Species delimitation and taxonomic revision of Oxyopes (Araneae: Oxyopidae) of Taiwan

This study revised the spider genus Oxyopes Latreille,
1804 in Taiwan and delineated the species boundaries based on
morphological and molecular characters. A total of
seven Oxyopes spiders were recognized, including two
newly described species, O. hasta sp.
nov. and O. taiwanensis sp.
nov. Oxyopes fujianicus Song & Zhu 1993
from Yilan County, Nantou County, and Kaohsuing City, and O.
striagatus Song 1999 from New Taipei City, Taichung City, Nantou
County, and Kaohsiung City were recorded for the first time in Taiwan. An
identification key and a distributional map of
Taiwanese Oxyopes species were provided.
Partial COI sequences were obtained for molecular
phylogenetic and species delimitation analyses. Maximum likelihood and
Bayesian phylogenies, and DNA barcoding gap analysis supported
morphologically defined species. However, molecular species delimitation
based on Automatic Barcode Gap Discovery(ABGD),
PID (Liberal), and generalized mixed Yule
coalescent (GMYC) were incongruent in species assignment. The
results showed that the interspecific genetic divergence
between O. sertatus and O.
taiwanensis was relatively low (1.28 ± 0.43%), and the
intraspecific genetic divergence of O. striagatus was
relatively high (1.69 ± 0.35%). Ecological data, additional samples and
genetic loci are required to further examine the level of reproductive
isolation and patterns of population genetic structure in
Taiwanese Oxyopes.