The Role of Behavior in the Evolution of Spiders, Silks, and Webs

Vollrath, Fritz; Selden, Paul A.

doi:10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.37.091305.110221

Cited by 166 publications

(142 citation statements)

References 111 publications

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“…The oldest fossils of the sole hosts of Pompilidae, spiders (Araneae), are found in the Carboniferous (360-290 Ma) (Selden et al 2013), with extant suborders and many sub-lineages found in Lower Jurassic fossils, ca. 175 Ma (Vollrath and Selden 2007;Penney and Selden 2011). Recent divergence-time estimation studies support the origin of crown-group spiders in the Late Devonian, and an origin for the majority of spider families before 100 Ma (Bond et al 2014).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The First Cretaceous Spider Wasp (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae)

Engel

Grimaldi

2006

Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The First Cretaceous Spider Wasp (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae)

Engel

Grimaldi

2006

Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society

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“…This has significant evolutionary implications, 11,37 ensuring that debris or prey too large for the web to support will not cause irreparable damage, costing the spider energy to rebuild. Furthermore, the regulation of damage through control of material behavior has implications beyond webs to any structural design which would benefit from contained damage.…”

Section: Spider Web Mechanicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Materiomics Approach to Spider Silk: Protein Molecules to Webs

Tarakanova

Buehler

2012

JOM

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The exceptional mechanical properties of hierarchical self-assembling silk biopolymers have been extensively studied experimentally and in computational investigations. A series of recent studies has been conducted to examine structure-function relationships across different length scales in silk, ranging from atomistic models of protein constituents to the spider web architecture. Silk is an exemplary natural material because its superior properties stem intrinsically from the synergistic cooperativity of hierarchically organized components, rather than from the superior properties of the building blocks themselves. It is composed of beta-sheet nanocrystals interspersed within less orderly amorphous domains, where the underlying molecular structure is dominated by weak hydrogen bonding. Protein chains are organized into fibrils, which pack together to form threads of a spider web. In this article we survey multiscale studies spanning length scales from angstroms to centimeters, from the amino acid sequence defining silk components to an atomistically derived spider web model, with the aim to bridge varying levels of hierarchy to elucidate the mechanisms by which structure at each composite level contributes to organization and material phenomena at subsequent levels. The work demonstrates that the web is a highly adapted system where both material and hierarchical structure across all length scales is critical for its functional properties.

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“…Our interpretation of spigot location in Attercopus suggests that the original use of silk in protospiders was to produce such sheets, perhaps used as burrow linings, to cover egg masses (17), or as trails that would allow hunting animals to return to the safety of a retreat (18).…”

Section: Genetic Developmental Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fossil evidence for the origin of spider spinnerets, and a proposed arachnid order

Selden

Shear

Sutton

2008

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

106

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Silk production from opisthosomal glands is a defining characteristic of spiders (Araneae). Silk emerges from spigots (modified setae) borne on spinnerets (modified appendages). Spigots from Attercopus fimbriunguis, from Middle Devonian (386 Ma) strata of Gilboa, New York, were described in 1989 as evidence for the oldest spider and the first use of silk by animals. Slightly younger (374 Ma) material from South Mountain, New York, conspecific with A. fimbriunguis, includes spigots and other evidence that elucidate the evolution of early Araneae and the origin of spider silk. No known Attercopus spigots, including the original specimen, occur on true spinnerets but are arranged along the edges of plates. Spinnerets originated from biramous appendages of opisthosomal somites 4 and 5; although present in Limulus, no other arachnids have opisthosomal appendage homologues on these segments. The spigot arrangement in Attercopus shows a primitive state before the reexpression of the dormant genetic mechanism that gave rise to spinnerets in later spiders. Enigmatic flagellar structures originally described as Arachnida incertae sedis, are shown to be Attercopus anal flagella, as found in Permarachne, also originally described as a spider. An arachnid order, Uraraneida, is erected for a plesion, including these two genera, based on this combination of characters. The inability of Uraraneida precisely to control silk weaving suggests its original use as a wrapping, lining, or homing material.Araneae ͉ Chelicerata ͉ Devonian ͉ Paleozoic ͉ silk

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The Role of Behavior in the Evolution of Spiders, Silks, and Webs

Cited by 166 publications

References 111 publications

The First Cretaceous Spider Wasp (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae)

The First Cretaceous Spider Wasp (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae)

A Materiomics Approach to Spider Silk: Protein Molecules to Webs

Fossil evidence for the origin of spider spinnerets, and a proposed arachnid order

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