The functional significance of medially divided cribella in the spider genus Mallos (Araneae, Dictynidae)
Jason E. Bond and
Brent D. Opell
Department of Biology,
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and
A transformational analysis that includes four species of Mallos with entire cribella and two species with medially divided cribella shows that cribellum width, surface area, and spigot number are correlated with carapace width. There is no evidence that these relationships differ between species with entire and divided cribella. Thus, in Mallos, a median cribellar division does not appear to be associated with changes in cribellum features that are known to increase the stickiness of cribellar threads.