A new spider species from the family Oonopidae is described from lowermost Eocene amber from Le Quesnoy, Oise department, Paris Basin, France. Orchestina parisiensis sp. n. is the first spider to be described from French amber. Preliminary observations on the fossil spider assemblage support a warm climate in this region during the lowermost Eocene. A remarkable feature of this deposit is the absence of jumping spiders (Salticidae) as amber inclusions, because they are frequent in other Tertiary fossil resins. Thus, this new amber deposit may hold vital clues relating to the historical biogeography of the Salticidae, the most diverse spider family on the planet today.

To cite this paper: Penney, D. 2007. A new fossil oonopid spider in lowermost Eocene amber from the Paris Basin, with comments on the fossil spider assemblage. In: Brothers, D.J. & Mostovski, M.B., eds, Congress Proceedings Fossils X 3, Pretoria, South Africa, 7-11 February 2005. Pietermaritzburg: Natal Museum, pp. 71-75.
      or
Penney, D. 2007. A new fossil oonopid spider in lowermost Eocene amber from the Paris Basin, with comments on the fossil spider assemblage. African Invertebrates 48 (1): 71-75.