In this paper, a new spider species of the genus Loxosceles is described on the basis of morphological and molecular data. The phylogenetic relationship of the new species is discussed through the lens of molecular data (cox1, rrnL and H3... more
In this paper, a new spider species of the genus Loxosceles is described on the basis of morphological and molecular data. The phylogenetic relationship of the new species is discussed through the lens of molecular data (cox1, rrnL and H3 genes). Specimens were collected from three Iranian caves in the provinces of Fars, Yazd and Khuzestan, and the specimens showed morphological characteristics that allowed us to easily distinguish Loxosceles persica n. sp. from L. mrazig, which is its sister species, and from the cosmopolitan L. rufescens, which is a widely distributed species throughout the Mediterranean basin and the Middle East. It is the first Loxosceles species endemic to the Middle East.
Research Interests:
Macroecologists seek to identify drivers of community turnover ( β -diversity) through broad spatial scales. However, the influence of local habitat features in driving broad-scale β -diversity patterns remains largely untested, owing to... more
Macroecologists seek to identify drivers of community turnover ( β -diversity) through broad spatial scales. However, the influence of local habitat features in driving broad-scale β -diversity patterns remains largely untested, owing to the objective challenges of associating local-scale variables to continental-framed datasets. We examined the relative contribution of local- versus broad-scale drivers of continental β -diversity patterns, using a uniquely suited dataset of cave-dwelling spider communities across Europe (35–70° latitude). Generalized dissimilarity modelling showed that geographical distance, mean annual temperature and size of the karst area in which caves occurred drove most of β -diversity, with differential contributions of each factor according to the level of subterranean specialization. Highly specialized communities were mostly influenced by geographical distance, while less specialized communities were mostly driven by mean annual temperature. Conversely, l...
Research Interests:
FIGURE 4. SALIVARy gLAND ChROMOSOMES OF Chironomus alchichica sp. n. A) ChROMOSOMES AB CD EF G ARE VERy COMPACT, wITh DARK CENTROMERE REgIONS OF ChROMOSOMES AB CD G, CENTROMERE REgION OF EF AS A ThIN BAND.NUCLEOLAR ORgANIzER (NOR);... more
FIGURE 4. SALIVARy gLAND ChROMOSOMES OF Chironomus alchichica sp. n. A) ChROMOSOMES AB CD EF G ARE VERy COMPACT, wITh DARK CENTROMERE REgIONS OF ChROMOSOMES AB CD G, CENTROMERE REgION OF EF AS A ThIN BAND.NUCLEOLAR ORgANIzER (NOR); BALBIANI RINg (BR). LARgE ARROw INDICATES ThE CENTROMERE REgIONS; B) ChROMOSOME AB; C) ChROMOSOME CD wITh CONSTRICTION IN ARM C (SMALL ARROw) AND TwO NORS IN ARMS C AND D; D) ChROMOSOME EF; E) ChROMOSOME OF ARM G wITh A NOR AND TwO BRS.BAR = 100 µM.
