Lagonomegopidae is an extinct family of spiders known from the Cretaceous period. Members of the family are distinguished by a large pair of eyes, positioned on the anterolateral flanks of the carapace, with the rest of the eyes being small. They have generally been considered members of Palpimanoidea, but this has recently been questioned.[1] Members of the family are known from the late Early Cretaceous (Albian) to near the end of the Late Cretaceous (Campanian) of Eurasia, North America and the Middle East, which was then attached to Africa as part of Gondwana. They are generally assumed to have been free living hunters as opposed to web builders.[1]
Chelicera with several peg teeth on promargin; true teeth present or absent on retromargin. Carapace with a pair of large posterior median eyes situated on anterolateral corner, other
eyes tiny. Endites subtriangular, directed across the labium, almost meeting at the midline. Trichobothria present on leg tibia and metatarsus. Three tarsal claws, unpaired claw hook-like. Six spinnerets. Female palpal tarsi lacking a claw.
Langonomegopids preserved with associated egg sacs and spiderlings indicate that females likely laid egg sacs in nests or hollows, and the young may have lived with the mother for some time after hatching.[3]
^ abcdJ. Wunderlich. 2017. New and rare fossil spiders (Araneae) in mid Cretaceous amber from Myanmar (Burma), including the description of new extinct families of the suborders Mesothelae and Opisthothelae, as well as notes on the taxonomy, the evolution and the biogeography of the Mesothelae. Ten Papers on Fossil and Extant Spiders (Araneae). Beiträge zur Araneologie10:72-279
^ abcdeJ. Wunderlich. 2012. On the fossil spider (Araneae) fauna in Cretaeous ambers, with descriptions of new taxa from Myanmar (Burma) and Jordan, and on the relationships of the superfamily Leptonetoidea. Beiträge zur Araneologie7:157-232
^ abcdefghiJ. Wunderlich. 2015. On the evolution and the classification of spiders, the Mesozoic spider faunas, and descriptions of new Cretaceous taxa mainly in amber from Myanmar (Burma) (Arachnida: Araneae). Mesozoic Spiders (Araneae): Ancient Spider Faunas and Spider Evolution, Beiträge zur Araneologie9:21-408
^ abD. Penney. 2004. Cretaceous Canadian amber spider and the palpimanoidean nature of lagonomegopids. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica49:579-584
^ abK. Y. Eskov and J. Wunderlich. 1995. On the spiders from Taimyr ambers, Siberia, with the description of a new family and with general notes on the spiders from the Cretaceous resins (Arachnida: Araneae). Beiträge zur Araneologie4:95-107
^D. Penney. 2005. The fossil spider family Lagonomegopidae. The Journal of Arachnology33:439-444