Copulatory behaviour and genital mechanics suggest sperm allocation by a non-intromittent sclerite in a pholcid spider.

ABSTRACT: The male genitalia of pholcid spiders, which is one of the most species-rich spider families, are characterized by a procursus, which is a morphologically diverse projection of the copulatory organ. It has been shown that the procursus interacts with the female genitalia during copulation. Here, we investigate the function of the procursus in Gertschiola neuquena, a species belonging to the early branched and understudied subfamily Ninetinae, using behavioural and morphological data. Although many aspects of the copulatory behaviour of G. neuquena follow the general pattern described for the family, males use only one pedipalp during each copulation. Based on our micro-CT analysis of cryofixed mating pairs using virgin females, we can show that the long and filiform procursus

SUBMITTER: Izquierdo MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10230183 | biostudies-literature | 2023 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature