Who describes the spiders? In this episode, I talk to Katherine Montana and Cláudia Xavier @claudiaxavier.bsky.social about their paper examining authorship in taxonomy. They analyzed thousands of species to identify patterns of underrepresentation, and shared hopes about the future of taxonomy.

Wayne Maddison (waynemaddison.bsky.social), professor emeritus at UBC, captured this video of a nearly transparent jumping spider (tribe Amycini) from Canandé Reserve, Ecuador.

Look closely & you'll see the principal eyes moving as it scans the area visually.

Let's talk about spider-vision! 🕷️🧪

Digitally native species are a necessary shift in taxonomic practice Nature Reviews Biodiversity - Biodiversity science laments how little is known about the planet’s biodiversity, yet routinely discards much of the taxonomic evidence generated during species...

Species descriptions should not be confined to "summary" PDFs only providing access to a fraction of the data underlying the conclusions. We here argue for "digitally native species" built around structured, specimen-linked, machine-actionable evidence from day one. rdcu.be/fcbwh

Cost-effectiveness is often determined by upfront costs. But getting to the right results faster could eliminate downstream interventions — saving time & money while improving outcomes. Mike shares how Oxford Nanopore has the potential to do this. https://bit.ly/47nLgDy

Would you like to learn about how genetic differentiation and phenotypic plasticity shape a species' range expansion? Here is a new, comprehensive paper led by Monica Sheffer from my group - supported by wonderful colleagues.

A flyer for Myriapod Meet-Up 2026. The flyer has a picture of a millipede on it. The millipede is tan and has a cone-shaped head.

Myriapod Meet Up 2026 will be on 1 April, 8AM - 5PM (EDT). This online event will include short talks, and a chance to share and discuss research about myriapods (and other multipedes, e.g. Onychophora). Anyone may participate in this free event (no need to give a talk).

🆕 The @biogeneurope.bsky.social project - which now gives way to BGE+ - represented a landmark in European research collaboration, bringing together the #DNAbarcoding (@iboleurope.bsky.social) and #reference #genomes (@ergabiodiv.bsky.social) communities.

🔓 Grant Proposal: doi.org/10.3897/rio.....

Unravelling the secrets of spider limb regeneration to inspire new Spider webs are engineering marvels constructed by 8 legged experts with 400 million years of accumulated know-how.  Much can be learned from the building of the spider’s gossamer net and the

Reading how spiders can regenerate legs when they’re growing and shed exoskeleton - and how even when new and small they can use the new limb as normal www.ox.ac.uk/news/2020-11....

Review on The Chemical Ecology of Arachnids - Morphology, Behaviour and Semiochemicals now out as PREPRINT
doi.org/10.32942/X22...
with Kirk Hillier, Lise Roy and @nicolettafaraone.bsky.social
We are grateful for any feedback to improve the review during the submission process

An ancient genome duplication event drives the development and evolution of spinnerets in spiders A genome duplication event during the Silurian played a crucial role in the evolutionary emergence of spinnerets in spiders.

Chromosome-scale #genomes from newly sequenced spiders & the whip scorpion, the genetic basis of spinneret emergence in spiders & the complex history & functional importance of arachnid genome #evolution www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... #biodiversity #genomics

🕸️ Massive web stretch from our cribellating friend (Asianopis subrufa) recorded in the field. If you’re intrigued by this fabulous #spider #silk read on doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2529200123 by @evoimec.bsky.social et al :) 🕸️

BGE is done sampling! 🥳
All over Europe scientists and citizen scientists took samples for BGE. Those samples needed to be transported to a lab for research, travelling thousands of kilometers. And that's not easy!

More info on our website! 👉 biodiversitygenomics.eu/2026/01/21/b...

Empowering national capacity for DNA-based approach to species identification and biodiversity monitoring DNA barcoding has become a cornerstone for species identification and biodiversity monitoring, enabling applications from ecological research to conservation and environmental policy. The Internationa...

Empowering national capacity for DNA-based approach to species identification and biodiversity monitoring

@mbmg.pensoft.net

doi.org/10.3897/arph...

#DNA #metabarcoding #sciencepolicy #biodiversity

BES grant application is now open. Image shows a diver photographing a large whale shark underwater, with the British Ecological Society logo.

We are now accepting grant applications to fund ecological research and outreach worldwide.

⏰Apply before 10 March 2026!

Find out what grants you can apply to 👇
https://f.mtr.cool/cucxadvxjq

🧪🌍

🦋🧬 A milestone for biodiversity genomics.
Project Psyche is building chromosome-level genomes for ~11,000 European butterflies & moths — 1,000 sequenced, 3,000+ collected, across 34 countries.

