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...

New species of Dolomedes (Araneae: Dolomedidae) from Kerala, India with insights on Indian records of the genus

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New species of Dolomedes (Araneae: Dolomedidae) from Kerala, India with insights on Indian records of the genus

Abstract

India is a biodiverse-rich country with four global hotspots and a high level of endemism. These locations continue to be re-counted with new species discoveries. The present exploratory study was conducted at Wayanad, Kerala which is part of the Western Ghats. The genus Dolomedes Latreille, 1804 commonly known as Raft or Fishing spiders belonging to the family Dolomedidae Simon, 1876, is widely distributed across the globe except Antarctica. However, it was only in 2025 a valid study confirmed the presence of the genus and family scientifically from India. However, several checklists and articles have mentioned the presence of this genus in the country before. This study details the first record of a new species Dolomedes indicus sp. nov from both sexes. This study used both classical and molecular taxonomic method for more robust species-level identification. A basic phylogenetic tree of the Dolomedes genus with novel species was created using the MT-CO1 gene.

Cherukutty, A., Krishnan, J.U. New species of Dolomedes (Araneae: Dolomedidae) from Kerala, India with insights on Indian records of the genus. Sci Rep 15, 42253 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-26308-2