Tip of the iceberg: species diversity of Pholcus spiders (Araneae, Pholcidae) in the Changbai Mountains, Northeast China

Zool Res. 2021 May 18;42(3):267-271. doi: 10.24272/j.issn.2095-8137.2021.037.

Abstract
in English, Chinese

Despite 250 years of taxonomic classification and over 1.2 million species already catalogued, known species diversity is only a small part of true species diversity on Earth, and thus, the known species are only the tip of iceberg. Here, we investigated the genus Pholcus Walckenaer, 1805 of the family Pholcidae C. L. Koch, 1850 in the Changbai Mountains, Northeast China, which provides an excellent case of high species diversity. Previously, only 14 endemic Pholcus spiders, all belonging to the P. phungiformes species group, and two introduced species P. manueli Gertsch, 1937 and P. zichyi Kulczyński, 1901 from the P. crypticolens species group, have been recorded from this area. Our study confirmed 11 new species of the P. phungiformes species group based on morphology and three methods of molecular species delimitation: P. gaizhou Yao & Li, sp. nov., P. guanshui Yao & Li, sp. nov., P. jiguanshan Yao & Li, sp. nov., P. longxigu Yao & Li, sp. nov., P. luoquanbei Yao & Li, sp. nov., P. shenshi Yao & Li, sp. nov., P. tianmenshan Yao & Li, sp. nov., P. wangjiang Yao & Li, sp. nov., P. xingqi Yao & Li, sp. nov., P. yaoshan Yao & Li, sp. nov., and P. yuhuangshan Yao & Li, sp. nov. This study brings the fauna of the P. phungiformes species group from the Changbai Mountains to 25 species, approximately two times more than previously known, which could indicate that species diversity in the area is underestimated for all arthropod fauna.

分类学家在过去250年记录了120余万种生物，相对于生活在地球上的生物种类而言，这只是冰山一角。我们对中国东北长白山脉幽灵蛛属蜘蛛进行了为期一个月的野外调查，为揭示特定区域潜在的物种多样性提供了范例。长白山脉幽灵蛛属此前仅记录14个特有种（全部隶属于蓬幽灵蛛种团）和2个广布种（隶属于隐蔽幽灵蛛种团）。基于形态和三种分子物种界定方法对所采集标本进行研究，我们共发现蓬幽灵蛛种团11个新种：盖州幽灵蛛 Pholcus gaizhou sp. nov.、灌水幽灵蛛 P. guanshui sp. nov.、鸡冠山幽灵蛛 P. jiguanshan sp. nov.、龙溪谷幽灵蛛 P. longxigu sp. nov.、罗圈背幽灵蛛 P. luoquanbei sp. nov.、沈师幽灵蛛 P. shenshi sp. nov.、天门山幽灵蛛 P. tianmenshan sp. nov.、望江幽灵蛛 P. wangjiang sp. nov.、行淇幽灵蛛 P. xingqi sp. nov.、药山幽灵蛛 P. yaoshan sp. nov. 和玉皇山幽灵蛛 P. yuhuangshan sp. nov.。本研究使长白山脉蓬幽灵蛛种团达到了25种，是以前物种数的将近两倍，这暗示了该地区节肢动物多样性被严重低估。.

Keywords: Molecular species delimitation; Morphology; New species; Northeast Asia; Taxonomy.

Publication types

  • Letter

MeSH terms

  • Animal Distribution*
  • Animals
  • China
  • Ecosystem*
  • Species Specificity
  • Spiders / classification*
  • Spiders / genetics*

Associated data

  • GENBANK/MW721782-MW721826

Grants and funding

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC-31872193) and the Liaoning Revitalization Talents Program (XLYC1907150). Part of the laboratory work was supported by the Shenyang Youth Science and Technology Project (RC200183)