Big Spider, Big Genome: Chromosome-level genome of a North American tarantula (Aphonopelma marxi) and comparative genomics across 300 million years of spider evolution

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  Image Credit: WikiCommons Big Spider, Big Genome: Chromosome-level genome of a North American tarantula (Aphonopelma marxi) and comparative genomics across 300 million years of spider evolution Abstract The comparison of chromosome-level genomes allows biologists to investigate new axes of organismal evolution. Spiders comprise a significant proportion of known arachnid diversity, with many complex morphologies and unique natural histories, yet comparative genomics in spiders has been limited due to the number of available genomes. We present a de novo chromosomal reference genome of a mature male tarantula, Aphonopelma marxi, and comparatively examine spider genome evolution across the Order Araneae. Using PacBio HiFi and Hi-C sequencing, the final 6.5 Gb assembly consists of 17 autosomes, 1 X chromosome, and 127 unplaced scaffolds, with an N50 of 370 Mb and Arachnida (odb10; 2934 genes) BUSCO of 96.7%. By comparing 20 additional spider genomes from 15 families, we find mygalomo...

First record of the tetrablemmid armoured spiders (Araneae, Tetrablemmidae) from Xizang, China, with description of a new species

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First record of the tetrablemmid armoured spiders (Araneae, Tetrablemmidae) from Xizang, China, with description of a new species

Abstract

Background

The spider genus Choiroblemma Bourne, 1980 of the family Tetrablemmidae currently contains two species, C. bengalense Bourne, 1980 and C. rhinoxunum Bourne, 1980. Both species are known from West Bengal, India.

New information

A new species of Choiroblemma is described from Xizang, China, Choiroblemma metok sp. nov. (♂♀). Morphological descriptions, photomicroscopy images of the new species and a distribution map of Choiroblemma species are given.

Zhou Y, Zhang X, Tong Y (2024) First record of the tetrablemmid armoured spiders (Araneae, Tetrablemmidae) from Xizang, China, with description of a new species. Biodiversity Data Journal 12: e143503. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.12.e143503