Meeting Abstract

130.1  Tuesday, Jan. 7 13:30  Evolution of a novel trait in pelican spiders (Archaeidae) WOOD, HM*; WAINWRIGHT, PC; University of California, Davis; University of California, Davis woodhannahmarie@gmail.com

Archaeid spiders, commonly known as pelican spiders, are an ancient group that may have existed since Pangean times with their diversification on Madagascar and Australia possibly relating to the continental break-up of Gondwana. Archaeids are cursorial hunters unique in their extreme modification of the cephalic area (or frontal region) and chelicerae (or “jaws”), giving them the appearance of a “neck” and “head.” This novel morphology directly relates to their predatory behaviors: archaeids are specialized to prey only on other spiders and their highly modified cephalic area and chelicerae are used to attack prey at a distance. Among different species there is a great amount of variation in the shape and elongation in these morphological traits. Here, from a phylogenetic framework, we attempt to examine the nature of diversification of these traits in relation to habitat and biogeography. The findings from this study are important for understanding diversification patterns of novel traits.