Systematic revision of the Savignia genus group (Araneae: Linyphiidae: Erigoninae) with notes on their cephalic lobe evolution

Posted by
  Systematic revision of the Savignia genus group (Araneae: Linyphiidae: Erigoninae) with notes on their cephalic lobe evolution Abstract The Savignia genus group includes nine morphologically complex yet similar genera where species were assigned based mainly on the cephalic lobes. Among these genera, males of Diplocephalus Bertkau, 1883, Savignia Blackwall, 1833 and Araeoncus Simon, 1884 show some of the most extraordinary cephalic lobes among dwarf spiders (Linyphiidae, Erigoninae). In this study we undertake the first phylogenetic analysis of the Savignia genus group. We use 269 morphological characters (175 newly defined) and 70 taxa (59 ingroup taxa) to reconstruct the relationships and evolutionary trends of cephalic lobes in this lineage. Our findings show that cephalic lobes with varying shapes and sizes appear in several Savignia genus group lineages, highlighting that it is not a good diagnostic character. The high support in several clades allows the redefinition of t...

The complete mitochondrial genome of Heptathela kimurai (Araneae: Heptathelidae)

Posted by


 The complete mitochondrial genome of Heptathela kimurai (Araneae: Heptathelidae)

Abstract

Heptathela kimurai (Kishida, 1920) is a spider that belongs to the family Heptathelidae which is a basial lineage of spiders. The molecular information of ancestral species belonging to families like Heptathelidae is comparatively limited when compared to spider species from derived families. Here we present the complete mitochondrial genome sequence (mtDNA) of H. kimurai. The sequence was obtained using massively parallel sequencing technology. The circular genome was 14,224 bp in length, and the AT content was 69.53%. The H. kimurai mitochondrial genome contains 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 21 tRNA genes, and 2 rRNA genes. The majority of PCGs were found in the heavy strand.

Ishiwata, C., Yamamoto, P. K., Nakamura, H., Tanikawa, A., & Kono, N. (2024). The complete mitochondrial genome of Heptathela kimurai (Araneae: Heptathelidae). Mitochondrial DNA Part B, 9(8), 1020–1023. https://doi.org/10.1080/23802359.2024.2387261