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Spermathecae shape variation across the valentinus morphotype. A, B, 'north' lineage (I. valentinus); C, 'south' lineage (I. mogadorensis). Scale bar = 1 mm.
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Theraphosidae is the most diversified family of mygalomorph spiders, commonly known as tarantulas. Two genera inhabit the Mediterranean region: Chaetopelma in the east and Ischnocolus mostly in the western part of the Basin. Their phylogenetic position and the validity of some Ischnocolus species remain unclear. We implemented a multilocus target a...
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... morphotypes also differ in the morphology of female spermathecae as valentinus possess apical lobes, while elongatus spermathecae are without or with few (one or two) lobes (Figs 5, 6). Potential differences in the shape of the spermatheca within the valentinus clade (Fig. 5) were also observed between specimens from the 'south' lineage and the 'north' lineage, although a limited number of specimens were available (only one adult female from the 'south' lineage). ...
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... morphotypes also differ in the morphology of female spermathecae as valentinus possess apical lobes, while elongatus spermathecae are without or with few (one or two) lobes (Figs 5, 6). Potential differences in the shape of the spermatheca within the valentinus clade (Fig. 5) were also observed between specimens from the 'south' lineage and the 'north' lineage, although a limited number of specimens were available (only one adult female from the 'south' lineage). The vulva of the 'south' lineage is formed by two separated spermathecae, longer than wide, each with three apical lobes in a cross-like ...
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... (only one adult female from the 'south' lineage). The vulva of the 'south' lineage is formed by two separated spermathecae, longer than wide, each with three apical lobes in a cross-like disposition, while the 'north' lineage spermathecae are ventrally connected, as wide as long, with more than three apical lobes aligned on a single plane (Fig. 5). The 'north' lineage spermathecae type is the one reported in literature for I. valentinus (Guadanucci & Wendt, ...
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... Males can be distinguished from their congeners by the presence of two short, strong spines apically on the ventral part of tibia I and a moderate number of remaining spines distributed equally across tibia I (Figs 8, 14B-D). They further differ from Females differ from all other Ischnocolus species, except I. jickelii, by the spermatheca shape, which is longer than wide, narrowing apically and having three cross-like shaped apical lobes (Figs 5, 15F). legs and carapace light yellow-brown. ...
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... (CRBA004989, Ankrime): Total length 15.86. Colour pattern: Colour in ethanol: carapace, chelicerae and legs light orange, abdomen greybrown with light striped pattern (Fig. 15A, E). Colour of live specimen: body uniformly ...
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... with light, striped pattern ( Fig. 15A-C). Carapace: 5.51 long, 4.34 wide; cephalic region almost flat from lateral view (Fig. 15E); eye tubercle low, 0.50 long, 0.87 wide. Fovea with shallow depression slightly recurved (Fig. 15A). Clypeus 0.22. Eyes (Fig. 15C): AME 0.14, PME 0.13, ALE 0.26, PLE 0.19; PME-PME 0.50, ALE-AME 0.23, ALE-PLE 0.29, AME-PLE 0.35, AME-AME 0.28, ...
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... with light, striped pattern ( Fig. 15A-C). Carapace: 5.51 long, 4.34 wide; cephalic region almost flat from lateral view (Fig. 15E); eye tubercle low, 0.50 long, 0.87 wide. Fovea with shallow depression slightly recurved (Fig. 15A). Clypeus 0.22. Eyes (Fig. 15C): AME 0.14, PME 0.13, ALE 0.26, PLE 0.19; PME-PME 0.50, ALE-AME 0.23, ALE-PLE 0.29, AME-PLE 0.35, AME-AME 0.28, ALE-ALE 0.68. Sternum, labium and maxillae: sternum 2.69 long, 2.18 wide; labium twice as wide ...
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... with light, striped pattern ( Fig. 15A-C). Carapace: 5.51 long, 4.34 wide; cephalic region almost flat from lateral view (Fig. 15E); eye tubercle low, 0.50 long, 0.87 wide. Fovea with shallow depression slightly recurved (Fig. 15A). Clypeus 0.22. Eyes (Fig. 15C): AME 0.14, PME 0.13, ALE 0.26, PLE 0.19; PME-PME 0.50, ALE-AME 0.23, ALE-PLE 0.29, AME-PLE 0.35, AME-AME 0.28, ALE-ALE 0.68. Sternum, labium and maxillae: sternum 2.69 long, 2.18 wide; labium twice as wide as long, 0.45 long, 0.97 wide, with four cuspules; maxillae with approx. 40 cuspules (Fig. 15B). ...