🔗 Read the publication: bit.ly/ProjectPsyche
@projectpsyche.bsky.social

#BiodiversityGenomics 🧬🌍

Pleasure to share our discovery! 🕷️🥰 The specimens for this article were collected in Thailand in 2020 😷 Interestingly, this species was already well documented on iNaturalist, yet remained unnamed until now! @arachnology.bsky.social @arachnologynews.bsky.social @jumpingspiders.bsky.social

Project Psyche: reference genomes for all Lepidoptera in Europe Project Psyche is a transnational initiative to generate and study chromosome-level reference genomes of all ~11 000 species of Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) found in Europe. Here, we describe…

#ERGAReads | We start the year by highlighting our partner Project Psyche: reference genomes for all Lepidoptera in Europe! 🦋 🌍 🧬 @projectpsyche.bsky.social

🔗 www.cell.com/trends/ecolo...

#butterflies #moths #genomes

Happy New Year to everyone! 🕷️🥳

Sampling for genomics studies across the tree of life Last Friday, December 5th, the ERGA Sampling & Sample Processing Committee hosted its very first Taxon Sampling SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) “Hackathon”. Following an open invitation to the enti...

🧬 What are the best sampling practices to generate high-quality #genomic data?
Well, it depends on the taxonomic group, of course!That’s why the #ERGAcommunity is working on taxon-specific sampling procedures.
And you can join us! ➡️ www.erga-biodiversity.eu/post/samplin...

A new spider genus named after Shuqiang Li | Blog “I am delighted that the authors have named a spider genus after me," the ZooKeys subject editor commented.

In a new ZooKeys paper, authors named a new spider genus after our subject editor and prolific author Shuqiang Li!

We congratulate Shuqiang on this distinction.

blog.pensoft.net/2025/12/08/a...

Real conservation action, guided by genomes!
@ergabiodiv.bsky.social @biogeneurope.bsky.social
Why go beyond the reference genome?
Because population genomics reveals hidden risks — low diversity, genetic drift, and declining gene flow. 🌍
Wetlands are disappearing… and so is genetic diversity.

PhyloWeaver – Interactive phylogenetic tree editor Edit and visualize phylogenetic trees directly in your browser. PhyloWeaver lets you interactively rearrange tree topologies and export high-quality figures for publications and presentations.

I’ve released a tool to sketch and edit phylogenetic trees!
yawak.jp/PhyloWeaver/

Load a Newick file and intuitively add/remove/resize branches.
Useful for quick conceptual trees, extracting subtrees, or turning ideas into Newick.

Pleased to see @markavery.bsky.social's endorsement of @ecology-digest.bsky.social's atlas of Yorkshire's spiders and harvestmen, which we funded with the Yorkshire Naturalists' Union.

'If spiders are your thing, then this is a book for you, particularly, but not only, if you live in Yorkshire'

Record-breaking success: Study on spider megacolony is the most popular article published by Pensoft In less than a month, a paper in Subterranean Biology surpassed nearly 27,000 Pensoft studies in popularity.

🎉 BROKEN RECORD!

🕸️ The recent discovery of a 100,000- #spider “megacity” on the border between Greece and Albania, published in our #openaccess, peer-reviewed journal @subtbiol.pensoft.net, became the most popular article across our entire #scientific portfolio, outperforming ~27,000 articles! 👏

🕷️ 🚨 Are you at the #DZG in Berlin next week? @dzg2025berlin.bsky.social my PhD @nadjageiger.bsky.social and I are very excited to tell you the latest about our spider sleep 💤 work! Come check out our talks on Friday and ask all your questions! :) 🚨 🕷️

Confused writing is usually a symptom of confused thinking. As we struggle to clarify writing, we clarify our thoughts. AI writing aids rob us of that struggle, leaving clean-looking text and thoughts still confused for lack of inspection. Writing is not just a product; it is a diagnostic tool.

The moulting arthropod: a complete genetic toolkit review Exoskeletons are a defining character of all arthropods that provide physical support for their segmented bodies and appendages as well as protection from the environment and predation. This ubiquito...

#arthropod #moulting - our synthesis contrasts knowledge based on reported observations with reasonably plausible assumptions given current taxonomic sampling, & exposes weak assumptions or major gaps that need addressing. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

It was a pleasure to host so many wonderfull people! And thank you Simona for a great plenary!

Moravian University is hiring a Postdoctoral Scholar in Phylogenomics and Biogeography to study Opiliones evolution. Opportunity for teaching and research. Full details: ibtsjb.fa.ocs.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/CandidateExperienc... #postdoc

#ArticleIRBio
How did evolution halve genome size during an oceanic island colonization?
Authors: V.Pisarenco, A.Boada, M.Olivé, P.Escuer, N.Macías, @marnedo.bsky.social, P.Librado, A.Sánchez-Gracia, S.Guirao-Rico, @jrozasub.bsky.social
Molecular Biology and Evolution doi.org/10.1093/molb...
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