First fossil Molinaranea Mello‐Leitão, 1940 (Araneae: Araneidae), from middle Miocene Dominican amber,with a phylogenetic and palaeobiogeographical analysis of the genus |
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| Authors: | ERIN E SAUPE PAUL A SELDEN DAVID PENNEY |
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| Institution: | 1. Paleontological Institute, University of Kansas, Lindley Hall, 1475 Jayhawk Boulevard, Lawrence, Kansas 66045, USA;2. Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK;3. Faculty of Life Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK |
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| Abstract: | The first fossil Molinaranea is described, from middle Miocene Dominican amber. This record extends the known range of the genus back 16 million years; it also extends the geographical range of the genus through time, with extant species known only from Chile, Argentina, the Falkland Islands, and Juan Fernandez Island. A parsimony‐based phylogenetic analysis was performed, which indicates that the fossil species, Molinaranea mitnickii sp. nov. , is nested with Molinaranea magellanica Walckenaer, 1847 and Molinaranea clymene Nicolet, 1849 . A modified Brooks parsimony analysis was conducted in order to examine the biogeography and origins of the fossil species in the Dominican Republic; the analysis suggests that M. mitnickii sp. nov. arrived in Hispaniola from South America as a result of a chance dispersal event. © 2010 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2010, 158 , 711–725. |
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| Keywords: | Caribbean disjunct distribution South America |
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