Modern zoologists still haven’t totally understood the cladistics and evolution of modern arachnids. But, now they have reached a step closer with the discovery of a fossil that has been named as ‘the almost spider’ by some senior research team members.

It is the fossil of an ancient arachnid dating back to 305 million years. They share a number of similarities with the present day spiders, but are behind in one main feature: spinnerets. With the help of spinnerets, the spider turns their silk into webs, and dubbed as Idmonarachne brasieri, the ancient arachnid doesn’t have them. The name given to it is after the Greek myth Idmon, who was the father of Arach.

A very old actual spider fossil belongs to the same time period, which shows that Idmonarachne brasieri might have lived alongside them. This might be the case that its wasn’t necessarily an ancestor of the spider, but only a relative just like the Neanderthal is to us humans.

The ‘almost spider’ is only 10 millimeters long, and its fossil was technically discovered roughly a decade back. But, 50% of it was buried in rock due to which it was nearly impossible to study so far.

The scientists studying the fossil used a process known as computed tomography, and finally were able to see its legs and mouthparts, which let them take a decision regarding what species it belonged to.

Even there, there are lots of things that need to be learnt regarding the arachnids’ evolution, but the latest findings are obviously an interesting step in the forward direction. This has come up as a great example of how with the progress in technology, more exciting discoveries can be made in these different scientific fields.