GIANT SPIDERS in Amber Seen for First Time with Scanners

Among people with arachnophobia giant crab spiders can spread fear and terror. Her legs reach spans of 30 centimeters, and on them the animals can move quickly.

Even more astonishing is how two of the eight-legged giants ended a long time ago: The spiders were captured by tree resin that is known  for its fast flow rate. Too bad for the spider, fortunately for researchers. a team of experts in  Frankfurt and Berlin placed glowing amber chunks in a computer scanner - and got spectacular images of ancient creepy-crawlies.

The amber pieces have been around for 157 years in the Berlin Museum of Natural History. With the naked eye you valuable content is hardly recognizable as the amber has darkened much by contact with oxygen. Even with the microscope   only shadowy outlines of spiders have been seen,  as said in a statement from the Frankfurt Senckenberg Research Institute.

Even single leg hair visible

Using modern computer tomography   scientists could again peer into the resin lumps - and sharper than ever before. The impressive results are three-dimensional images, which show the finest details of the 44 to 49 million year old spider: Even single leg hair can be seen precisely.

Based on the recordings of three CT scans with 1200 individual projections, the researchers confirmed the suspicion that existed after the first description of the finds 157 years ago: The animals are giant crab spiders the type Eusparassus crassipes, the researchers write in the journal " Science " . Thus it is proved that the Eusparassus family - who still lives in the tropics, Southern Europe and Central Asia - already existed 49 million years ago and at that time was located in Northern Europe.

Initially feared the researchers were reluctant to try the scans as   the X-ray CT scanners could be harmful to the amber. But after 120 hours of exposure would have turned out that the concern was unfounded. The recordings showed that "the non-invasive method for the investigation of amber fossils is safe," says study leader Jason Dunlop. "This opens up new and additional perspectives on the puzzle of life and a better understanding of ecosystems."