New Publication: Hybridisation in the Tarantula Hobby

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  New Publication: Hybridisation in the Tarantula Hobby I am pleased to share the publication of my latest paper, “Hybridisation in the Tarantula Hobby: Ethical Boundaries and Biological Consequences,” in the Journal of the British Tarantula Society , Volume 41, No. 1, September 2026. The paper addresses an issue that deserves serious consideration within the tarantula community: hybridisation and its potential long-term effects on the integrity of captive lineages. More Than a Breeding Decision The tarantula hobby has changed considerably over the past several decades. What was once a relatively small community has grown into an international network of keepers, breeders, vendors, researchers, and societies. Captive breeding has contributed enormously to that growth, improving husbandry knowledge and increasing the availability of captive-bred animals. With that success comes responsibility for the lineages we maintain. Hybridisation may seem like an isolated breeding experiment,...

Serendipitous Discovery of Desert Hairy Scorpion Mitogenomes as Bycatch in Venom Data via Nanopore Sequencing

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Serendipitous Discovery of Desert Hairy Scorpion Mitogenomes as Bycatch in Venom Data via Nanopore Sequencing

Abstract

While originally intending to explore the venom gland microbiome of the desert hairy scorpion Hadrurus arizonensis Ewing, 1928, nanopore sequencing serendipitously recovered complete mitochondrial genomes for this iconic arachnid. Phylogenetic analysis of these high-quality genomes places Hadrurus as sister to Uroctonus, in agreement with some phylogenomic hypotheses. Additionally, we reveal significant genetic variation among individuals from the same population, highlighting the potential of mitogenomics for population genetics and phylogeography. This study showcases the effectiveness and affordability of nanopore sequencing for research with non-model organisms, opening new avenues for investigating arachnid biodiversity, evolution, and biogeography.


Graham, Matthew R., Carlos E. Santibáñez-López, Jessica R. Zehnpfennig, Dylan S. Tillman, and Barbara Murdoch. 2024. "Serendipitous Discovery of Desert Hairy Scorpion Mitogenomes as Bycatch in Venom Data via Nanopore Sequencing" Arthropoda 2, no. 2: 119-129. https://doi.org/10.3390/arthropoda2020009