Morphology and Genetic Diversity of Golden Silk Orb-weaver (Nephila) Spiders in Thailand
This first-ever study of morphological and genetic variability in Thai Nephila species described leg-type variation in detail. Our findings categorized female N. pilipes into seven types based on legs I and IV, with no correlation to geographic region. The leg-type polymorphism was found not to correlate with genetic-geographic variation at the COI gene, suggesting these variants represent polymorphism within the species rather than distinct biospecies. This information will be valuable for taxonomists and ecologists in species identification and differentiation of ecotypes, and it provides the essential first step for future phylogenetic and genotype-to-phenotype research on arachnids.
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