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

Posted by
  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...

Three new species of Pamirosa Fomichev, Omelko & Marusik, 2024 (Araneae: Lycosidae) from Kyrgyzstan, extending the known range of Artoriinae in Central Asia

Posted by

 


Three new species of Pamirosa Fomichev, Omelko & Marusik, 2024 (Araneae: Lycosidae) from Kyrgyzstan, extending the known range of Artoriinae in Central Asia

Abstract

Three new Pamirosa species from Kyrgyzstan are diagnosed, described, and illustrated: P. alaica sp. nov. (male, female), P. archalturica sp. nov. (male) and P. transalaica sp. nov. (male, female). The new species represent the first records of the genus outside the type locality of the generotype, P. kudratbekovi Fomichev, Omelko & Marusik, 2024 (Pamir Mountains, Tajikistan). The new findings represent the northernmost records of Artoriinae. All new species were collected from screes at elevations of 3700–4200 m. A distribution map of all known Pamirosa species is provided. An identification key to all species is also provided. The distribution of scree-dwelling Lycosidae in Central Asia, and research prospects on this topic are discussed.

Fomichev, A.A. & Omelko, M.M. (2025) Three new species of Pamirosa Fomichev, Omelko & Marusik, 2024 (Araneae: Lycosidae) from Kyrgyzstan, extending the known range of Artoriinae in Central Asia. Zootaxa, 5618 (2), 249–266. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5618.2.4