49 Million Year Old Spider

A very old spider already shown its face to the world for the first time in 49 million years, as scientists used high tech X-ray method to peer through the shroud of amber encasing the fossilized arachnid. Ancient spider is a member of the genus Eusparassus. These arachnids, also known as Huntsman spiders, live in the tropics and in Southern Europe today. The span range from leg to leg about 0.3 meters. Huntsman spiders are non aggressive and non toxic to humans, but they can deliver a painful bite.

The ancient spider fossil, which is placed in the Berlin Natural History Museum, is burried in a darkened chunk of amber and is barely visible. Using a method called X-ray computed tomography, researcher from Germany and the United Kingdom created three dimensional images and movies of the spider inside the amber. The result of X-ray images reveal fangs, eyes and pedipalps, or the feelers on the spider's face.

The ancient Huntsman fossil was found in the 1800s. Naturalists then suspected that it was huntsman, but modern researchers thought it strange that such a large, active spider would get trapped in the resin. If compare to modern spiders, they determined that the fossil really is a Huntsman.

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