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A gruesome trapdoor spider more than 20mm long roamed regional Australia millions of years ago, scientists have discovered.
The spider, named Megamonodontium mccluskyi, was unearthed by a group of scientists working at a renowned fossil site in the Central Tablelands of NSW.
At 23mm long, the spider fossil is the second largest ever discovered and more than five times the size of its modern-day relatives.
The fossilized arachnid resembles brush-footed trapdoor spiders in western NSW and marks an important discovery for researchers.
UNSW palaeontologist Matthew McCurry said only four spider fossils have been found in Australia, making it difficult to understand their history.
The spider, named Megamonodontium mccluskyi, was unearthed by a group of scientists in central NSW. Image: Supplied/Australia Museum
The fossilized arachnid resembles the rush trap spider species of western NSW. Image: Supplied/Australia Museum
“This discovery is so important that it reveals new information about spider extinctions and fills a gap in our understanding,” he said.
‘The closest living relative of this fossil now lives in the wet forests from Singapore to Papua New Guinea.
‘This suggests the group once inhabited similar environments on mainland Australia, but became extinct as Australia became drier.’
The fossil is dated to between 11 and 16 million years old and takes its name from the man who unearthed it, Dr. Simon McClusky.
Its discovery was the culmination of the work of scientists from ANU, UC and UNSW, whose findings have since been published.
UNSW palaeontologist Dr. Matthew McCurry said only four spider fossils have been found in Australia. Image: Supplied/Australian Museum/Salty Dingo
Arachnologist Robert Raven of the Queensland Museum, the supervising author, said the fossil was the largest fossil spider ever found in Australia.
“(The spider) is the first fossil of the Barychelidae family found worldwide,” Dr Raven said.
‘There are about 300 species of trapdoor spiders alive today, but it doesn’t seem often that they become fossils.
‘This could be because they spend so much time in caves and are therefore not in the right environment to be fossilized.’
The fossil is now housed in the Australian Museum’s palaeontology collection and is available online for researchers to study.
The site where it was unearthed, McGraths Flat, near Gulgong, was also recently found to be home to a new fossilized jumping spider.