A spider species complex revealed high cryptic diversity in South China caves

Cryptic species, which are an important component of biodiversity, have rarely been studied in South China karst. We investigated cryptic diversity in the cave species complex Telema cucurbitina, which has a narrow niche but widespread distribution among multiple caves. We sampled another 15 populations (caves) in addition to the population from the type locality. Phylogenetic results indicated that individuals from the same cave constituted well-supported clades. Species diversity within this species complex was assessed in a coalescent framework, first with a Bayesian extension of the general mixed Yule coalescent (bGMYC) model and a Bayesian species delimitation method (BPP). Both species delimitation methods identified each cave population as a separate species. We propose that each cave population within this species complex was a separate evolving lineage and therefore 16 OTUs were recovered based on our molecular data despite their high morphological similarities. We also propose that the unrecognized organism's diversity within South China caves might be extremely large considering our case. Furthermore, our work reveals that species discovery of cave organisms by morphological data has a high probability of underestimating hidden diversity. Our work also highlights the need for conservation strategies to protect this largely neglected diversity of cave organisms.