Male genital mutilation in the high-mountain goblin spider, Unicorn catleyi
1 CONICET. División de Aracnología, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales, Av. Ángel Gallardo 470, C1405DJR
Buenos Aires, Argentina
2 CONICET. Diversidad Animal I, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de
Córdoba, Av. Vélez Sarsfield 299, X5000JJC Córdoba, Argentina
Abstract
Male genital mutilation is a common mechanism by which males reduce sperm competition by plugging female insemination ducts with different parts of its own genital system. This behavior is frequent in many spider families but is uncommon in Haplogynae. The reproductive biology of Dysderoidea is not well studied and the data is fragmentary; male genital mutilation has been reported only for one species of Oonopidae. This study provides evidence of male genital mutilation in Unicorn catleyi Platnick and Brescovit (Araneae: Oonopidae). Pieces of the embolus were found in the female posterior receptaculum. This behavior is a strategy used by the males in order to guarantee their paternity and not for escape from female attacks as has been reported for other species of Araneae, since cannibalism is unlikely in this species. The presence of embolus in the posterior receptaculum suggests this is the first place where sperm is received. The similarity of the female genitalia of U. catleyi to those of Orsolobidae, along with sclerotization of the seminal duct in the male copulatory bulb that is also present in Orchestina, Xiombarg, and Orsolobidae, provide strong evidence of the basal position of this genus in the family Oonopidae.
Keywords: female genitalia, Haplogynae, mating plugs, Oonopidae, spider reproduction
Abbreviations: AFG, anterior portion of the female genitalia; AMP, anterior median plate; PFG, posterior portion of the female genitalia; PMP, posterior median plate
Correspondence:
a izquierdo@macn.gov.ar,
b grubio@conicet.gov.ar, *Corresponding author
Received: 19 October 2010 | Accepted: 28 December 2010 | Published: 14 September 2011
Copyright: This is an open access paper. We use the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license that permits unrestricted use, provided that the paper is properly attributed.
ISSN: 1536-2442 | Volume 11, Number 118
Izquierdo MA, Rubio GD. 2011. Male genital mutilation in the high-mountain goblin spider, Unicorn catleyi. Journal of Insect Science 11:118 available online: insectscience.org/11.118
 Figure 1 |
 Figure 2 |
 Figure 3 |