Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Spider 'is 20 million years old'
BBCNews ^ | 9/30/05 | BBCNEWS

Posted on 09/30/2005 9:17:27 AM PDT by bigmac0707

A scientist has described a spider that was trapped and preserved in amber 20 million years ago.

Palaeontologist Dr David Penney, of the University of Manchester, found the 4cm long by 2cm wide fossil during a visit to a museum in the Dominican Republic.

Since the discovery two years ago, he has used droplets of blood in the amber to reveal the age of the specimen.

It is thought to be the first time spider blood has been found in amber and scientists hope to extract its DNA.

Dr Penney, of the School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences, said he had used the blood droplets to trace how, when and where the spider died.

It is a new species from the Filistatidae family commonly found in South America and the Caribbean.

Dr Penney believes it was climbing up a tree 20 million years ago when it was hit on the head by fast flowing resin, became engulfed in the resin and died.

He claims the shape and position of the blood droplets revealed which direction the spider was travelling in and which of its legs broke first.

"It's amazing to think that a single piece of amber with a single spider in it can open up a window into what was going on 20 million years ago," he said.

"By analysing the position of the spider's body in relation to the droplets of blood in the amber we are able to determine how it died, which direction it was travelling in and even how fast it was moving."

He first saw the fossil during a visit to the Museo del Ambar Dominicano, in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic.

Dr Penney reports his findings in the latest issue of the journal Palaeontology.


TOPICS: Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: amber; archeology; crevolist; fossils; godsgravesglyphs; lookbackinamber; palaeontology; paleontology; science
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-80 ... 201-213 next last
To: corkoman

Yes they are. Just because you believe them doesn't make them true. There is quite a bit of disagreement regarding dating.


21 posted on 09/30/2005 9:26:22 AM PDT by mlc9852
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: MeanWestTexan

I'd rather have t-rex running around than this spider.

You can see t-rex, you can shoot t-rex. Dealing with a spider infestation could be very difficult.

Which is easier to exterminate, a dinosaur colony or roaches ?


22 posted on 09/30/2005 9:26:23 AM PDT by staytrue
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: Prime Choice

Yikes.


23 posted on 09/30/2005 9:27:01 AM PDT by T. Buzzard Trueblood ("Fidel NEVER was the "bad" person except being designated as such." hombre_sincero, Freeper)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: general_re
Okay...got my dose of creepy-crawlies for the day!

Fortunately, I only have to deal with field spiders and the occasional wolf spider. When I first moved to California, I had to contend with a massive infestation of Black Widow spiders in the garage. That was incredibly unnerving for me at the time...

24 posted on 09/30/2005 9:27:10 AM PDT by Prime Choice (E=mc^3. Don't drink and derive.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: staytrue

Well, we still have roaches but I haven't seen any dinosaurs in awhile.


25 posted on 09/30/2005 9:27:41 AM PDT by mlc9852
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 22 | View Replies]

To: bigmac0707; GreenFreeper
Looks like a "Modern-Day" Wolf Spider....Evolution @ work, nothing needs to be changed, if prefect...and lives, to pass on its DNA/genes :/
26 posted on 09/30/2005 9:27:57 AM PDT by skinkinthegrass (Just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean they aren't out to get you :^)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: mlc9852
I was under the impression carbon dating isn't reliable past 50,000 years or so.

That's why I said coupled with at what level in the strata the amber was discovered.

27 posted on 09/30/2005 9:28:17 AM PDT by Prime Choice (E=mc^3. Don't drink and derive.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 19 | View Replies]

To: Prime Choice

And how would they determine how old the strata was?


28 posted on 09/30/2005 9:30:42 AM PDT by mlc9852
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 27 | View Replies]

To: Prime Choice

As I understand it, C-14 half life is about 5,700 yrs. It seems that that would make it impossible to date something over 11,400 yrs old using this method.

I've no reason to doubt that it is 20 mil years old, give or take, but I'm not sure how they would have determined that number.


29 posted on 09/30/2005 9:31:21 AM PDT by bigmac0707
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: exile
Was it Helen Thomas' childhood pet?

