''Tidarren argo'' is a spider from Yemen. The species is remarkable by its male amputating one of its

palps Pedipalps (commonly shortened to palps or palpi) are the second pair of appendages of chelicerates – a group of arthropods including spiders, scorpions, horseshoe crabs, and sea spiders. The pedipalps are lateral to the chelicerae ("jaws") and ...

before maturation and entering his adult life with one palp only. It adopts exceptional copulatory behaviour: when the male achieves genitalia coupling with his palp, the latter is torn off by the female. The separated

gonopod Gonopods are specialized appendages of various arthropods used in reproduction or egg-laying. In males, they facilitate the transfer of sperm from male to female during mating, and thus are a type of intromittent organ. In crustaceans and millip ...

remains attached to the female's epigynum for approximately 4 hours and continues to function independently, serving as a

mating plug A mating plug, also known as a copulation plug, sperm plug, vaginal plug, or sphragis (Latin, from Greek σφραγίς ''sphragis'', "a seal"), is gelatinous secretion used in the mating of some species. It is deposited by a male into a female ge ...

. While this happens, the female feeds on the male.

Emasculation Emasculation is the removal of both the penis and the testicles, the external male sex organs. It differs from castration, which is the removal of the testicles only, although the terms are sometimes used interchangeably. The potential medical ...

thus synchronizes

sexual cannibalism Sexual cannibalism is when an animal, usually the female, cannibalizes its mate prior to, during, or after copulation.Polis, G.A. & Farley, R.D. Behavior and Ecology of Mating in the journal of Arachnology 33-46 (1979). It is a trait observed in m ...

and sperm transfer, lengthening the interval between copulations. This mating behaviour might allow for the continuation of

insemination Insemination is the introduction of sperm into a female’s reproductive system for the purpose of impregnating, also called fertilizing, the female for sexual reproduction. The sperm is introduced into the uterus of a mammal or the oviduct of an ...

by the dismembered palp.

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ADW
Theridiidae Spiders of Asia Spiders described in 2006 {{Theridiidae-stub

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