What’s a Spider? Designation of the Neotype for the First Animal Species Ever Described, Araneus angulatus Clerck 1757 (Araneae: Araneidae)

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  What’s a Spider? Designation of the Neotype for the First Animal Species Ever Described, Araneus angulatus Clerck 1757 (Araneae: Araneidae) Abstract We designate a neotype for the Eurasian spider species Araneus angulatus Clerck, 1757, thereby fixing the objective application of the species name, the genus name Araneus Clerck 1757, the family name Araneidae Clerck 1757, and the superfamily name Araneoidea Clerck 1757. By etymology and arachnological tradition, it also unofficially fixes the application of the ordinal name Araneae Clerck 1757 and thus answers the uncontroversial question, “What’s a spider?” A. angulatus also happens to be historically the first animal species ever described because Clerck (1757) has priority over Linnaeus (1758). Neotype designation is justified for three reasons: the syntypes of A. angulatus are lost; “ A. angulatus ” contains significant COI sequence divergence, potentially representing intraspecific variation, misidentifications, or as many...

Variability in Precipitation Weakens Sexual Selection for Nuptial Gifts in Spiders

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Variability in Precipitation Weakens Sexual Selection for Nuptial Gifts in Spiders

Abstract

Environmental conditions (i.e., climatic variation) can strongly influence the cost and benefits of reproductive traits. Yet there is still no consensus on whether changing environmental conditions strengthen or relax sexual selection. Evidence from the literature suggests that highly variable environments can limit mate choice and investment in sexual traits, hence relaxing sexual selection pressures. Here, we tested this hypothesis using the nuptial gift-giving spider Paratrechalea ornata, in which males can either wrap nutritive (fresh prey) or worthless (prey leftovers) items in silk. We examined changes in males’ sexual trait and female choice among six populations living under different climatic conditions. We found that large variation in precipitation limits female choice, potentially favoring the spread of deceptive worthless gifts. In populations under highly variable conditions and with the highest frequencies of worthless gifts (70%), males offering such gifts acquire longer mating durations than those offering nutritive gifts. In contrast, in populations with less variable conditions and the lowest frequencies of worthless gift (36%), females shortened mating duration to males offering worthless gifts. Our findings are consistent with the prediction that highly variable environmental conditions relax sexual selection.


Pavón-Peláez, C., R. Diniz, V. S., Paredes-Munguía, W., Teixeira, R. A., Costa-Schmidt, L. E., Santos, A. J., Buzatto, B. A., & Albo, M. J. (2024). Variability in Precipitation Weakens Sexual Selection for Nuptial Gifts in Spiders. The American Naturalist. https://doi.org/10.1086/732308