Dominican Amber Arachnid and Fly

Description: “Come into my parlor said the spider to the fly” does not quite apply here. While the arachnid seen here is often called a Daddy Longlegs, it is not a spider, but an Opiolonid. There are most easily distinguished from spiders (Aranea) by the fact that the cephalothorax and abdomen have no constriction as seen in spiders, giving them a more globular body shape. Their other common name is Harvestman. They commonly live among plants or on tree trunks, coming out at night to feed. The potential prey item here is a scuttle fly, a member of the Phoridae that derive their common name from their locomotory habits. These have been locked in the predator/prey struggle for all time by being trapped in the sticky sap of an Hymenaea tree which later became fossilized to result in this interesting amber piece.