Phylogeography of the widespread Caribbean spiny orb weaver Gasteracantha cancriformis.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Modern molecular analyses are often inconsistent with pre-cladistic taxonomic hypotheses, frequently indicating higher richness than morphological taxonomy estimates. Among Caribbean spiders, widespread species are relatively few compared to the prevalence of single island endemics. The taxonomic hypothesis Gasteracantha cancriformis circumscribes a species with profuse variation in size, color and body form. Distributed throughout the Neotropics, G. cancriformis is the only morphological species of Gasteracantha in the New World in this globally distributed genus.

Methods

We inferred phylogenetic relationships across Neotropical populations of Gasteracantha using three target genes. Within the Caribbean, we estimated genetic diversity,

SUBMITTER: Chamberland L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7196328 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature