The Evolution of Jumping Spiders: a phylogenetic framework for Euophryini.
First published: 16 January 2025
RES journal Systematic Entomology has recently begun considering papers on myriapods and arachnids (see here for further information). The article, “Phylogeny of euophryine jumping spiders from ultra-conserved elements, with evidence on the intersexual coevolution of genitalia (Araneae: Salticidae: Euophryini)” by Zhaoyi Li et al. has just been announced as the Editors’ Choice paper for Volume 50, Issue 3, highlighting excellent research in this new area of scope for the journal.
Jumping spiders of Euophryini are incredibly diverse, with many different species and body shapes. To better understand how this group evolved over time, Li et al studied their phylogeny – evolutionary family tree – using ultra-conserved elements (UCE) obtained from 145 taxa. This helped confirm the monophyly of Euophryini and revealed how different species and genera are related to each other.
Additionally, two specific genital structures coevolved, the male embolus and the female copulatory duct, were investigated in 117 euophryine species through ancestral character state reconstruction and phylogenetically independent contrast analyses using the UCE phylogenetic framework. The results suggest strongly that the evolution of the lengths of male embolus and female copulatory duct in Euophryini is positively correlated. The common ancestor of Euophryini likely had relatively short embolus and copulatory duct, followed by repeated lengthening or shortening of both structures in different lineages, suggesting a linked evolutionary change between the sexes.
This study not only improves our understanding of how these jumping spiders evolved and are classified but also gives new insights into how male and female reproductive parts may have co-evolved in response to each other, providing a solid foundation for future studies on the diversification and evolution of this jumping spider group.
“What fascinates us is how precisely these tiny structures mirror each other’s evolutionary dance over millions of years—like a lock and key evolving in tandem. This observation suggests that sexual selection plays a far more intricate role in spider diversification than previously recognized. Unravelling these patterns may significantly enhance our understanding of speciation mechanisms, not only in specific spider groups such as euophryine jumping spiders but also across other spider lineages.”
– Junxia Zhang, corresponding author
Left: 李招毅 (Zhaoyi Li) Right: 张俊霞 (Junxia Zhang)Want to be featured in our Journal Highlights?
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