Dr. Dong Ren: It appears that spiders trapped in amber were looking after their offspring at the time they died.
Modern spiders have been known to care for their young and eggs, and we now know that this behavior is not new.
Four specimens of Burmese amber-trapped spiders were recently purchased by researchers at Capital Normal University, Beijing. They are dated back to 98.8 millions years ago and were mined in northern Myanmar's Hukawng Valley. The team collaborated with Paul Selden from the Natural History Museum, London to analyse the pieces using micro-computers and photography.