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... with light, striped pattern ( Fig. 15A-C). Carapace: 5.51 long, 4.34 wide; cephalic region almost flat from lateral view (Fig. 15E); eye tubercle low, 0.50 long, 0.87 wide. Fovea with shallow depression slightly recurved (Fig. 15A). Clypeus 0.22. Eyes (Fig. 15C): AME 0.14, PME 0.13, ALE 0.26, PLE 0.19; PME-PME 0.50, ALE-AME 0.23, ALE-PLE 0.29, AME-PLE 0.35, AME-AME 0.28, ALE-ALE 0.68. Sternum, labium and maxillae: sternum 2.69 long, 2.18 wide; labium twice as wide as long, 0.45 long, 0.97 wide, with four cuspules; maxillae with approx. 40 cuspules (Fig. 15B). Abdomen: 8.35 long, 4.14 wide; ...
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... recurved (Fig. 15A). Clypeus 0.22. Eyes (Fig. 15C): AME 0.14, PME 0.13, ALE 0.26, PLE 0.19; PME-PME 0.50, ALE-AME 0.23, ALE-PLE 0.29, AME-PLE 0.35, AME-AME 0.28, ALE-ALE 0.68. Sternum, labium and maxillae: sternum 2.69 long, 2.18 wide; labium twice as wide as long, 0.45 long, 0.97 wide, with four cuspules; maxillae with approx. 40 cuspules (Fig. 15B). Abdomen: 8.35 long, 4.14 wide; PLS basal segment 0.82 long, median segment 0.51 long, apical segment 0.75 long, digitiform (Fig. 15G). Vulva: spermathecae longer than wide, each with three apical lobes in a cross-like disposition (Fig. 15F). Chelicerae: 2.93 long; basal article with 10 teeth; few long bristles on the margin (Fig. ...
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... 0.29, AME-PLE 0.35, AME-AME 0.28, ALE-ALE 0.68. Sternum, labium and maxillae: sternum 2.69 long, 2.18 wide; labium twice as wide as long, 0.45 long, 0.97 wide, with four cuspules; maxillae with approx. 40 cuspules (Fig. 15B). Abdomen: 8.35 long, 4.14 wide; PLS basal segment 0.82 long, median segment 0.51 long, apical segment 0.75 long, digitiform (Fig. 15G). Vulva: spermathecae longer than wide, each with three apical lobes in a cross-like disposition (Fig. 15F). Chelicerae: 2.93 long; basal article with 10 teeth; few long bristles on the margin (Fig. 15D). Pedipalps: length: 9.06 (femur 3.05, patella 1.89, tibia 2.20, tarsus 1.92). Spination: without spines. Legs: Scopula on all tarsi ...
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... labium twice as wide as long, 0.45 long, 0.97 wide, with four cuspules; maxillae with approx. 40 cuspules (Fig. 15B). Abdomen: 8.35 long, 4.14 wide; PLS basal segment 0.82 long, median segment 0.51 long, apical segment 0.75 long, digitiform (Fig. 15G). Vulva: spermathecae longer than wide, each with three apical lobes in a cross-like disposition (Fig. 15F). Chelicerae: 2.93 long; basal article with 10 teeth; few long bristles on the margin (Fig. 15D). Pedipalps: length: 9.06 (femur 3.05, patella 1.89, tibia 2.20, tarsus 1.92). Spination: without spines. Legs: Scopula on all tarsi divided by a thick band of setae. Scopula on ventral metatarsus I and II entirely ...
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... cuspules (Fig. 15B). Abdomen: 8.35 long, 4.14 wide; PLS basal segment 0.82 long, median segment 0.51 long, apical segment 0.75 long, digitiform (Fig. 15G). Vulva: spermathecae longer than wide, each with three apical lobes in a cross-like disposition (Fig. 15F). Chelicerae: 2.93 long; basal article with 10 teeth; few long bristles on the margin (Fig. 15D). Pedipalps: length: 9.06 (femur 3.05, patella 1.89, tibia 2.20, tarsus 1.92). Spination: without spines. Legs: Scopula on all tarsi divided by a thick band of setae. Scopula on ventral metatarsus I and II entirely ...
