Palaeothele
{{Short description|Extinct genus of spiders}}
{{Speciesbox
|name = Palaeothele
|taxon = Palaeothele montceauensis
| fossil_range = {{Geological range|Stephanian}}
}}
Palaeothele is an extinct genus of mesothele spiders, with only one known species Palaeothele montceauensis. Two fossils were found at Montceau-les-Mines, France, in ironstone concretion deposits of Late Carboniferous (Stephanian) age, about {{period span/brief|Stephanian}}.
Taxonomy
The genus was first named as Eothele by Paul A. Selden in 1996. However, this name had already been used for a Cambrian brachiopod, so in 2000, Selden proposed the replacement name Palaeothele. Palaeothele is derived from the Greek {{lang|grc|παλαιός}}, "ancient", and {{lang|grc|θηλή}}, "nipple" – a common ending for spider names, referring to their spinnerets. The species name montceauensis refers to the location where the fossils were found.
=Phylogeny=
In 1996, Selden suggested the relationships shown in the cladogram below. (At the time, Attercopus was thought to be a spider; it is now considered to belong to a related but separate group, the Uraraneida.) Palaeothele is shown as sister to the modern genus Heptathela since they both have "tracheal sacs", structures adjacent to the posterior book lungs.
{{clade |style=line-height:100%
|1={{clade
|1=†Attercopus (uraraneid)
|label2=Araneae
|2={{clade
|1=Opisthothelae (non-mesothele spiders)
|label2=Mesothelae
|2={{clade
|1=Liphistius (modern mesothele spiders)
|2={{clade
|1=Heptathela (modern mesothele spiders)
|2=†Palaeothele
}}
}}
}}
}}
}}
References
{{Reflist|refs=
{{Citation |last1=Selden |first1=P.A. |date=1996 |title=First fossil mesothele spider from the Carboniferous of France |journal=Revue suisse de Zoologie |volume=hors série |pages=585–596 |url=http://www.paulselden.net/uploads/7/5/3/2/7532217/eothele.pdf |accessdate=2016-03-18 }}
}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q3360797}}
Category:Carboniferous arachnids
Category:Carboniferous arthropods of Europe
Category:Monotypic prehistoric spider genera
Category:Pennsylvanian animals of Europe
{{paleo-spider-stub}}