PALAEOBIOGEOGRAPHY AND PHYLOGENOMICS - FOSSIL PROOFS CONTRA RESULTS FROM MOLECULAR GENETIC: THE CASE OF MESOZOIC SEGMENTED SPIDERS (ARANEAE: MESOTHELAE).

The finds of Mid Cretaceous South East Asian fossils of the spider suborder Mesothelae (Araneae) are compared with results of molecular genetical (e. g. mtDNA) investigations of extant spiders. The proof of these fossils contradict conclusions by molecular genetical studies and even may falsify these conclusions: The Mesothelae did not invade South East Asia in the Palaeogene for the first time but their members lived already in this region for million of years. Fossils possess a great importance regarding the historical biogeography, evolution and phylogeny: Based on the asiatic fossils an Euroamerican origin of the suborder Mesothelae appears quite doubtful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]