The quest for the first bilaterian organisms is the biggest riddle in metazoan evolution and in understanding the evolution of developmental mechanisms. Recent molecular work has regrouped the bilaterian phyla into three superphyletic... more
The quest for the first bilaterian organisms is the biggest riddle in metazoan evolution and in understanding the evolution of developmental mechanisms. Recent molecular work has regrouped the bilaterian phyla into three superphyletic clades: the Deuterostomia, the Lophotrochozoa and the Ecdysozoa. In these trees, Platyhelminthes, for a long time considered basal bilaterians, have a more derived position among the Spiralia. However, a recent 18S rDNA analysis showed Platyhelminthes to be polyphyletic with one of its orders, the Acoela, as the earliest extant bilaterian. To corroborate such position, we have sequenced new 18S and other nuclear genes, two mitochondrial genes, and examined the number and type of Hox cluster genes in acoels, nemertodermatids and other platyhelminthes and metazoans. Results confirm acoels and nemertodermatids as the earliest extant bilaterians. These results imply that the last common bilaterian ancestor was a small, benthic, direct developer without seg...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Figure 18 from: Crespo L, Domènech M, Enguídanos A, Malumbres-Olarte J, Cardoso P, Moya-Laraño J, Frías-López C, Macías-Hernández N, De Mas E, Mazzuca P, Mora E, Opatova V, Planas E, Ribera C, Roca-Cusachs M, Ruiz D, Sousa P, Tonzo V, Arnedo M (2018) A DNA barcode-assisted annotated checklist of ...more
This paper describes and illustrates a new genus and a new species belonging to the family Nesticidae based on morphology and supported by molecular data. The new genus, Kryptonesticus gen. nov., groups eight species spread from Bulgaria... more
This paper describes and illustrates a new genus and a new species belonging to the family Nesticidae based on morphology and supported by molecular data. The new genus, Kryptonesticus gen. nov., groups eight species spread from Bulgaria and Turkey to Croatia, including Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Crete. As a result, seven new combinations are proposed: K. eremita (Simon, 1879) comb. nov., K. arenstorffi (Kulczyński, 1914) comb. nov., K. fagei (Kratochvíl, 1933) comb. nov., K. beroni (Deltshev, 1977) comb. nov., K. beshkovi (Deltshev, 1979) comb. nov., K. henderickxi (Bosselaers, 1998) comb. nov. and K. dimensis (López-Pancorbo, Kunt & Ribera, 2013) comb. nov., all ex Nesticus. Kryptonesticus deelemanae gen. et sp. nov. is described on the basis of both sexes and its phylogenetic relationships with closely related species are discussed based on morphological and molecular data (the cox1, rrn and H3 genes). In addition, the species of this new genus (except for K. eremita)...
Research Interests:
El descubrimiento de Telema tenella (Simon, 1882) y Argyroneta aquatica (Clerck, 1758) permite citar por primera vez para la fauna iberica dos familias de Araneae: Telemidae y Argyronetidae.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Bilateria are currently subdivided into three superclades: Deuterostomia, Ecdysozoa, and Lophotrochozoa. Within this new taxonomic frame, acoelomate Platyhelminthes, for a long time held to be basal bilaterians, are now considered... more
Bilateria are currently subdivided into three superclades: Deuterostomia, Ecdysozoa, and Lophotrochozoa. Within this new taxonomic frame, acoelomate Platyhelminthes, for a long time held to be basal bilaterians, are now considered spiralian lophotrochozoans. However, recent 18S rDNA [small subunit (SSU)] analyses have shown Platyhelminthes to be polyphyletic with two of its orders, the Acoela and the Nemertodermatida, as the earliest extant bilaterians. To corroborate such position and avoid the criticisms of saturation and long-branch effects thrown on the SSU molecule, we have searched for independent molecular data bearing good phylogenetic information at deep evolutionary nodes. Here we report a phylogenetic analysis of DNA sequences from the myosin heavy chain type II (myosin II) gene from a large set of metazoans, including acoels and nemertodermatids. Our study demonstrates, both for the myosin II data set alone and for a combined SSU + myosin II data set, that Platyhelminthe...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Evolutionary Biology, Genetics, Molecular Biology, Polymorphism, Biology, and 15 moreMedicine, Plasmodium, Phylogeny, Sequence alignment, Animals, Molecular biology and evolution, Flatworm, Phylogenetic Tree, Turbellaria, Species Specificity, Base Sequence, Ribosomal DNA, Biochemistry and cell biology, Gene Expression Regulation, and Molecular Sequence Data
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Zoology, Biology, Systematics, Arachnology, Colonization, and 4 moreCanary Islands, Extinction, Genus, and Archipelago
Abstract Asexual reproduction by fissiparity is a frequent mode of reproduction in freshwater planarians (Turbellaria, Tricladida, Paludico‐la). Asexual populations pose a main taxonomical problem: to assign them to particular sexual... more
Abstract Asexual reproduction by fissiparity is a frequent mode of reproduction in freshwater planarians (Turbellaria, Tricladida, Paludico‐la). Asexual populations pose a main taxonomical problem: to assign them to particular sexual species. We review here two ...
