Belisana Thorell: high species diversity and male-female coevolution
Published in Zoologica, 2005; see Abstract, PDF (21 MB)
 

The genus Belisana previously contained only two nominal species. This paper added over 50 new species, mostly from SE Asia. These spiders provide an excellent model for the study of male-female coevolution: males have a pair of apophyses on their chelicerae that fit into a pair of female pockets during copulation. The distances between apophyses/pockets vary enormously among species, and provide an ideal and simply measured trait for male-female coevolution studies.

Photo: detail of the male genitalia of Belisana khaoyai; (c) B.A. Huber