Spider silk


DESCRIPTION: Single or multiple strands of silk preserved in amber. Amber may preserve web structure (e.g. section of an orb web with radial threads and part of the spiral visible, etc.). Possible tracemaker and prey may be preserved in amber specimen as well.

BEHAVIOR(S): Domichnia, prey capture (this has been observed in amber samples in cases of ensnared prey), calichnia

ENVIRONMENTAL SETTINGS: Forest (resin producing trees)

POSSIBLE TRACEMAKERS: Spiders

GEOLOGIC RANGE: Lower Carboniferous (oldest specimen of silk in amber)

ADDITIONAL REFERENCES: Poinar, 2012

REMARKS: Preserved in amber, often single silk strands, some cases of preserved web structure (Foelix, 2011).

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