Mygalomorphae systematics: use of continuous characters and geometric morphometrics

• Grant number: 19/03045-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: March 01, 2019
• End date: February 29, 2020
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Taxonomy of Recent Groups
• Principal Investigator: José Paulo Leite Guadanucci
• Grantee: Maria Tereza Colpani Sartori
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Rio Claro. Rio Claro , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 17/11985-9 - Morphological and molecular systematics and biogeography of Mygalomorph spiders of Atlantic Forest, AP.BTA.JP

Abstract

Mygalomorphae spiders show a great morphological uniformity, resulting in ill-defined characters when establishing primary homologies. Moreover, traditional methods for species delimiting are based on morphology, and most of the time, single characters are used to support species. In order to understand the meaning of morphological and molecular characters in Mygalomorphae systematics, we propose as this undergrad project the study of continuous characters in a phylogenetic context. Data resulting from this work will be latter compiled with molecular and ecological data.