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...

Leiurus fezzanensis sp. n. from Fezzan Province, Libya (Scorpiones: Buthidae)

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Leiurus fezzanensis sp. n. from Fezzan Province, Libya (Scorpiones: Buthidae)

ABSTRACT

Leiurus fezzanensis sp. n. is described from the Fezzan Province, Libya. Detailed illustrations and a map showing the distributions of all Leiurus species in Africa are given. Leiurus fezzanensis differs from granulations of carapace, trichobothrial pattern on fixed finger, granulation of fifth segment of metasoma and pectinal tooth count. Since L. libycus Birula, 1908 was recently excluded from the scorpion fauna of Libya,L. fezzanensis is currently the only Leiurus species known from the country.

Yağmur, E. A., Aboshaala, F., & Kovařík, F. (2025). Leiurus fezzanensis sp. n. from Fezzan Province, Libya (Scorpiones: Buthidae). Journal of Natural History, 59(29–32), 2035–2049. https://doi.org/10.1080/00222933.2025.2519293