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...

Two new species of cribellated spider for Colombia (Araneae: Macrobunidae Bonnet, 1957)

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Two new species of cribellated spider for Colombia (Araneae: Macrobunidae Bonnet, 1957)

Abstract

The Macrobunidae family is poorly represented in Colombia, with only the genus Retiro Mello-Leitão, 1915, and the species Retiro granadensis (Keyserling, 1878). This paper describes and illustrates two new species of this genus: Retiro sabatoi sp. nov. (♂♀) and Retiro leonardi sp. nov. (♂♀) found in central-western Colombia, in the department of Quindío.

Rodríguez-Castro, G. & Rodríguez, E. (2025). Two new species of cribellated spider for Colombia (Araneae: Macrobunidae Bonnet, 1957). Zootaxa 5683(4): 561-572. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5683.4.6