Mantel test and geographic influence
Individuals from localities which are in close geographic proximity tend to be more related to each other than individuals which are located further away from each other, this is supported by the results of the Mantel test. The Mantel tests showed that there is a relationship between geographic distance and genetic distance in our samples. There is a weak positive correlation in both cases, meaning that with greater geographic distance the samples are slightly less related . This is termed isolation by distance and is a common artefact in mygalomorph spiders due to their poor dispersal abilities and sedentary lifestyles . This is important information to note given the possible fragmentation of the habitat due to land use changes.
This also leads to many species being considered short range endemics and occuring at only one or a few localities . This is true for many of the species considered here, except for S. astutus , S. maraisi , S.leipldti and S. erythrognathus . Most of these species have ranges of less than 10,000 km2 This is vital as this makes these species a conservation concern as they are more at risk of extinction due to climate change, habitat loss as well as habitat degredation .
The species sampled appear to experience sympatry at multiple locations. This indicates that the species may have an unknown ecological niche separation or are syntopic in nature . Sympatry and syntopy are common in in disttanly related mygalomorph spiders and has been reported several times (Leavitt et al., 2015; Satler et al., 2011; Wilson et al., 2018). But in this case, the lineages are not as distantly related, posing the question of whether there is a possible niche divergence and what this may be. In the genera Aliatypus (North America) andEuoplos (Australia) the niche divergence was observed in the structure of the trapdoor lid and the habitat around the burrow (slopes and leaf litter) (Satler et al., 2011; Wilson et al., 2017). The further study of the species co-occuring at these localities and the habitats may shed light on the speciation mechanisims within the genus.