A molecular phylogeny of the Chinese <i>Sinopoda</i> spiders (Sparassidae, Heteropodinae): implications for taxonomy

Abstract

<i>Sinopoda</i> spiders are a diverse group with limited dispersal ability. They are remarkably sympatric among related species, which often results in misidentification and incorrect matching of sexes. In order to understand the evolutionary relationships and revise the taxonomy problems in this genus, we offer the first molecular phylogeny of <i>Sinopoda</i>. Our results strongly support the monophyly of <i>Sinopoda</i> and its sister relationship with <i>Spariolenus</i> and reject the monophyly of the <i>S. okinawana</i> species group. We establish three new species groups based on both molecular and morphological data. Our phylogeny also illuminates some taxonomic issues and clarifies some species limits: (1) Supporting the newly revised matching of sexes in <i>S. longiducta</i> and <i>S. yaanensis</i> by Zhong et al. (2019). (2) The original description of <i>S. campanacea</i> was based on mismatched sexes. <i>S. changde</i> is proposed as a junior synonymy of <i>S. campanacea</i>, while the original female '<i>S. campanacea</i>' is here described as a new species: <i>S. papilionaceous</i> Liu <b>sp. nov.</b> (3) The type series of <i>S. serpentembolus</i> contains mismatched sexes. The female is considered as <i>S. campanacea</i>, while we here report the correctly matched females of <i>S. serpentembolus</i>. (4) We describe one additional new species: <i>S. wuyiensis</i> Liu <b>sp. nov.</b> Our first molecular phylogeny of <i>Sinopoda</i> provides a tool for comparative analyses and a solid base for the future biodiversity and taxonomic work on the genus.