Female genital morphology and mating behavior of Orchestina (Arachnida: Araneae: Oonopidae)

MATTHIAS BURGER, MATÍAS IZQUIERDO, PATRICIA CARRERA

ELSEVIER GMBH

Año: 2010 vol. 113 p. 100 - 100

he unusual reproductive biology of many spider species makes them compelling targets for evolutionary investigations.Mating behaviour studies combined with genital morphological investigations help to understand complex spider reproductive systems and explain their function in the context of sexual selection. Oonopidae are a diverse spider family comprising a variety of species with complex internal female genitalia. Data on oonopid phylogeny are preliminary and especially studies on their mating behaviour are very rare. The present investigation reports on the copulatory behaviour of an Orchestina species for the first time. The female genitalia are described by means of serial semi-thin sections and scanning electron microscopy. Females of Orchestina sp. mate with multiple males. On average, copulations last between 15.4 and 23.54 min. During copulation, the spiders are in a position taken by most theraphosids and certain members of the subfamily Oonopinae: the male pushes the femal