Differentiation in ant-eating spiders based on offensive and defensive exploitation of ants

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  Differentiation in ant-eating spiders based on offensive and defensive exploitation of ants Abstract Ecological speciation via host-race has been documented in several herbivores and parasitoids. Analogous prey-race has recently been suggested to explain the diversity of specialised ant-eating spiders. Two sister species from the Iberian Peninsula, Zodarion alacre and Z. andalusiacum (Zodariidae), possess almost identical copulatory organs, but differ in body size and colouration. Zodarion spiders exploit different ant species offensively (as prey) and defensively (as mimetic models). Here we tested the hypothesis of prey-race diversification in these two species via offensive and defensive exploitation. We studied the diet of both species using metabarcoding, recorded their circadian activity in the field, investigated their mimetic similarity to ants, and modelled visual perception by potential predators. We found that both species feed on ants but Z. alacre hunted larger ant s...

The mitochondrial genome of Palpimanus capensis Simon, 1893 (Araneae, Palpimanidae) from ultraconserved elements (UCEs)

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The mitochondrial genome of Palpimanus capensis Simon, 1893 (Araneae, Palpimanidae) from ultraconserved elements (UCEs)

Abstract

The mitochondrial genome of Palpimanus capensis Simon, 1893 has been sequenced and annotated from ultraconserved elements (UCEs). The species is endemic to South Africa and is a free-living ground-dweller. Contigs were assembled in SPAdes, with a rough draft mitogenome extracted from the resulting contigs that was used as the seed for de novo assembly by NOVOPlasty for the final, circularized genome. The mitogenome was annotated using MITOS2 and by comparing it to other species in the order Araneae. The mitogenome is 14,268 bp, including 22 transfer RNA (tRNA), 13 protein coding genes (PCGs), 2 ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes, and a control region. This is the first species in the genus Palpimanus and the family Palpimanidae with a sequenced and annotated mitochondrial genome.

Merrill, C. M., Patrick, L. B., Wood, H. M., & Santos, S. R. (2025). The mitochondrial genome of Palpimanus capensis Simon, 1893 (Araneae, Palpimanidae) from ultraconserved elements (UCEs). Mitochondrial DNA Part B, 10(12), 1221–1225. https://doi.org/10.1080/23802359.2025.2594315