Tags: Arachnid.
Mesozygiella dunlopi is an extinct species of orb-weaving spider dating from the Early Cretaceous making it the earliest orb-weaver yet discovered. Two male specimens of the species were found embedded in amber in Álava northern Spain. The fossils provide direct evidence that the three major orb weaving families namely Araneidae Tetragnathidae and Uloboridae had evolved by this time about 140 million years ago. They probably originated during the Jurassic (200-140 million years ago).