How the integration of phylogenetics and venomics resolves persistent challenges in evolutionary systematics and toxinology lessons from the spider kingdom ... : Wie die Integration von phylogenetischen und venomischen Methoden persistente Probleme der evolutionären Systematik und Toxinologie zu lösen vermag - Lektionen aus dem Spinnenreich ...

• Main Authors: Lüddecke, Tim, Justus Liebig University Giessen
• Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Universitätsbibliothek Gießen 2021
• Subjects: ddc630; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.22029/jlupub-10590; https://jlupub.ub.uni-giessen.de//handle/jlupub/11207

Spiders represent one of the most successful branches of metazoan life. Throughout their long-lasting evolutionary trajectory, spiders diversified into almost 50,000 species. They conquered all continents except antarctica and established themselves as predators in virtually all ecosystems. The invention of venom systems, that are present in all but one spider lineages, contributed significantly to their evolutionary success. Albeit research on spiders, referred to as Arachnology, is an old field of study, it is hampered by a variety of persistent challenges awaiting scientific resolution. A subset of four such challenges, relating to evolutionary systematics and toxinology, are of pivotal importance. First, the taxonomic status of many spiders, in particular within the mygalomorph infraorder, and their phylogenetics remains largely ambiguous. Secondly, knowledge on spider venoms is so far fully derived from selected taxa and biased towards the few medically significant or exceptionally large species. Third, ...