Citations
... Due to their homogeneity and conservative morphology, its taxonomy was in a chaotic state (Raven, 1990;Pérez-Miles et al., 1996;Bertani, 2001;Ferretti & Barneche, 2013). However, in the last two decades, theraphosid systematics has progressed considerably, recently the incorporation of molecular characters led several authors to propose well supported phylogenies (Hamilton et al., 2011(Hamilton et al., , 2014(Hamilton et al., , 2016Hendrixson et al., 2013Hendrixson et al., , 2015Wilson et al., 2013;Montes de Oca et al., 2016;Ortiz & Francke, 2016Mendoza & Francke, 2017, 2020Turner et al., 2018;Lüddecke et al., 2018;Hüsser, 2018;Fabiano-da-Silva et al., 2019;Foley et al., 2019Foley et al., , 2021Candia-Ramírez & Francke, 2020;Korba et al., 2022;Galleti-Lima et al., 2023;Biswas et al., 2023). Despite these advances, the diversity of tarantulas, mainly in the New World, probably remains underestimated but molecular markers have demonstrated to be useful tools to reveal cryptic species, redundantly described taxa, and intraspecific and interspecific paraphyly (Hamilton et al., 2016). ...
We describe and illustrate a new tarantula species of the genus Plesiopelma from Lavalleja and Maldonado, Uruguay. Plesiopelma arevaloae sp. nov. is distinguished from other known species by morphological characters and molecular evidence.
... Mygalomorph species are indeed problematic taxa for species delimitation (Hamilton et al. 2014;Candia Ramírez and Francke 2020;Korba et al. 2023) because of their conservative morphology. The examination of as many specimens as possible usually helps to overcome this problem, but most of times is very difficult to establish the species boundaries and consequently to describe new species based on solely its morphology. ...
A cladistics analysis of the high-altitude tarantulas of the genus Hapalotremus was carried out for the first time with a matrix of 21 taxa and 69 morphological characters using both equal and implied weights. Two consistent topologies were obtained with a concavity = 10.541, resulting from a sensitivity analysis. Both cladograms suggest Hapalotremus as monophyletic. Hapalotremus synapomorphies are females with spermathecae consisting in a single oval receptacle and tibia of the first pair of legs of males very short. Hapalotremus is composed of 15 species including a new species: Hapalotremus munaycha sp. nov. This new species was found to be the sister species of H. vilcanota and is distributed in central Peru at elevations about 4000 m.a.s.l. on interandean valleys. The new species distinguishes from the other known species of the genus by the intense white color on legs, carapace and cheliceae, together with a male palpal bulb carrying a slightly developed prolateral superior keel and the subapical keel ending with two very small teeth. Also, females of Hapalotremus munaycha sp. nov. are characterized by the spermathecae with very wide basal portion and small apical projections pointing upwards.
... The application of morphometry as a solution to this challenge has been shown as a reliable method in many studies; applied in the classical form (Fonseca-Ferreira et al. 2023), and by a geometric approach to examine the shape of the carapace and spinnerets, eye group, sternum and labium (Korba et al. 2022;Brandt et al. 2023;Fonseca-Ferreira et al. 2023). To date, however, it has still not been conducted a study to analyze the diversity of bulb shapes in Mygalomorphae. ...
... In comparison, the non-burrowing, ground-dwelling ones do not dig actively to build a burrow. Instead, they use naturally available spaces or creaks under rocks and logs (Korba et al. 2022).The majority of the arboreal and fossorial tarantulas are big-bodied Molur 2009, Fukushima andBertani 2017). However, tarantulas that use naturally available spaces under rocks and logs, i.e. opportunist ground-dwelling ones, are usually small-bodied (Korba et al. 2022). ...
