Plenary Talk Title
Living fossils revisited: Systematics and biogeography of the primitively segmented spiders
Biography
Prof. Xin Xu is a zoologist at Hubei University specializing in phylogenetics, biogeography, and integrative taxonomy. She is currently a Full Professor at the Centre for Behavioural Ecology and Evolution (CBEE).
Her research focuses on the biodiversity and evolution of trapdoor spiders across East and Southeast Asia, with specific expertise in families such as Liphistiidae, Halonoproctidae, and Atypidae. She has published over 50 peer-reviewed papers and serves on the Early Career Editorial Board of Current Zoology.
In this plenary lecture, Prof. Xu will revisit the concept of "living fossils" by exploring the systematics and biogeography of primitively segmented spiders. Her work integrates molecular and morphological approaches to shed light on some of the most ancient lineages in the spider world.