bit curious about arachnid phylogeny and evolution. Apparently arachnids in general have been around for about 500 million years and spiders have been around for at least 345 million years. Anyways, this got me curious as to what a fossilized spider looked like and I found this image:

http://www.finalfrontier.org.uk/images/creation/27_12.jpg

pretty cool but then I looked at the caption of the picture on the site I found it on...

A fossil of a giant tarantula spider about 18 inches long has been discovered. We believe that this Pre-Flood tarantula spider was buried under tons of rock, and instantly fossilised at Noah's Flood, 4,400 years ago.

...completely ruined my day lol...

Other Comments by Jake Sigren

15. Comment #429671 by scottishgeologist on November 5, 2009 at 2:32 pm

Jake

Cool pic! But that site its on .... sigh.....

And it gets worse - if you follow it through, you will find this page:

http://www.finalfrontier.org.uk/index.php?main=2&sub=1&page=3

Which gives us:

"Our main resource on Creation is Dr. Kent Hovind who is, in our view, the world expert on Creation:"

and

"We thoroughly recommend Dr Kent Hovind's books, videos and DVD's, which are inexpensive, and of excellent quality."

No more needs to be said. It starts to get embarasssing after a point!

Cheers!

:-)))))
SG

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16. Comment #429694 by Ardiem on November 5, 2009 at 4:20 pm

I skipped most of the drivel on that page but noticed the $250,000 reward at the bottom of the page that Hovind is offering for 'proving' evolution.

Anyone know why the offer hasn't been taken up? It can't be that hard to explain assuming the thesis is judged by an impartial adjudicator? Hell, just give them Richard's TGSOE and have the cash go towards the next bus advert fund.

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