| Title: | Taxonomy, phylogeny, and size evolution in the spider genus Megaraneus Lawrence, 1968 (Araneae: Araneidae) |
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| Authors: | ID Čandek, Klemen (Author)
ID Turk, Eva (Author)
ID Souza Castanheira, Pedro de (Author)
ID Yu, Kuang-Ping (Author)
ID Gregorič, Matjaž (Author)
ID Framenau, Volker W. (Author)
ID Agnarsson, Ingi (Author)
ID Kuntner, Matjaž (Author) |
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| Files: |  URL - Source URL, visit https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/16/10/992
 PDF - Presentation file, download (3,58 MB)
MD5: 3E6298B0C3BB60CBDE9778C6E8761563
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| Language: | English |
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| Typology: | 1.01 - Original Scientific Article |
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| Organization: |  NIB - National Institute of Biology
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| Abstract: | Among terrestrial animals, spiders exhibit the most striking examples of sexual size dimorphism (SSD) but better understanding of its evolution requires improved taxonomy and phylogeny. Many sexually dimorphic spiders lack adequate description, phylogenetic placement, and natural history observations. In South Africa, we documented the natural history of a poorly known spider, Megaraneus gabonensis (Lucas, 1858), with extreme, female-biased SSD (eSSD, female:male approximately 4:1). Here, we redescribe M. gabonensis, place Megaraneus Lawrence, 1968 phylogenetically for the first time, assess whether the observed eSSD represents an independent evolutionary origin, and test whether the macroevolutionary pattern is better explained by male dwarfism or female gigantism. The recovered phylogenetic placement of Megaraneus in the araneid ‘backobourkiines’, a clade previously considered as restricted to East Asia and Australasia, extends the range of this clade to the Afrotropics. We find that eSSD was present in the common ancestor of the ‘backobourkiines’, with further increases in female body length occurring independently in Megaraneus, Backobourkia Framenau, Dupérré, Blackledge & Vink, 2010, and the currently misplaced Parawixia dehaani (Doleschall, 1859). We conclude that the evolution of eSSD reflects a complex pattern of sex-specific size changes across spider phylogeny, but that in Megaraneus it results from female gigantism. |
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| Keywords: | sexual size dimorphism, backobourkiines, trait evolution, South Africa |
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| Publication status: | Published |
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| Publication version: | Version of Record |
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| Publication date: | 24.09.2025 |
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| Year of publishing: | 2025 |
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| Number of pages: | Str. 1-17 |
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| Numbering: | Vol. 16, issue 10, [article no.] 992 |
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| PID: | 20.500.12556/DiRROS-23750  |
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| UDC: | 595.44 |
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| ISSN on article: | 2075-4450 |
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| DOI: | 10.3390/insects16100992 |
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| COBISS.SI-ID: | 250274307 |
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| Note: | Nasl. z nasl. zaslona;
Soavtorji: Eva Turk, Pedro de Souza Castanheira, Kuang-Ping Yu, Matjaž Gregorič, Volker W. Framenau, Ingi Agnarsson, Matjaž Kuntner;
Opis vira z dne 24. 9. 2025;
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| Publication date in DiRROS: | 30.09.2025 |
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| Views: | 277 |
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| Downloads: | 109 |
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