The Shape of Weaver: Investigating Shape Disparity in Orb-Weaving Spiders (Araneae, Araneidae) Using Geometric Morphometrics

Sexual size dimorphism in orb-weaving spiders is a relatively well-studied phenomenon, and numerous works have documented evolutionary variation in interspecific size and degree of dimorphism. To date, these studies have been largely limited to assessing the evolution of a single or few linear measurements correlated with body size. While the descriptive and comparative literature is rich with qualitative and linear comparisons that distinguish the sexes and characterize species, the extent to which interspecific or dimorphic variation in size correlates with morphological shape remains relatively unexplored. The carapace of spiders is generally conserved in shape, especially among members of the same family, but is neither well-characterized as a potential facet of spider sexual dimorphism nor as a variable structure overall. Here, we use geometric morphometric techniques to quantify differences in carapace shape among members of the family Araneidae and test for allometric influences on interspecific and dimorphic shape differences across orb-weavers. We show that females and males differ in shape, occupying overlapping but distinct areas of morphospace, with males having more piriform carapaces than females. Araneid spider subfamilies overlap substantially in morphospace, though interspecific differences in shape are generally greater than those distinguishing males and females of a species. Furthermore, we show that female carapace shape shows phylogenetic signal and is more conserved than is male shape. Carapace shape differences made evident from canonical variates analysis are congruent with the more mobile lifestyle adopted by males, as a broader carapace may support more robust leg musculature.