Research Interests:
The spider genus Dysdera Latreille is an excellent model for the study of the evolution of cave life: ten species are known to exist exclusively in the subterranean environment of the Canary Islands, where the genus has undergone local... more
The spider genus Dysdera Latreille is an excellent model for the study of the evolution of cave life: ten species are known to exist exclusively in the subterranean environment of the Canary Islands, where the genus has undergone local diversification. In the present paper, two new troglobitic species (Dysdera madai, sp. nov. and D. sibyllina, sp. nov.) and the previously unknown sex of five additional species are described and illustrated: the males of D. gollumi Ribera & Arnedo, 1994, D. hernandezi Arnedo & Ribera, 1999 and D. labradaensis Wunderlich, 1991; and the females of D. andamanae Arnedo & Ribera, 1997 and D. gibbifera Wunderlich, 1991. The first direct evidence of troglobitic members of Dysdera in micro- and mesocaverns are reported. The evolution of cave life as hypothesised following a combined morphological and molecular phylogeny is investigated. Troglobitic Canarian Dysdera species have colonised the underground on eight independent occasions. The Dysderidae groundpl...
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Genetics, Earth Sciences, Phylogeography, Gene Flow, Population Genetics, and 15 moreBiology, Ecology, Hydrobiology, Genetic Diversity, Biological Sciences, Dispersion, Environmental Sciences, Genetic Population Structure, Desiccation, Dispersal, Stream, Streams, AQUATIC INSECT, Mediterranean Climate, and Local Extinction
... Eva De Mas Æ Guillem Chust Æ Joan Ll. ... The ecological processes that relate a given biodiversity attribute to environmental factors are scale dependent, and different landscape variables have been shown to be important at different... more
... Eva De Mas Æ Guillem Chust Æ Joan Ll. ... The ecological processes that relate a given biodiversity attribute to environmental factors are scale dependent, and different landscape variables have been shown to be important at different spatial scales (Pearman 2002; Chust et al. ...
Research Interests: Geography, Biology, Ecology, Biodiversity, Biodiversity Conservation, and 15 moreOptimal Scaling, Land Cover, Predictive Modelling, Spatial modelling, Spatial Scale, Multiple Linear Regression, Prediction Model, Spatial Distribution, Spatial Pattern, Protected Area, Ecological Applications, Diversity Indices, Conservation strategies, ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND MANAGEMENT, and Environmental factor
Hydropsyche pellucidula and Hydropsyche incognita (Trichoptera, Hydropsychi-dae) are common and distinguishable species in central Europe. After a review of adult material, the existence of H. pellucidula in the westernmost Mediterranean... more
Hydropsyche pellucidula and Hydropsyche incognita (Trichoptera, Hydropsychi-dae) are common and distinguishable species in central Europe. After a review of adult material, the existence of H. pellucidula in the westernmost Mediterranean Basin was considered doubtful and ...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) are widespread in subterranean ecosystems worldwide and represent an important component of subterranean trophic webs. Yet, global-scale diversity patterns of subterranean spiders are still mostly unknown. In... more
Spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) are widespread in subterranean ecosystems worldwide and represent an important component of subterranean trophic webs. Yet, global-scale diversity patterns of subterranean spiders are still mostly unknown. In the frame of the CAWEB project, a European joint network of cave arachnologists, we collected data on cave-dwelling spider communities across Europe in order to explore their continental diversity patterns. Two main datasets were compiled: one listing all subterranean spider species recorded in numerous subterranean localities across Europe and another with high resolution data about the subterranean habitat in which they were collected. From these two datasets, we further generated a third dataset with individual geo-referenced occurrence records for all these species. Data from 475 geo-referenced subterranean localities (caves, mines and other artificial subterranean sites, interstitial habitats) are herein made available. For each subterranean lo...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
A large scale semi-quantitative biodiversity assessment was conducted in white oak woodlands in areas included in the Spanish Network of National Parks, as part of a project aimed at revealing biogeographic patterns and identify... more
A large scale semi-quantitative biodiversity assessment was conducted in white oak woodlands in areas included in the Spanish Network of National Parks, as part of a project aimed at revealing biogeographic patterns and identify biodiversity drivers. The semi-quantitative COBRA sampling protocol was conducted in sixteen 1-ha plots across six national parks using a nested design. All adult specimens were identified to species level based on morphology. Uncertain delimitations and identifications due to either limited information of diagnostic characters or conflicting taxonomy were further investigated using DNA barcode information. We identified 376 species belonging to 190 genera in 39 families, from the 8,521 adults found amongst the 20,539 collected specimens. Faunistic results include the discovery of 7 new species to the Iberian Peninsula, 3 new species to Spain and 11 putative new species to science. As largely expected by environmental features, the southern parks showed a hi...
