East Carolina University
Note: 2:00PM, Clark Labs
Dr. Bond will be presenting his current work: Species delimitation in spiders: integrative approaches in spider taxonomy.
Visit the Bond Lab.
Mygalomorphae Phylogeny and Evolution: In collaboration with Marshal Hedin of San Diego State University we have undertaken a comprehensive, combined evidence (molecules & morphology), systematic analysis of the spider Infraorder Mygalomorphae. The spider infraorder Mygalomorphae includes tarantula, baboon, trapdoor, purse web, and funnel web spiders. While not as diverse as its sister lineage the Aranemorphae ("true" spiders, for example the orb weavers), mygalomorphs are rich in species (over 2,500 species in 280 genera placed in 15 families) and use silks to build an amazing diversity of nests. These silk constructs, generally regarded as primitive, include trapdoors, collars, turrets, tubes, funnels, sheets, and space filling webs. Although these spiders show many interesting and unstudied patterns of morphology and show classic biogeographical patterns (e.g., members of the same family occurring in New Zealand, Madagascar, South Africa, and southern South America), much of the phylogeny of this group remains unresolved.