Oldest Preserved Spider Web Dates Back to Dinosaurs

The world’s oldest known spider web has been discovered on a beach in Sussex, England, trapped inside an ancient chunk of amber.

Scientists found the rare amber fossil in December, and have now confirmed that it contains remnants of spider silk spun more than 140 million years ago by an ancestor of modern orb-weaving spiders

According to paleobiologist Martin Brasier of Oxford University, the gooey droplets suggest that spiders were starting to spin webs that were better adapted for catching flying insects. “Interestingly, a huge radiation took place in flying insects and bark beetles about 140-130 million years ago,” Brasier wrote in an email to Wired.com. “So we may be seeing a co-evolution of spiders and insects here.”
www.wired.com...

Check the picture on the article page
WOW!!!

But I found this part interesting:

“Interestingly, a huge radiation took place in flying insects and bark beetles about 140-130 million years ago,” Brasier wrote in an email to Wired.com. “So we may be seeing a co-evolution of spiders and insects here.”

I find that part fascinating!

What do you think, is that what we are seeing now?

reply to post by ModernAcademia


Now the last thing I would want is a giant flying spider!

I found this interesting too, I followed the links below the page you linked and come up with this:

Vegetarian spider
www.wired.com...