In Memoriam: Giraldo Alayón García

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  In Memoriam: Giraldo Alayón García -  Photo © Facebook/National Museum of Natural History of Cuba In Memoriam: Giraldo Alayón García The arachnological community mourns the loss of Giraldo Alayón García, a Cuban zoologist whose work helped bring the spiders of Cuba and the wider Caribbean into clearer scientific view. As a researcher and curator at Cuba’s National Museum of Natural History, Dr. Alayón devoted decades to studying arachnids. His publications on spider taxonomy, evolution, and biogeography gave other researchers a stronger foundation for understanding the region’s biodiversity. He also shared that knowledge through teaching and scientific exchange far beyond Cuba. For those of us who care about taxonomy, his legacy is a reminder of the patient work behind every species description: examining specimens, recording differences, and preserving knowledge that others can build upon. His contributions will continue to guide the study of Caribbean spiders for years to ...

Genetic barcodes for species identification and phylogenetic estimation in ghost spiders (Araneae: Anyphaenidae: Amaurobioidinae)

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Genetic barcodes for species identification and phylogenetic estimation in ghost spiders (Araneae: Anyphaenidae: Amaurobioidinae)


Abstract

The identification of spider species presents many challenges, since in most cases the characters used are from genital structures that are only fully developed in the adult stage, hence the identification of immatures is most often not possible. Additionally, these structures usually also present some intra-specific variability, which in some cases makes the identification of closely related species difficult. The genetic barcode technique (DNA barcodes), based on sequencing of the mitochondrial marker cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI), has proven a useful, complementary tool to overcome these limitations. In this work, the contribution of DNA barcoding to the taxonomy of the subfamily Amaurobioidinae is explored using the refined single linkage analysis (RESL) algorithm for the delimitation of operational taxonomic units (OTUs), in comparison with the assemble species by automatic partitioning (ASAP) algorithm, and presented in conjunction with an updated molecular phylogenetic analysis of three other markers (28S rRNA, 16S rRNA, Histone H3), in addition to COI. Of a total of 97 included species identified by morphology, 82 species were concordant with the operational taxonomic units obtained from RESL, representing an 85% correspondence between the two methods. Similar results were obtained using the ASAP algorithm. Previous observations of morphological variation within the same species are supported, and this technique provides new information on genetic structure and potentially cryptic species. Most of the discrepancies between DNA barcoding and morphological identification are explained by low geographic sampling or by divergent or geographically structured lineages. After the addition of many specimens with only COI data, the multi-marker phylogenetic analysis is consistent with previous results and the support is improved. The markers COI, closely followed by 28S, are the most phylogenetically informative. We conclude that the barcode DNA technique is a valuable source of data for the delimitation of species of Amaurobioidinae, in conjunction with morphological and geographic data, and it is also useful for the detection of cases that require a more detailed and meticulous study.

Barone Mariana L., Wilson Jeremy D., Zapata Lorena, Soto Eduardo M., Haddad Charles R., Grismado Cristian, Izquierdo Matías, Arias Elizabeth, Pizarro-Araya Jaime, Briones Raúl, Barriga Juan Enrique, Peralta Luciano, Ramírez Martín J. (2024) Genetic barcodes for species identification and phylogenetic estimation in ghost spiders (Araneae: Anyphaenidae: Amaurobioidinae). Invertebrate Systematics 38, IS24053.

https://doi.org/10.1071/IS24053