Systematics and Evolution of Pedipalpi (Whip Spiders and Whip Scorpions): Phylogenomics and Morphology of Understudied Arachnids

Pedipalpi（鞭蜘蛛和鞭蝎）的系统学和进化：正在研究的蛛形纲动物的系统发育学和形态学

• 批准号: 2003382
• 负责人: Lorenzo Prendini
• 金额: $ 98.42万
• 依托单位: American Museum Natural History
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2020-09-01 至 2024-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2003382&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Systematics; Evolution; Pedipalpi; Whip; Spiders

Pedipalpi is a lineage comprising three little known groups of arachnids: Amblypygi (whip spiders), Schizomida (short-tailed whip scorpions or micro-whip scorpions), and Thelyphonida (vinegaroons or whip scorpions). These nocturnal predators, which inhabit tropical and subtropical habitats on all major landmasses except Antarctica, are important for controlling insect populations and have hardly changed anatomically in 300 million years. What little is known about their life history and behavior reveals complex courtship rituals, male combat, territoriality, sociality, parental care, and chemical defense with an arsenal of noxious defense secretions. Despite the deep evolutionary timescale, global distribution, ecological importance, and fascinating life history and behavior of Pedipalpi, little progress on their classification has been made in a century, and their branch of the Tree of Life is barely assembled, hindering the testing of hypotheses concerning their evolution. By leveraging technological advances in genomics, microscopy, imaging, and informatics, and integrating anatomical and genomic data, this project will build the first comprehensive tree of life for living and fossil Pedipalpi, train a new generation of experts on these poorly studied arachnids, and disseminate results to the public. Two Ph.D. students and two postdoctoral associates, from groups under-represented in science, will be supported. Each year, an undergraduate, two high school students, and two citizen scientists will be involved in research. Courses on the biology and classification of Pedipalpi, with an introduction to the local fauna, will be presented on four continents. New material, data, and images will enhance scientific infrastructure. Results, data, and educational outreach materials will be disseminated at meetings, online, and via nationally distributed classroom magazines.The project has four primary aims. (1) Using a high-throughput, targeted enrichment approach, ca. 100,000 base-pairs of DNA sequence, per specimen, will be generated for representatives of all major lineages, 70% of the genera, and 30% of the species of living Pedipalpi. (2) A matrix of morphological observations will be compiled for all species in the genomic dataset and representatives of extinct lineages of Pedipalpi and their chelicerate relatives. The phylogeny and morphology will be used to (3) present a predictive classification of Pedipalpi above the level of genus and conduct monographic taxonomic revisions of four lineages, and (4) investigate questions concerning the evolution and diversification of Pedipalpi. How, when, and where did the major lineages of Pedipalpi diversify, and which key innovations enabled them to do so? Is morphological specialization to life in caves, commonly inhabited by Pedipalpi, an irreversible, evolutionary dead-end? Is sexual dimorphism in the spinose pedipalps (claws) of Amblypygi ancestral or derived, and did it evolve to reduce injury in ritualized male combat, or was it sexually selected?This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

