Phylogenomic analysis of ultraconserved elements resolves the evolutionary and biogeographic history of Segmented Trapdoor Spiders

The segmented trapdoor spiders (Liphistiidae) are the sole surviving
family of the suborder Mesothelae, which forms the sister lineage to all
other living spiders. Liphistiids have retained a number of plesiomorphic
traits and their present-day distribution is limited to East and Southeast
Asia. Studying this group has the potential to shed light on the deep
evolutionary history of spiders, but the phylogeny and divergence times of
the family have not been resolved with confidence. We performed
phylogenomic and molecular dating analyses of 2,765 ultraconserved element
loci from 185 liphistiid taxa. Our analyses show that the crown group of
Liphistiidae appeared in the mid-Cretaceous at 102 Ma (95% credibility
interval 92–113 Ma), but it was not until the Neogene that much of the
diversification within the family occurred in mainland Southeast and East
Asia. This diversification was coincident with tectonic events such as the
extension of the East Asian continental margin, as well as geological
upheavals in Indochina induced by the collision between India and Asia.
Our study highlights the important role of major tectonic events in
shaping the evolutionary history, present-day diversity, and geographical
distribution of mesothele and liphistiid spiders.