... Instead, they use naturally available spaces or creaks under rocks and logs (Korba et al. 2022).The majority of the arboreal and fossorial tarantulas are big-bodied Molur 2009, Fukushima andBertani 2017). However, tarantulas that use naturally available spaces under rocks and logs, i.e. opportunist ground-dwelling ones, are usually small-bodied (Korba et al. 2022). Despite being diverse and occupying different niches, several taxonomic studies have reported remarkable morphological similarity in tarantulas (Hendrixson et al. 2013, Ortiz et al. 2018. ...
The interplay between ecology and morphology holds significant importance in the field of evolutionary ecology. Miniaturization, a prevalent trend across diverse branches of the tree of life, often emerges as a consequence of adaptation to specific ecological niches. However, the causes and outcomes of miniaturization can vary significantly among different taxa. In our study, we utilized tarantulas as a model system to explore whether microhabitat choices are linked to morphological characteristics. Specifically, we examined whether the transition to a non-burrowing, ground-dwelling lifestyle is associated with miniaturization. Our findings indicate that the evolution of morphological traits in tarantulas has primarily been influenced by stabilizing selection, with no discernible difference in morphotypes associated with fossorial or arboreal habits. Nevertheless, we observed that whenever tarantulas opportunistically transitioned to a non-burrowing, ground-dwelling lifestyle—such as living under rocks, logs, or within crevices—they seem to have undergone body-form miniaturization and a reduction in the ratio of forelimb to hindlimb length. This study underscores the potential for repeated shifts to unique ecological niches to disrupt the conventional trajectory of morphological evolution, resulting in the emergence of novel phenotypes.
... A combination of five anatomical landmarks and 16 sliding semi-landmarks were used to quantify shape variation of the pronotum (Fig. 1). Landmarks were placed in homologous structures, whereas semi-landmarks were equidistantly placed between them (Korba et al. 2022). Landmarks and semi-landmarks were digitized using the R package "StereoMorph" ver. ...
Widely distributed phoretic blister beetles usually display unstructured geographic patterns of genetic diversity within species, resulting from recurrent long-dispersal events across their range. To investigate the extent of this pattern in the phoretic genus Lampromeloe, and particularly in western Mediterranean and European populations of L. variegatus, we performed: (1) a phylogeographic analysis based on fragments of the mitochondrial genes COI and 16S, and (2) a morphological revision based on qualitative and morphometric traits. Two allopatric lineages were recovered within L. variegatus, one distributed across Europe and the other in North Africa. These lineages are readily distinguishable based on morphological traits. We conclude that these lineages constitute two diagnosable evolutionary units and, consequently, we describe the North African populations as a new species, Lampromeloe pantherinus sp. nov. The new species is closely related to L. variegatus, from which it differs mainly by the elytral macrosculpture and by the shape of male genitalia. The elytral macrosculpture of L. pantherinus is somewhat similar to that of L. cavensis, a species widely distributed in the lowlands of the Mediterranean Basin. However, these two non-sister species can be distinguished by the morphology and macrosculpture of the pronotum and by the shape of the male genitalia.
... Taxa that are morphologically uniform or have recently evolved represent a challenge for detection of boundaries in species delimitation or recognition (Hamilton et al., 2014, Opatova, 2014, Ortiz & Francke 2017, Candia-Ramírez & Francke 2020, Korba et al., 2023. A correct delimitation of species is crucial not only for biodiversity assessment of conservation actions, but also for understanding the origin and for diversification of the biota (Opatova 2014, Korba et al., 2023. ...
... Taxa that are morphologically uniform or have recently evolved represent a challenge for detection of boundaries in species delimitation or recognition (Hamilton et al., 2014, Opatova, 2014, Ortiz & Francke 2017, Candia-Ramírez & Francke 2020, Korba et al., 2023. A correct delimitation of species is crucial not only for biodiversity assessment of conservation actions, but also for understanding the origin and for diversification of the biota (Opatova 2014, Korba et al., 2023. The current facilities in obtaining molecular data that can be complemented with other lines of evidence such as morphology, ecology or behavior can provide robust hypothesis for species delimitation and diagnosis under an integrative framework. ...
