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Dryad

Phylogenomic analysis of ultraconserved elements resolves the evolutionary and biogeographic history of Segmented Trapdoor Spiders

Cite this dataset

Xu, Xin et al. (2021). Phylogenomic analysis of ultraconserved elements resolves the evolutionary and biogeographic history of Segmented Trapdoor Spiders [Dataset]. Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.qv9s4mwcq

Abstract

The segmented trapdoor spiders (Liphistiidae) are the sole surviving family of the suborder Mesothelae, which forms the sister lineage to all other living spiders. Liphistiids have retained a number of plesiomorphic traits and their present-day distribution is limited to East and Southeast Asia. Studying this group has the potential to shed light on the deep evolutionary history of spiders, but the phylogeny and divergence times of the family have not been resolved with confidence. We performed phylogenomic and molecular dating analyses of 2,765 ultraconserved element loci from 185 liphistiid taxa. Our analyses show that the crown group of Liphistiidae appeared in the mid-Cretaceous at 102 Ma (95% credibility interval 92–113 Ma), but it was not until the Neogene that much of the diversification within the family occurred in mainland Southeast and East Asia. This diversification was coincident with tectonic events such as the extension of the East Asian continental margin, as well as geological upheavals in Indochina induced by the collision between India and Asia. Our study highlights the important role of major tectonic events in shaping the evolutionary history, present-day diversity, and geographical distribution of mesothele and liphistiid spiders.

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China, Award: 32070430

Hunan Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China, Award: 2017JJ3202

Bilateral China and Slovenia Exchange Project, Award: 12-8 from China

Ministry of Education - Singapore, Award: R-154-000-A52-114

National Natural Science Foundation of China, Award: 31272324

Bilateral China and Slovenia Exchange Project, Award: Bi-CN/18-20-022 from Slovenia

Bilateral China and Slovenia Exchange Project, Award: 12-8 from China