Geratonephila

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Geratonephila
Nephila burmanica attacking Cascoscelio incassa in Burmese amber.jpg
The amber which shows Geratonephila attacking a wasp ( Cascoscelio incassus ) in its web
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Arachnida
Order:
Araneae
Family:
Nephilidae
Genus:
Geratonephila
Binomial name
Geratonephila burmanica
Synonyms

Nephila burmanica

Geratonephila is a genus of spider in the family Nephilidae that lived around 100 million years ago during the early Cretaceous period. This genus contains one species, Geratonephila burmanica. [1]

It was discovered in Burmese amber. The amber it was in shows it attacking a species of wasp ( Cascoscelio incassus , family Platygastridae) in its web. This shows direct fossil evidence of predatory behavior in this extinct genus of spider. It is the only specimen preserving such behavior. [1]

Reference

  1. 1 2 Poinar Jr., George; Buckley, Ron (2012-10-01). "Predatory behaviour of the social orb-weaver spider, Geratonephila burmanica n. gen., n. sp. (Araneae: Nephilidae) with its wasp prey, Cascoscelio incassus n. gen., n. sp. (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae) in Early Cretaceous Burmese amber". Historical Biology. 24 (5): 519–525. doi:10.1080/08912963.2011.640399. ISSN   0891-2963.
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