HAMILTON, D.E.*; JANOWSKI-BELL, M.E.; MCINTYRE, N.E.; DENSMORE, L.D.; Texas Tech University; Victoria College; Texas Tech University; Texas Tech University: A preliminary molecular analysis of the Theraphosid genus Aphonopelma and its implications on the present morphological taxonomy

The Theraphosid genus Aphonopelma belongs to the infraorder Mygalomorphae, a group thought to be relatively primitive and highly conserved morphologically. The genus ranges throughout the southern third of the United States from the Californian coast east to the Mississippi River with 50 recognized species in the US. The taxonomy of Aphonopelma has to date been completely reliant on morphological data and several species of Aphonopelma in North America have been described on the basis of a single individual collected. In this work, we tested the validity of the geographical boundaries of Aphonopelma hentzi using the molecular characters of 16S and CO1. By sampling two populations of A. hentzi, one from the northern end of its range in central Missouri and the other population in the southern portions of its range in north-central Texas and comparing the molecular diversity found within the species with that found in a population of a geographically adjacent A. hollyi sampled in the panhandle of Texas. Additionally, the diversity within colonial aggregations was assessed using the mitochondrial markers as well as microsatellite markers to determine whether in fact these aggregations were matriarchal in nature.