Research Interests:
Morphological analysis of all developmental stages (except female), mitochondrial DNA sequences from cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (cox1) and cytological analysis of the polytene chromosomes were used to describe a new species of... more
Morphological analysis of all developmental stages (except female), mitochondrial DNA sequences from cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (cox1) and cytological analysis of the polytene chromosomes were used to describe a new species of Chironomus found in the littoral and profundal zones of an endorheic, warm-monomictic lake in Mexico. Male imago is distinguished by the shape of superior volsella and by an antennal and bristle ratio lower than two. The pupa is characterized by the spur morphology of abdominal segment VIII. There is also a continuous row of hooklets on abdominal segment II. The larva is distinguished by a combination of antenna, mentum, mandible, and pecten epipharyngis characteristics, and abdominal ventral tubules. Molecular and cytological analysis supported the morphological differences found. The maximum likelihood tree obtained shows that Chironomus alchichica sp. n. clusters together with Chironomus decorus-group sp. 2 Butler et al. (1995) (bootstrap support = 92%)...
Research Interests: Evolutionary Biology, Zoology, Mexico, Lakes, Female, and 7 moreAnimals, Male, Chironomidae, Larva, Diptera, MEXICO, and Polytene Chromosomes
... Cambiar idioma Idioma Català. Cambiar. Araneidos cavernícolas de la provincia de Almería (I) y descripción de cuatro especies nuevas. ... Fundación Dialnet. Acceso de usuarios registrados. ...
In some animal groups males may be several times smaller than females. One of the hypotheses proposed to explain the evolution of this extreme sexual size dimorphism (SSD) is the differential mortality model (DMM), which is based on the... more
In some animal groups males may be several times smaller than females. One of the hypotheses proposed to explain the evolution of this extreme sexual size dimorphism (SSD) is the differential mortality model (DMM), which is based on the assumption that when males are the searching sex, higher male mortality relaxes male-male contest competition, leading to the adaptive evolution of early-maturing, small males that are favoured by viability selection. Evidence for the main prediction of this model, i.e. that there is a negative relationship between differential mortality and SSD, has remained elusive. Using sex differences in pitfall trap catches - a proxy of sex differences in mobility and mortality - across 40 spider species, and using the evolutionary comparative method, we found significant negative relationships between differential mortality and SSD for three size traits. Thus, the DMM can still explain part of the observed variance in SSD.
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Taxonomy and Morphology
Resumen: Procedente del relleno sedimentario arcilloso del embudo Incarcal V (Crespiá, Girona), datado del Pleistoceno inferior, y durante la campaña de excavación de 1990, se halló un ejemplar de araña. Su estudio sugiere atribuirlo a la... more
Resumen: Procedente del relleno sedimentario arcilloso del embudo Incarcal V (Crespiá, Girona), datado del Pleistoceno inferior, y durante la campaña de excavación de 1990, se halló un ejemplar de araña. Su estudio sugiere atribuirlo a la familia cf. Ananeidae y ...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
ABSTRACT The woodlouse genus Halophiloscia Verhoeff, 1908 includes littoral halophilous species distributed along the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic coasts of Europe and northern Africa. The species Halophiloscia couchii... more
ABSTRACT The woodlouse genus Halophiloscia Verhoeff, 1908 includes littoral halophilous species distributed along the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic coasts of Europe and northern Africa. The species Halophiloscia couchii has been introduced to the Americas, Hawaii and Australia. The Canary Islands harbour four species, two of which are included in catalogues of endangered species.One mitochondrial and one nuclear gene sequenced from over 100 specimens, including outgroups, were analysed to infer the colonisation and diversification processes of Halophiloscia in the Canary Islands and shed light on their conservation status.The Canary Islands were independently colonised by three distinct Halophiloscia lineages: (i) the endemic species H. rodriguezi, collected in several western Canary Islands, and the troglobiomorphic H. microphthalma from La Palma, (ii) the endemic H. canariensis, found throughout the eastern Canaries, and (iii) the cosmopolitan H. couchii, present on Gran Canaria and Tenerife.Halophiloscia microphthalma is not sister to the extant epigean Halophiloscia species present on the same island, which together with the low levels of genetic variability detected in the species may warrant a higher conservation status than presently given.The mitochondrial marker revealed a fine-scale phylogeographic structure in H. canariensis, and rejected recent sharp declines in its population size, which in addition to its widespread distribution challenge its consideration as an endangered species.The presence of H. couchii in the archipelago is interpreted as a recent introduction. Although no evidence of introgression was detected, more thorough sampling and monitoring of introduced populations are recommended to discard either hybridisation or competitive displacement of native species.
