Named By: | P. A. Seldon, C. K. Shih & D. Ren in 2013 |
Time Period: | Middle Jurassic, 164 Ma |
Location: | Inner Mongolia - Jiulongshan Formation |
Size: | Female total body length estimated at 24.6 millimeters long, with forwards length 56.5 millimetres long. Male total body length 16.54 millimetres long |
Diet: | Carnivore |
Fossil(s): | Partial female and male specimens |
Classification: | | Arthropoda | Arachnida | Araneae | Araneomorphae | Mongolarachnidae | |
Also known as: | | Nephila jurassica | |
Mongolarachne jurassica is an extinct spider placed in the monotypic family Mongolarachnidae. The species was originally described as Nephila jurassica and placed in the living genus Nephila which contains the golden silk orb-weavers. Subsequently it was determined to be stem-orbicularian, i.e. a relative of the group Orbiculariae, which contains the family Nephilidae, but also several other families, such as Theridiidae, Theridiosomatidae or Uloboridae. The species is known only from the Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation, part of the Daohugou Beds, near the village of Daohugou in Ningcheng County, northeastern China.