Female genital morphology in the secondarily haplogyne spider genus Glenognatha Simon, 1887 (Araneae, Tetragnathidae), with comments on its phylogenetic significance. (2nd May 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Cabra‐García, Jimmy; Hormiga, Gustavo; Brescovit, Antonio D.
• Is Part Of: Journal of morphology. Volume 275:Number 9(2014:Sep.)
• Page Start: 1027
• Page End: 1040
• Publication Date: 2014-05-02
• Subjects: Morphology -- Periodicals; Physiology -- Periodicals; Anatomy -- Periodicals; 571.3
• DOI: 10.1002/jmor.20280
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0362-2525

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main"> <title>ABSTRACT</title> <p>Female genital morphology of secondarily haplogyne spiders has been poorly studied, hampering the analysis of its possible phylogenetic significance. We conduct a comparative morphological study of 12 species of the secondarily haplogyne spider genus <italic>Glenognatha</italic> Simon, 1887 using scanning electron microscopy. Representatives of the closely related genera <italic>Pachygnatha</italic> Sundevall, 1823 and <italic>Dyschiriognatha</italic> Simon, 1893 were also examined. The female genitalia of <italic>Glenognatha</italic>, <italic>Dyschiriognatha</italic>, and <italic>Pachygnatha</italic> species examined are composed of a spiracle‐shape gonopore, a membranous chamber, a pair of copulatory ducts (CD) leading to spermathecae and a large uterus externus (UE). The most significant variation among <italic>Glenognatha</italic> species, previously unregistered within Araneoidea, is related with the absence or presence of CD and spermathecae. In addition, several characters as the form and distribution of long stem gland ductules and compartmentalization of the UE may be important for phylogenetic inference at species and generic level. Our results corroborate the close relationship between <italic>Dyshiriognatha</italic> and <italic>Glenognatha</italic>. A table with potentially informative female genitalic characters for phylogenetic inference within <italic>Glenognatha</italic> is provided. Understanding the general structure of the female genitalia in secondarily haplogyne taxa is a crucial step in order to propose characters for phylogenetic inference and to understand its possible functional significance. J. Morphol. 275:1027–1040, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.</p> </abstract>