Research Interests:
In this study, we present the first molecular phylogeny of the wolf spider genus Lycosa Latreille, 1804 in the Western Mediterranean Basin. With a wide geographic sampling comprising 90 localities and including more than 180 individuals,... more
In this study, we present the first molecular phylogeny of the wolf spider genus Lycosa Latreille, 1804 in the Western Mediterranean Basin. With a wide geographic sampling comprising 90 localities and including more than 180 individuals, we conducted species delimitation analyses with a Maximum Likelihood approach that uses a mixed Yule-coalescent model to detect species boundaries. We estimated molecular phylogenetic relationships employing Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian Inference methods using mitochondrial and nuclear sequences. We conducted divergence time analyses using a relaxed clock model implemented in BEAST. Our results recovered 12 species that form four groups: Lycosa tarantula group comprising L. tarantula the type species of the genus, L. hispanica and L. bedeli; Lycosa oculata group composed of L.oculata, L. suboculata and three putative new species; Lycosa baulnyi group formed by the maghrebian L. baulnyi and L. vachoni and Lycosa fasciiventris group that includes two widespread species, L. fasciiventris and L. munieri. We found that each group of species shows a characteristic burrowing behavior and molecular and morphological diagnostic characters. Molecular clock analyses support the hypothesis of a relatively recent evolutionary origin of diversification of the group (4.96 Mya (3.53-6.45 Mya)). The establishment of the Mediterranean-like climate and the Pleistocenic glacial cycles seem to have been the main factors that promoted the diversification within the group. Finally, the results obtained in this study together with the revision of museum specimens, descriptions, redescriptions and illustrations, lead us to propose 18 nomenclatural changes (synonymies, generic transfers and nomina dubia) concerning the genera Lycosa, Allocosa and Hogna in the Western Mediterranean.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
ABSTRACT Our aim was to assess the evolutionary history of the spider genus Loxosceles on the Canary Islands. We unravelled its present diversity within the archipelago, and investigated its origin, mode and tempo of colonization to and... more
ABSTRACT Our aim was to assess the evolutionary history of the spider genus Loxosceles on the Canary Islands. We unravelled its present diversity within the archipelago, and investigated its origin, mode and tempo of colonization to and between the islands using a phylogenetic framework. Location Canary Islands, Madeira, Iberian Peninsula, North Africa, Mediterranean region, Guinea. Methods We conducted extensive sampling across the Canary Islands, and examined the phylogenetic relationships among the Canary Island representatives of the genus Loxosceles and with regard to species from western Africa and the Mediterranean Basin. We used an evolutionary criterion (general mixed Yule coalescent) to delimit the evolutionary lineages, and applied fossil and biogeographical calibration points to estimate dates for major cladogenetic events within the Canary Islands using a Bayesian framework.ResultsPhylogenetic analyses revealed the existence of a well-supported clade formed exclusively by Canarian Loxosceles specimens, comprising seven allopatrically distributed evolutionary lineages. Major dispersal events between the islands occurred during the late Miocene. Representatives of the cosmopolitan Loxosceles rufescens were also found on the archipelago. Main conclusions We have revealed the existence of an overlooked endemic group of medically important spiders. The pattern of diversity of this group fits well with the general dynamic theory of oceanic island biogeography, where maximum diversity is found on islands of intermediate age. The colonization pathway of the group is compatible with a stepping-stone model. Between-islands dispersal was the major driving force for diversification in the group, but a few within-island speciation events were also inferred, such as on Gran Canaria, where the Roque Nublo volcanic event acted as a vicariant agent, promoting the split between the two Gran Canarian lineages. The recently introduced L. rufescens is cohabiting with the endemic lineages.