... However, the systematic scenario of this group is chaotic and problematic (Raven 1985) due to many factors: i) the morphology is usually conservative and exhibits a high level of homoplasy caused by low interspecific and high intraspecific variability (Pérez-Miles et al., 1996;Bertani 2000;Hamilton et al., 2016;Ortiz & Francke 2017); ii) the morphological delimitation is based on sexual characters and, therefore, sexually mature specimens are necessarily required, but some tarantulas take more than five years to become sexually mature and many are long-lived (Baerg 1938;Schwerdt et al., 2021); iii) most of the currently valid species and genera were described in the late 1800s, and most of these are poorly diagnosed or based on morphological characters that have proven not to be appropriate to define taxa; and iv) many holotypes of these species either are not associated with a specific type locality, are based on specimens that are not sexually mature, or specimens are lost or destroyed, have been badly preserved. Fortunately, the robustness of tarantula systematics considerable increased during the last years from many studies involving molecular systematics at genus and subfamilies levels (Hamilton et al., 2011;2014;Hendrixson et al., 2013;Wilson et al., 2013;Montes de Oca et al., 2016;Ortiz & Francke 2016;Mendoza & Francke 2017;2020;Lüddecke et al., 2018;Turner et al., 2018;Hüsser 2018;Fabiano-da-Silva et al., 2019;Foley et al., 2019;Candia-Ramírez & Francke 2020;Korba et al., 2023;Ferretti et al., 2023;Galleti-Lima et al., 2023). These studies have demonstrated that some molecular markers are useful to assess the evolutionary patterns of tarantula populations revealing cryptic or pseudo cryptic species, redundantly described taxa and intraspecific/interspecific paraphyly (Hamilton et al., 2016). ...
... Tarantulas (Araneae: Mygalomorphae: Theraphosidae) are among the world's largest spiders, reaching a leg span of up to 28 cm (Mammola et al. 2017). They are known to inhabit a diverse range of biomes from arid zones (Kotzman 1990) to grasslands (Hamilton et al. 2016), tropical rainforest (West et al. 2012), caves (Mendoza & Francke 2018) and high-altitude mountains (Ferretti et al. 2018), and they are found on every continent except Antarctica (Barrion-Dupo et al. 2014;Campbell & Engelbrecht 2018;Hamilton et al. 2011;Korba et al. 2022;Mirza et al. 2014;Pérez-Miles et al. 2005;Raven 1985). Most genera and subfamilies of Theraphosidae are currently endemic to only one or few continents (Foley et al. 2019;Luddecke et al. 2018) despite estimates of crown group ages of 120-115.5 million years (Foley et al. 2019(Foley et al. , 2021. ...
... Given that tree-aware species delimitation methods such as mGMYC and mPTP are sensitive to geographic structuring and tend to over-split species (e.g., Korba et al. 2022), we did not use them. ...
Tarantulas (Araneae: Theraphosidae) are one of the most diverse and widespread families of mygalomorph spiders, with over 1000 species recognised globally. While tarantulas can be found across most of mainland Australia, from arid regions to tropical forests, the Australian fauna are not yet well characterised. There are currently only 10 nominal species, up to 8 of which are currently recognised as distinct species. Here, we aim to undertake the first continent‐wide assessment of species diversity of tarantulas in Australia using an iterative, hypothesis‐testing approach. We apply a biological species concept and use DNA sequence data from three independent loci to delimit putative species based on evidence of lack of gene flow. First, we use the mitochondrial DNA marker 16S to identify a set of putative species hypotheses. We then test each hypothesis under the expectations of neotypy, allotypy and allophyly using two independent nuclear loci, EF1γ and 28S rRNA. Genealogically exclusive lineages are inferred using haplotype networks for each nuclear locus, interpreted to represent non‐interbreeding entities and hence represent distinct biological species. We find evidence for there being at least 20 distinct biological species of tarantula in Australia, with the highest species richness in northern Australia. Our results are in line with other DNA‐based studies of Australian mygalomorphs that have uncovered undescribed species diversity. Given the low number of samples included here, there is likely to be an even greater species diversity of tarantulas in Australia.
... These proposed relationships, however, have recently been refuted. In the integrative analysis of Korba et al. (2022), Chaetopelma was recovered as sister to the African subfamily Eumenophorinae Pocock, 1897, and Ischnocolus and Nesiergus formed a clade with all the remaining theraphosids. ...
