Amblypygi parthenogenesis, embryonic and post-embryonic development: a case study with the Amazonian species Charinus guto Giupponi and Miranda, 2016 (Amblypygi: Charinidae)

Abstract

ABSTRACT Parthenogenesis is documented in a few species of Amblypygi, but it is unknown how widespread in the order this reproductive behaviour is, and little has been researched regarding aspects of embryonic and post-embryonic development in the group. Here, we studied the parthenogenetic capacity of an Amazonian whip spider (Charinus guto) evaluating the time of egg and embryonic development and inter-moult period. We also provide a review on embryonic and post-embryonic development in Amblypygi, compiling and analysing data from 43 species in three families. Fifty-two females and 42 juveniles of C. guto were collected in fragments of a secondary forest in Belém (Brazil); specimens were kept in captivity and observed weekly from 2018 to 2020. Nineteen specimens were collected with and 32 without egg sacs. Fourteen of the non-ovigerous females developed eggs in captivity, six of them moulted (i.e. lost stored sperm from previous contacts with males) before developing an egg sac, proving to be parthenogenetic. The mean time between the first day in captivity and moult was 96 days. In both adults and juveniles, a mean of 147 days passed between first day in captivity and first moult, and 125 days for a second moult. After moulting, a mean of 113 days passed for the females to develop an egg sac; the embryonic development took a mean of 59 days. Juveniles left the mother’s abdomen after 10 days of hatching from the egg and the mean number of live free-living protonymphs was five. Other amblypygids, especially charinids, have similar embryonic development and post-embryonic growth and a detailed discussion with all known information for whip spiders is presented. We also demonstrate a positive correlation between clutch size and female size across Amblypygi, in which larger females carry more eggs and have larger offspring regardless of climate and habitat.