Long-Lasting Daddy Longlegs

from Science News

Scientists have unearthed the fossils of two new species of harvestmen, a delicate type of creature better known to many folks as daddy longlegs.

Though there are more than 6,400 known modern-day species of harvestmen -- which aren't spiders but are closely related -- only 26 species have been identified in the fossil record, notes Paul Selden of the University of Kansas in Lawrence.

... The two new species ... were entombed in fine-grained volcanic ash that fell in what is now north central China about 165 million years ago.