Two new species of Orchestina (Araneae: Oonopidae) are described as O. gappi sp. nov. and O. rabagensis sp. nov. from the Cretaceous of France and Spain, respectively. Two additional specimens from Spain are placed within Orchestina but not assigned to species. These formal descriptions are the oldest for the genus and the family Oonopidae. The discovery of these older Orchestina is not surprising, as the genus is considered a basal member of the Oonopidae and one of the most diverse and long-lived spider lineages. Two of the spiders were imaged at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility using propagation phase-contrast X-ray synchrotron microtomography, demonstrating once again the enormous potential of this technique for studying fossil inclusions in amber.
The Albian amber from Spain presently harbors the greatest number and diversity of amber adult fossil snakeflies (
Raphidioptera
). Within
Baissopteridae
,
Baissoptera? cretaceoelectra
sp. n.
, from the Peñacerrada I outcrop (Moraza, Burgos), is the first amber inclusion belonging to the family and described from western Eurasia, thus substantially expanding the paleogeographical range of the family formerly known from the Cretaceous of Brazil and eastern Asia. Within the family
Mesoraphidiidae
,
Necroraphidia arcuata
gen. et sp. n.
and
Amarantoraphidia ventolina
gen. et sp. n.
are described from the El Soplao outcrop (Rábago, Cantabria), whereas
Styporaphidia? hispanica
sp. n.
and
Alavaraphidia imperterrita
gen. et sp. n.
are describedfrom Peñacerrada I. In addition, three morphospecies are recognized from fragmentary remains. The following combinations are restored:
Yanoraphidia
gaoi Ren, 1995,
stat. rest.
,
Mesoraphidia durlstonensis
Jepson, Coram and Jarzembowski, 2009,
stat. rest.
, and
Mesoraphidia heteroneura
Ren, 1997,
stat. rest.
The singularity of this rich paleodiversity could be due to the paleogeographic isolation of the Iberian territory and also the prevalence of wildfires during the Cretaceous.
as a tool to promote transparency between collections: the case of the Baltic amber from the Königsberg collection at the Museum of Comparative Zoology. [La digitalización como una herramienta para promover la transparencia entre colecciones: el ámbar del Báltico de la Colección Königsberg del Museo de Zoología Comparativa].
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