New data on the tarantula genus Chaetopelma Ausserer, 1871 are provided. A new species, Ch. persianum sp. nov., is described based on a single female specimen collected in northwestern Iran, which represents the easternmost record of the genus within its entire known range. Additionally, the correct publication date of Ch. olivaceum C.L. Koch, 1842 is discussed, and the known distribution records of all Chaetopelma species are mapped.
... In spiders, few studies have explored morphometric variation throughout the range of a species [22][23][24][25][26][27][28]. The majority of the existing morphometric studies are focused on species delimitation and on the investigation of sexual dimorphism [22][23][24][28][29][30][31][32][33][34]. There are also some studies that focus on habitat preference and foraging ecology [35,36], and others that investigate the morphological variation of specific structures in a phylogenetic context [36][37][38][39]. ...
... There are also some studies that focus on habitat preference and foraging ecology [35,36], and others that investigate the morphological variation of specific structures in a phylogenetic context [36][37][38][39]. Despite the diversity of approaches, morphometric analyses based on multivariate and morphogeometric data have only been applied to Mygalomorph spiders one a few occasions [28,29,[38][39][40]. ...
Widespread species are exposed to different environmental drivers and can consequently present variations in body shape and/or size. Trapdoor spiders of the genus Idiops are generally associated with a sedentary lifestyle and limited dispersion. However, the species Idiops pirassununguensis has a wide distribution, occurring in a diverse range of distinct environmental conditions, with their presence recorded in the Amazon, Caatinga, and Cerrado Brazilian biomes. We investigated how their morphological variation is structured regarding the biomes in which they occur through a morphometric analysis of the linear measurements and morphogeometric shapes of 64 specimens. Combining different methods proved to be a valuable approach to understanding how the spider’s morphology varies in different environments. The results were congruent and complementary, indicating intraspecific geographic variation, with the Caatinga specimens being distinct from their biome conspecifics. In Caatinga, a biome with periods of severe drought and warm climate, I. pirassununguensis specimens were found to be smaller, in addition to having narrower and elongated sternums and shorter legs. The morphological structuring herein is consistent with the results found comparing animals from Caatinga and other Brazilian biomes. Despite differences in their non-sexual structures, the specimens share a set of diagnostic sexual characteristics for the species, allowing all individuals to be classified as belonging to the same species.
... This phylogenetic placement does not change the macroevolutionary hypothesis we propose in this study. In fact, it fortifies the notion that multiple tarantula lineages might have dispersed from Africa into Asia in the past.However, our data lack adequate sampling from the subfamily Ischnoclinae, a diverse group which has been treated as a taxonomic dumping ground(Korba et al., 2022). Future studies should focus on adding more lineages of Ischnocolinae from South America. ...
Aim: Many animal groups diversify at the same place where they have originated,
whereas others diversify at a place completely different from the centre of origin.
Identification of the centre of origin, subsequent colonisation and diversification is crucial
for understanding lineages' macroevolutionary dynamics and biogeographical patterns.
The historical biogeography of the Mygalomorph spider family Theraphosidae
has been confounded by two conflicting hypotheses –a
South American origin for the
group, which is also the centre of its greatest extant diversity, as against an African
origin. We aim to ascertain the centre of origin and directionality of inter-continental
dispersal events in tarantulas by reconstructing their biogeographic history.
Location: Worldwide.
Taxon: Tarantulas.
Methods: We calibrated a previously published genome-scale
phylogeny of
Mygalomorph spiders using an improved interpretation of the fossil record. We reconstructed
ancestral geographic ranges using the R package biogeobears to explicitly
test four different hypotheses that are likely to explain the extant diversity and distribution
of tarantulas incorporating a time-stratified
approach.
Results: Our results indicate that the ancestral stock of extant tarantulas occurred in
Africa and South America during the mid-Cretaceous,
but subsequently went extinct
in South America. This points to an African origin for all modern tarantula lineages.
The best supported biogeographic model suggests multiple ‘out of Africa’ dispersal
events into South America and later into India during the late Cretaceous.
Main Conclusion: Localised ecological processes such as extinction, dispersal, key
innovations, hybridisation and species–area
relationships might cause a discordance
between centre of origin and diversity.
