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The endemic
Theridion spiders of the Hawaiian archipelago, among them the
iconic Happy face spider, were first described at the turn of
the 20th century. Since then, no further systematic revision has
been conducted on this group. Following examination of a large
specimen collection, we discovered seven new species, proposed a
new synonymy, redescribed former species and illustrate and
describe several unknown males and females. We further redelimit
species distributions and revealed highly diverged in
ecologically relevant traits such as cheliceral shape, leg
length and body size. We conducted a time stamped, multi-locus
phylogenetic analyses that supported the monophyly of the
Hawaiian endemics and traced back their diversification to the
emergence of Kauai, the present day oldest large island.
Interspecific genetic divergence of Kauai, the present day
oldest large island. Interspecific genetic divergences among
endemics were low, but molecular delimitation largely supported
morphological species. The somatic differences detected among
co-occurring species pointed towards the existence of ecological
segregation. The rapid, in situ, ecophenotypic diversification
suggests that the Happy face and its relatives constitute a new
case of adaptative radiation in the Hawaiian Archipelago. |
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