University of Isfahan Taxonomy and Biosystematics 3115-9001 9 31 2017 08 23 An Overview of Species Concept used in Spiders Taxonomy with an Emphasis on Mating Structures مروری بر پیشینۀ مفهوم گونه‌ای استفاده‌شده در آرایه‌شناسی عنکبوت‌ها با تأکید بر ساختارهای جفت‌گیری 87 100 23068 10.22108/tbj.2018.101906.1006 EN Omid Mirshamsi Associate Professor Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad and Research Department of Zoological Innovations (RDZI), Institute of Applied Zoology, Faculty of Sciences, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran Sepideh Shafaie Ph. D. Student of Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran Mansour Aliabadian Professor Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad and Research Department of Zoological Innovations (RDZI), Institute of Applied Zoology, Faculty of Sciences, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran Majid Moradmand Assistant Professor Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran Yuri Marusik Institute for Biological Problems of the North RAS, Portovaya Str. 18, Magadan 685000, Russia and Department of Zoology & Entomology, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein 9300, South Africa and Zoological Museum, University of Turku, FI-20014 Turku, Finland Journal Article 2017 01 20 Although arachnology has a long-standing history but the main progress in spiders taxonomy is related to the Golden Age of Araneology. Indeed, from this period onward the copulatory organs (primary and secondary structures) found their true positions in new species description and delimitation. But it is surprising that only a few arachnologists have taken a clear stand about species, considering the inordinate number of concepts. According to the importance of species in taxonomy, the aim of this paper is to present an acceptable definition of the species concept and to investigate the role of copulatory structures in species identification. Studies have shown that species are reproductive communities that are genetically isolated from such other communities. Proceeding relatively independently evolution in different species implies that the species concept is not a universal and comprehensive concept for all the species. On the other hand, as the genital traits often evolve faster than other morphological characters, the role of genital traits is undeniable in distinguishing closely related species and species delimitation. Anyway, there is no certainty about the species-specificity of the copulatory structures. As a final result, it should be noted that variation studies and morphological-molecular congruence analyses will probably advance our knowledge to understand the significance of copulatory structures in the systematics of different spider species. https://tbj.ui.ac.ir/article_23068_fbe79d703547b60669d999375dea4747.pdf