Fossilized Nervous System Points to Ocean Origins for Spiders and Relatives

Spider origin story starts in the sea, new fossil shows

The tiny fossil of a creature which lived half a billion years ago shows that spiders and scorpions evolved in Earth’s ancient seas, rather than on land.

The First Arachnids May Have Emerged From the Ocean 500 Million Years Ago

Learn how a fossil from approximately 500 million years ago traces the evolutionary origins of spiders, scorpions, and other arachnids to a surprising place: the sea.

'Backward' brain of ancient sea creature hints spider ancestors evolved in the ocean

The tiny 'backward' brain of an ancient sea creature hints that spider ancestors might have gotten their start in the ocean.

Spiders originated in the sea half a billion years ago

Finely preserved brain features in a tiny fossil suggest that spiders and their kin may have first evolved in the ocean rather than on land.

500-Million-Year-Old Fossil Suggests Ocean Origin For Spiders

The special brains of spiders may have started to evolve in the oceans, long before their ancestors crawled onto land.

Fossilized nervous system points to ocean origins for spiders and relatives

A new analysis of an exquisitely preserved fossil that lived half a billion years ago suggests that arachnids—spiders and their close kin—evolved in the ocean, challenging the widely held belief that their diversification happened only after their common ancestor had conquered the land.