Phylogenetic Analysis of Spider Specimens Collected from the Tropical Butterfly Conservatory, Tiruchirappalli, South India

This study investigates the phylogenetic relationships among five spider species using a combination of molecular techniques. This study effectively identified species by analyzing the COI gene, a common genetic marker. DNA was extracted and amplified using specific primers, and the resulting sequences showed a high degree of similarity (98-99%) to known species, validating the method's reliability. Phylogenetic analysis, conducted using the Neighbour-Joining method with bootstrap support, produced a clear phylogenetic tree. Notably, the resulting Dendrogram, constructed using UPGMA in NTSYS spc2.2 software, revealed distinct clades among the spider species. Our findings demonstrate a discrepancy between the phylogenetic relationships inferred from molecular data and those based on morphological characteristics. This discrepancy underscores the critical role of molecular tools in accurate taxonomic classification and a deeper understanding of spider evolutionary history.