Pedipalpi 是一个由三个鲜为人知的蜘蛛纲动物组成的谱系：Amblypygi（鞭蜘蛛）、Schizomida（短尾鞭蝎或微型鞭蝎）和 Thelyphonida（醋蝎或鞭蝎）。这些夜间活动的捕食者栖息在除南极洲以外的所有主要大陆的热带和亚热带栖息地，对于控制昆虫种群非常重要，并且在 3 亿年里几乎没有发生解剖学上的变化。人们对它们的生活史和行为知之甚少，但揭示了它们复杂的求爱仪式、雄性战斗、领地意识、社交性、父母照顾以及有毒防御分泌物的化学防御。尽管足足足具有深刻的进化时间尺度、全球分布、生态重要性以及令人着迷的生活史和行为，但一个世纪以来，它们的分类几乎没有取得任何进展，它们的生命之树分支几乎没有组装起来，阻碍了有关它们进化的假设的检验。通过利用基因组学、显微镜学、成像和信息学方面的技术进步，并整合解剖学和基因组数据，该项目将为活体足肢动物和化石足肢动物建立第一棵综合生命树，培训新一代关于这些研究不足的蜘蛛纲动物的专家，并向公众传播研究结果。两名博士来自科学领域代表性不足的群体的学生和两名博士后助理将得到支持。每年，一名本科生、两名高中生和两名公民科学家将参与研究。将在四大洲开设有关足足生物学和分类的课程，并介绍当地动物群。新材料、数据和图像将增强科学基础设施。结果、数据和教育宣传材料将通过会议、在线和全国发行的课堂杂志传播。该项目有四个主要目标。 (1) 使用高通量、有针对性的富集方法，约每个样本将生成 100,000 个碱基对的 DNA 序列，代表所有主要谱系、70% 的属和 30% 的现存足足物种。 (2) 将为基因组数据集中的所有物种以及已灭绝的足足及其螯肢亲属的代表谱系编制形态观察矩阵。系统发育和形态学将用于（3）提出属水平以上足须的预测分类，并对四个谱系进行专题分类学修订，以及（4）研究有关足须的进化和多样化的问题。 Pedipalpi 的主要谱系是如何、何时、何地实现多样化的，以及哪些关键创新使他们能够实现这一目标？足足兽通常居住的洞穴中的生命形态特化是否是一个不可逆转的进化死胡同？钝螈刺须须（爪）中的性别二态性是祖先的还是衍生的，它是为了减少仪式化的男性战斗中的伤害而进化的，还是性别选择的？该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

项目成果

Volcanism and palaeoclimate change drive diversification of the world's largest whip spider (Amblypygi)

• DOI: 10.1111/mec.15924
• 发表时间: 2021-04
• 期刊: Molecular Ecology
• 影响因子: 4.9
• 作者: Frederic D. Schramm;Alejandro Valdez-Mondragón;L. Prendini

Phylogeny and biogeography of the pantropical whip spider family Charinidae (Arachnida: Amblypygi)

• DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa101
• 发表时间: 2021-08-28
• 期刊: ZOOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY
• 影响因子: 2.8
• 作者: De Miranda, Gustavo Silva;Giupponi, Alessandro P. L.;Prendini, Lorenzo
• 通讯作者: Prendini, Lorenzo

Morphometry of the pedipalp patella provides new characters for species-level taxonomy in whip spiders (Arachnida, Amblypygi): A test case with description of a new species of Phrynus

触肢髌骨的形态测量为鞭蜘蛛（Arachnida、Amblypygi）的物种级分类提供了新特征：描述了 Phrynus 新物种的测试用例

• DOI: 10.1016/j.jcz.2022.02.004
• 发表时间: 2022
• 期刊: Zoologischer Anzeiger
• 影响因子: 1.4
• 作者: Seiter, Michael;Strobl, Luca;Schwaha, Thomas;Prendini, Lorenzo;Schramm, Frederic D.
• 通讯作者: Schramm, Frederic D.

World Travelers: Parthenogenesis and Ecological Tolerance Enable Multiple Colonization Events by the Widespread Short-Tailed Whipscorpion, Stenochrus portoricensis (Schizomida: Hubbardiidae)

世界旅行者：单性生殖和生态耐受性使得广泛分布的短尾鞭蝎 Stenochrus portoricensis（裂殖目：Hubbardiidae）能够进行多次殖民活动

• DOI: 10.1093/isd/ixab032
• 发表时间: 2022
• 期刊: Insect Systematics and Diversity
• 影响因子: 3.4
• 作者: Monjaraz-Ruedas, Rodrigo;Francke, Oscar F.;Prendini, Lorenzo;Esposito, ed., Lauren
• 通讯作者: Esposito, ed., Lauren

Fine structure of the epicuticular secretion coat and associated glands of Pedipalpi and Palpigradi (Arachnida)

触肢和触肢（蛛形纲）的表皮分泌层和相关腺体的精细结构

• DOI: 10.1002/jmor.21360
• 发表时间: 2021
• 期刊: Journal of Morphology
• 影响因子: 1.5
• 作者: Seiter, Michael;Schwaha, Thomas;Ferreira, Rodrigo L.;Prendini, Lorenzo;Wolff, Jonas O.
• 通讯作者: Wolff, Jonas O.