Taxonomic study of four closely-related species of the Pholcus yichengicus species group (Araneae, Pholcidae) from China’s Qinling Mountains: An integrated morphological and molecular approach

Abstract

Four morphologically similar species of the Pholcus yichengicus species group, occurring in geographic proximity of China’s Qinling Mountains, were recognised, based on morphology and four methods of molecular species delimitation. They comprise two new species, namely Pholcus ankang sp. nov. and P. baoji sp. nov. and two previously described species: P. ovatus Yao & Li, 2012 and P. taibaiensis Wang & Zhu, 1992. Their DNA barcodes were obtained to estimate p-distances and K2P distances. In addition, an identification key for the four closely-related species is presented.