LOL! ...What do you think it was running from? ...HELEN. :D

30 posted on 09/30/2005 9:31:41 AM PDT by skinkinthegrass (Just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean they aren't out to get you :^)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

To: bigmac0707

Peter Parker did well with a radioactive spider, didn't go so well for Gwen Stacy, however...


(darn, I'm old...)


31 posted on 09/30/2005 9:31:58 AM PDT by GreenLanternCorps (3-0 The September Jinx is broken!!! Who Dey! Who Dey! Who Dey Think Gonna Beat Dem Bengals!!!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 20 | View Replies]

To: Prime Choice
We got those down in Texas - just don't stick your hands or feet into dark places or piles of litter, and you should be okay ;)

Anyway, this one appears to have an even closer living relative in South America, by the name of Misionella mendensis, but I can't find any pics at the moment.

32 posted on 09/30/2005 9:32:09 AM PDT by general_re ("Frantic orthodoxy is never rooted in faith, but in doubt." - Reinhold Niebuhr)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 24 | View Replies]

To: staytrue
I'd rather have t-rex running around than this spider. You can see t-rex, you can shoot t-rex. Dealing with a spider infestation could be very difficult. Which is easier to exterminate, a dinosaur colony or roaches ?

Here's a better thought ... DON'T clone a T-rex or a Raptor. Only clone VEGAN dinosaurs, ok??? If some scientist things it would be great to clone a T-rex, show him the scene from Jurassic Park where the T-rex eats the lawyer sitting on the john. hehehe.
33 posted on 09/30/2005 9:32:31 AM PDT by TexasGreg ("Democrats Piss Me Off")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 22 | View Replies]

To: bigmac0707
Spider blood has been found in amber and scientists hope to extract its DNA.

OJ says spider may prove to have been Nicole's real killer.

34 posted on 09/30/2005 9:33:11 AM PDT by NutCrackerBoy
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: NutCrackerBoy

LOL!

That is, as long as the 8 minature spider gloves fit.


35 posted on 09/30/2005 9:35:42 AM PDT by bigmac0707
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 34 | View Replies]

To: blam; calcowgirl; Carry_Okie; ClearCase_guy; cogitator; CollegeRepublican; ...
ECO-PING

A little more science and evolution than ecological but thought it was interesting! He first saw the fossil during a visit to the Museo del Ambar Dominicano

Hmmm, they call that a fossil eh?

36 posted on 09/30/2005 9:37:04 AM PDT by GreenFreeper (FM me to be added to the Eco-Ping List)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 27 | View Replies]

To: bigmac0707

"It doesn't say which dating methods were used here, only that the date was determined by extracting blood-- and I'm not sure how one would date something based on organic materials. Unless the spider was radioactive of course. (In that case, the movie ends up really bad for the humans)"

The article failed to mention the "Born on date" found in the spider's wallet.


37 posted on 09/30/2005 9:37:07 AM PDT by Tenacious 1 (Dems: "It can't be done" Reps. "Move, we'll find a way or make a way. It has to be done!")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 20 | View Replies]

To: bigmac0707
Dr Penney, of the School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences, said he had used the blood droplets to trace how, when and where the spider died.

Uh, that would be by getting stuck in tree sap which then hardened into Amber.
38 posted on 09/30/2005 9:38:58 AM PDT by Danae ( Anál nathrach, orth' bháis's bethad, do chél dénmha)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: bigmac0707
...and even how fast it was moving.

Hey? (holding up my hand and waving)  I can answer that question and you don't even have to pay me a ridiculous amount of money to do so.

The spider was moving very Sloooooooooooooooowly with all of that sticky goo on him.  How's that...and it's free!

39 posted on 09/30/2005 9:39:18 AM PDT by DH
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: bigmac0707

The organic materials would contain C-14 (radioactive carbon, which decays at a set rate and, mildly more controversely, is believed to exist at a set baseline % of total carbon at a given time).

Assuming one does not eat after death, the shortfall of the baseline % tells you how old something organic was when it stopped eating (e.g., died).


40 posted on 09/30/2005 9:40:32 AM PDT by MeanWestTexan (A good friend helps you move. A great friend helps you move a body.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 20 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-80 ... 201-213 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson