20th International Congress of Arachnology

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102 DENVER MUSEUM OF NATURE & SCIENCE REPORTS | No. 3, July 2, 2016
Cushing
time in 2010, based on recently collected specimens
and photographic records. The species has only been
recorded from the southern coastal areas (Eastern and
Western Cape Provinces) and from the central Free
State Province to date, with the vast majority of records
associated with synanthropic urban habitats. However, a
predictive model shows that the latter localities are very
unsuitable for establishment, which we explain on the
basis of climatic conditions, while the southern coastal
areas represent highly suitable habitat.
Keywords: Introduced, Australia, synanthropic, MAXENT,
distribution
Student - oral presentation
Phylogenomics and taxonomic revision of
the tarantula genus Aphonopelma within
the United States
*Chris A. Hamilton1, Brent E. Hendrixson2, Jason E.
Bond1
1Department of Biological Sciences and Auburn
University Museum of Natural History, Auburn
University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA; 2Department of
Biology, Millsaps College, Jackson, MS 39210, USA
This systematic study documents the taxonomy, diver-
sity, and distribution of the tarantula spider genus
Aphonopelma Pocock, 1901 within the United States.
By employing phylogenomic, morphological, and geo-
spatial data, we evaluated all 55 nominal species in the
United States to examine the evolutionary history of
Aphonopelma and the group’s taxonomy by implementing
an integrative approach to species delimitation. Based on
our analyses, we now recognize only 29 distinct species in
the United States. We proposed 33 new synonymies, seven
nomina dubia, and 14 new species. Based on Anchored
Enrichment phylogenomic data (581 loci, 334,436bp), our
species tree delimits five major lineages: a monotypic group
confined to California, a western group, an eastern group, a
group primarily distributed in high-elevation areas, and a
group that comprises several miniaturized species. Multiple
species are distributed throughout two biodiversity hotspots
in the United States (i.e., California Floristic Province and
Madrean Pine-Oak Woodlands). By conducting the most
comprehensive sampling of a single theraphosid genus
to date, this research significantly broadens the scope of
prior molecular and morphological investigations, finally
bringing a modern understanding of species delimita-
tion in this dynamic and charismatic group of spiders.
Keywords: biodiversity, phylogenomics, molecular
systematics, DNA taxonomy, spider taxonomy
Oral presentation
House spider venom and silk gland
transcriptomes reveal a complex tran-
scriptional landscape
Robert A. Haney, Evelyn E. Schwager, Jessica E. Garb
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Mas-
sachusetts Lowell, Lowell, MA 01854, USA
The venom and silk glands of spiders are both ecologi-
cally critical, being involved in prey capture and predator
defense, and a key factor in the evolutionary success of
spiders. The application of high-throughput technolo-
gies can have an important role in understanding the
maintenance and function of these tissues, by character-
izing their transcriptomes, including the prevalence of
alternative splicing of transcripts. While the proportion of
loci with alternatively spliced transcripts and the number
of transcripts produced varies among taxa, detailed
estimates from arachnids are generally lacking. Alterna-
tive splicing augments proteome complexity through
the production of many different mRNAs (and coding
regions) from pre-mRNAs derived from individual gene
loci. The production of alternatively spliced transcripts
can play a role in development, disease, and response to
stress, as well as in defining tissue specific functions. We
have leveraged deep RNA-Seq data to identify transcripts
expressed in the venom and silk glands of the Common
House Spider (Parasteatoda tepidariorum), and to
identify thousands of novel splice variants of transcripts.
These new forms greatly expand the catalog of such
variants in P. tepidariorum, and reveal a complex tran-
scriptional landscape, with variation in 5’ and 3’ splice
sites, skipped exons and retained introns, as well as more