Abstract
Spiders have emerged as one of the leading model organisms in many research fields due to their compelling biology. Often, scientific investigations involving the use of spiders face inevitable problems associated with the lack of specimens from laboratory stock, resulting in difficulties in yielding reproducible investigations for predictive research. Thus, several species of well-studied spiders, including Parasteatoda tepidariorum, have been successfully bred for such purposes. Crossopriza lyoni is a Haplogyne spider, globally distributed and widespread in human inhabitants, prompting interest in various studies over the last decades. Despite its scientific importance, no laboratory-bred C. lyoni has been documented. Therefore, we describe a successful captive breeding system of the species under controlled conditions to establish a laboratory stock culture. Methods for mating induction, egg collection and segregation, artificial embryo incubation, and colony husbandry are discussed. The technique presented is a simple and low-cost approach that is reliable for C. lyoni propagation in the laboratory over several generations.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the Faculty of Chemical Engineering Technology, Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), for the use of laboratory facilities. Lastly, our heartfelt gratitude goes to Mr. Mohd Mushahril Abdul Shukor for the professional macro photographic images.
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This work was funded by the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS) under the grant number FRGS/1/2017/STG05/UNIMAP/03/1 from the Ministry of Education Malaysia.
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Conceptualization: Johan Ariff Mohtar; methodology: Johan Ariff Mohtar and Mohd Faidz Mohamad Shahimin; formal analysis and investigation: Johan Ariff Mohtar and Mohd Faidz Mohamad Shahimin; writing—original draft preparation: Johan Ariff Mohtar; writing—review and editing: Mohd Faidz Mohamad Shahimin and Johan Ariff Mohtar; funding acquisition: Johan Ariff Mohtar and Mohd Faidz Mohamad Shahimin; resources: Johan Ariff Mohtar and Mohd Faidz Mohamad Shahimin.
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Mohtar, J.A., Shahimin, M.F.M. Laboratory breeding and rearing of cellar spider, Crossopriza lyoni Blackwall. Dev Genes Evol 232, 125–136 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00427-022-00697-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00427-022-00697-0