Department of Biology, Eastern Connecticut State University, 83 Windham Street, Willimantic, CT, 06226, USA.
Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Western Connecticut State University, 181 White Street, Danbury, CT, 06810, USA.
Sci Rep. 2021 Nov 11;11(1):22093. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-01555-1.
Species of camel spiders in the family Eremobatidae are an important component of arthropod communities in arid ecosystems throughout North America. Recently, research demonstrated that the evolutionary history and biogeography of the family are poorly understood. Herein we explore the biogeographic history of this group of arachnids using genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data, morphology, and distribution modelling to study the eremobatid genus Eremocosta, which contains exceptionally large species distributed throughout North American deserts. Relationships among sampled species were resolved with strong support and they appear to have diversified within distinct desert regions along an east-to-west progression beginning in the Chihuahuan Desert. The unexpected phylogenetic position of some samples suggests that the genus may contain additional, morphologically cryptic species. Geometric morphometric analyses reveal a largely conserved cheliceral morphology among Eremocosta spp. Phylogeographic analyses indicate that the distribution of E. titania was substantially reduced during the last glacial maximum and the species only recently colonized much of the Mojave Desert. Results from this study underscore the power of genome-wide data for unlocking the genetic potential of museum specimens, which is especially promising for organisms like camel spiders that are notoriously difficult to collect.
在北美干旱生态系统中,沙蛛科(Eremobatidae)的骆驼蜘蛛是节肢动物群落的重要组成部分。最近的研究表明,该科的进化历史和生物地理学仍知之甚少。本研究使用全基因组单核苷酸多态性(SNP)数据、形态学和分布模型来探讨这组蛛形纲动物的生物地理学历史,以研究包含分布在北美的异常大型物种的沙蛛科属 Eremocosta。采样物种之间的关系得到了强有力的支持,它们似乎在沿着从奇瓦瓦沙漠开始的东西向推进的不同沙漠地区内多样化。一些样本出乎意料的系统发育位置表明,该属可能包含其他形态上隐匿的物种。几何形态测量分析表明,Eremocosta spp. 的螯肢形态在很大程度上是保守的。系统地理学分析表明,E. titania 的分布在末次冰盛期大大减少,该物种最近才在莫哈韦沙漠的大部分地区殖民。本研究的结果强调了全基因组数据为揭示博物馆标本的遗传潜力所带来的力量,对于像骆驼蜘蛛这样难以收集的生物来说,这尤其有希望。
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