The largest fossil of the segmented spider Parvithele muelleri Wunderlich, 2017 (Mesothelae: Parvithelidae) from Cretaceous Burmese amber

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  The largest fossil of the segmented spider Parvithele muelleri Wunderlich, 2017 (Mesothelae: Parvithelidae) from Cretaceous Burmese amber Abstract A new specimen of the fossil spider Parvithele muelleri Wunderlich, 2017 (Araneae: Mesothelae) is described from the mid-Cretaceous (ca. 99 Ma) Burmese amber of Myanmar. Like the original holotype, the new specimen is a mature male, which clearly preserves a series of tibial macrospines, similar to the condition in the extant genus Liphistius Schiødte, 1849. Given that the single extant mesothele family, Liphistiidae, is predicted to have radiated ca. 39–58 million years ago, the occurrence of somewhat modern-looking male pedipalp spination in older fossil mesotheles is of considerable interest. The new specimen also shows spinnerets in a relatively posterior position, although variability observed in extant species suggests that this trait may be of limited systematic value. Of particular note is the presence of a large and well-dev...

A new contribution to the study of subfamily Tridenchthoniinae Balzan, 1892 (Pseudoscorpiones: Chthoniidae) from the late Eocene Baltic amber with the description of Baltochthonius andrushchenkoi gen. et sp. nov. and Heterolophus eridanus sp. nov.

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A new contribution to the study of subfamily Tridenchthoniinae Balzan, 1892 (Pseudoscorpiones: Chthoniidae) from the late Eocene Baltic amber with the description of Baltochthonius andrushchenkoi gen. et sp. nov. and Heterolophus eridanus sp. nov.

Abstract

Here we describe two new fossil species and one new genus of pseudoscorpions, found in the late Eocene Baltic amber. Baltochthonius andrushchenkoi gen. et sp. nov. and Heterolophus eridanus sp. nov. are assigned to the subfamily Tridenchthoniinae (Pseudoscorpiones: Chthoniidae). We present an updated diagnostic key for the tribes, genera and subgenera of Tridenchthoniinae. The biogeographic, paleohabitat and ecological features of new species are presented and compared to the related extinct and extant species of the subfamily Tridenchthoniinae.

Turbanov, I.S., Kolesnikov, V.B., Shadrin, D.S. & Vorontsov, D.D. (2026) A new contribution to the study of subfamily Tridenchthoniinae Balzan, 1892 (Pseudoscorpiones: Chthoniidae) from the late Eocene Baltic amber with the description of Baltochthonius andrushchenkoi gen. et sp. nov. and Heterolophus eridanus sp. nov. Zootaxa, 5807 (1), 125–149. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5807.1.5