Arachnid in Amber
$19.00 – $400.00The evolution of spiders has been going on for at least 380 million years, since the first true spiders (thin-waisted arachnids) evolved from crab-like chelicerate ancestors. More than 45,000 extant species have been described, organised taxonomically in 3,958 genera and 114 families.[1] There may be more than 120,000 species.[1] Fossil diversity rates make up a larger proportion than extant diversity would suggest with 1,593 arachnid species described out of 1,952 recognized chelicerates.[2] Both extant and fossil species are described yearly by researchers in the field (see External links for most recent list of fossil species). Major developments in spider evolution include the development of spinnerets and silk secretion.