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Oldest Known Spider Webs Discovered

Silken spider webs dating back some 140 million years have been discovered preserved in amber, scientists announce today. "These turn out to be the earliest webs that have ever been incorporated in the fossil record to our knowledge," said lead researcher Martin Brasier, a paleontologist at the University of Oxford.

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PresqueIsle's profile
posted by PresqueIsle
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that i so cool and timely i am reading a book "the invention of air. A story of science, faith, and the birth of America. In the book there is a description of th carboniferous age . when plants & animals for some reason grew ro gigantic size. they discussed finding a spider fossel one foot long. You need both shoes on to stomp on it I bet?
yichel's profile
posted by yichel
about 1 month ago
Sorry I just have to post this picture



Look at it.....how do they know its a spider web? I did read the article but how can they be sure?
Espirit's profile
posted by Espirit
about 1 month ago
These spiders are quite small. I thought that each spider web was made up of straight 'lines'. The curly webs are new to me.
PresqueIsle's profile
posted by PresqueIsle
about 1 month ago
I love amber and the idea that so many ancient life forms have been captured in it forever .
Dirck's profile
posted by Dirck
about 1 month ago
yes I love Amber too. Would love to get a nice piece some day. They tend to mount it in silver though and I prefer gold.
Espirit's profile
posted by Espirit
about 1 month ago
The Romanoff family ,when they ruled Russia , had an entire room in the palace where the walls and ceiling and all of the furniture was made of , or covered with , amber .
Dirck's profile
posted by Dirck
about 1 month ago
You are right! The Amber Room is stunning. I continue to watch for the unlikely(?) announcement that the Amber Room has been found (the amber that covered the walls and ceiling in the room was stolen by the Nazis on 14 October 1941.) In 1979 a reconstruction effort began and the Room was completed in 2003. Efforts to find the original amber will go on for decades.

There are many web sites w/info. Wikepedia has a very good site:

view link There are also
PresqueIsle's profile
posted by PresqueIsle
about 1 month ago
wow I did not know that.............where would they put so much stuff? one would think some of it would show up over the years or maybe it will some day be the find of the century or something. I think that the Nazis treasures are spread around the world in secret places still and I bet we will never know what has been lost. I would sure like to see whats in the vaults at the Vatican too............there is something obscene about such treasures not being on public display somehow.
Espirit's profile
posted by Espirit
29 days ago
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