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...

A new species of Linothele Karsch 1879 from Panama (Araneae: Mygalomorphae: Dipluridae)

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A new species of Linothele Karsch 1879 from Panama (Araneae: Mygalomorphae: Dipluridae)

Abstract 


A new species of Dipluridae Simon 1889, Linothele darien n. sp., is described from Panama. This is the first Linothele Karsch 1879 species described for the continental part of Central America and the second outside South America. Linothele darien n. sp. is compared to L. megatheloides Paz & Raven 1990 and L. sericata (Karsch 1879), two similar species from Colombia. Also, a discussion about the specimens from Panama studied and identified as L. megatheloides by N. Paz is included.

Wermelinger-Moreira, G., Castanheira, P. de S. & Baptista, R. L. C. (2024b). A new species of Linothele Karsch 1879 from Panama (Araneae: Mygalomorphae: Dipluridae). Acta Arachnologica 73(2): 95-101. doi:10.2476/asjaa.73.95 18173