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lolinternet
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The fossil record of camel spiders is very poor. The ca. 330 million year old Schneidarachne saganii from Kamienna Góra in Poland (Mississipian, Viséan) is an enigmatic fossil arachnid which seems to show some solpugid-like features, such as large, forward-projecting chelicerae (Dunlop & Rössler, 2003). The oldest unquestionable camel spider is the ca. 305 million year old Prosolpuga carbonaria from the world-famous Mazon Creek locality in Illinois, USA (Pennsylvanian, Westphalian D) (Petrunkevitch,1913). Even this is not particularly well preserved, but can be recognized as a camel spider from its outline. Its incompleteness means it cannot easily be assigned to, or compared with, any living family of Solifugae. What is interesting is its original habitat. While living camel spiders are predominantly associated with arid habitats or even deserts, the Coal Measures from which Prosolpuga originates are interpreted as a rather swampy forest environment.
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