RESUMEN
Theraphosid tarantulas, like all other spiders, secrete silk from spigots on the abdominal spinnerets. A few years ago, it was proposed that the large tarantula Aphonopelma seemanni could extrude silk from specialized spigots on the tarsi to help adhesion to vertical surfaces. This suggestion was later questioned because silk was not observed after the spinnerets had been sealed. Recently, experiments with the tarantula Grammostola rosea again suggested tarsal silk secretion. All observations of the supposed tarsal silk were made in spiders with functional spinnerets, thus contamination with silk coming from the spinnerets could not be excluded. Recent morphological arguments also questioned putative tarsal spigots and proposed that they are actually contact chemoreceptors. We here test the supposed tarsal silk secretion in Aphonopelma seemanni, Avicularia avicularia, Brachypelma vagans and Grammostola mollicoma using similar experimental conditions as the previous authors, but with sealed spinnerets. Our results clearly demonstrate that when spinnerets are sealed, tarantulas do not show any tarsal silk secretion. We reinterpret those putative tarsal spigots and discuss possible evolutionary implications of these findings.
Asunto(s)
Seda , Arañas/fisiología , Animales , Conducta Animal , Células Quimiorreceptoras/metabolismo , Femenino , Microscopía Confocal/métodos , Microscopía Electrónica de Rastreo/métodos , Movimiento , Filogenia , Especificidad de la Especie , Propiedades de SuperficieRESUMEN
As with all spiders, tarantulas spin silk from specialized structures in the abdomen called spinnerets, which are key features unique to the group. Recently Gorb et al. reported that the zebra tarantula Aphonopelma seemanni also secretes silk from its feet, which might improve its ability to climb on vertical surfaces. Here we show that when the spinnerets are experimentally sealed, the zebra tarantula cannot secrete silk or similar threads, disagreeing with previous reports by Gorb et al.. Additional evidence also disagrees with leg secretion of silk.