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Member Symposium

Systematics, Evolution, and Biodiversity

Formal and Informal Teaching

Entomology Collections: Windows to the Past, Present, and Future

Micro-CT insights into silk gland morphology from natural history collections

Tuesday, November 11, 2025
4:40 PM - 4:50 PM Pacific
Location: Oregon Convention Center, Portland Ballroom 253, OCC
Oral Presentation

Micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) provides a powerful, non-destructive approach to visualize and characterize the internal morphology of silk glands across arthropods. By capturing high-resolution, three-dimensional reconstructions, this technique enables detailed comparisons of gland morphology across diverse taxa– both in freshly collected samples, and preserved in natural history collections. Here, we scan representatives of 10 arthropod orders which produce silk, in order to characterize gland location and shape. Such analyses reveal patterns of morphological convergence associated with silk production and usage, offering new insights into the evolutionary diversification of silk systems. Integrating micro-CT scanning with comparative anatomy and phylogenetic frameworks advances our understanding of convergent evolution in arthropod silks.