Late Cenozoic Climates and Mountains Drove Diversification of the <i>Pardosa laura</i> Species Complex From Eastern China

ABSTRACT Aim To test how evolutionary processes of spiders in mountain ranges of eastern China were in response to environmental changes, we analyze the correlation between diversification of the Pardosa laura species complex (Araneae, Lycosidae) and historical climates and mountains in this region. Methods We reconstruct phylogenetic relationships and patterns of phylogeography and genetic diversity using mtDNA data from samples spanning the full range of the species complex P. laura in eastern China. Results The P. laura species complex clustered into four lineages: Lineage I includes five haplotypes from the areas to the north of the Yinshan‐Yanshan Mountains; Lineage II consists of 23 haplotypes from the areas between the Qinling Mountains–Huaihe River Line and the Nanling Mountains; Lineage III and IV are composed of 21 and 62 haplotypes, respectively, from the areas between the Yinshan‐Yanshan Mountains and the Nanling Mountains. Each lineage corresponds to that, grouped from haplotype network analyses, with the same geographic distribution areas. All four lineages initially diversified during about 1.43 and 0.24 Ma ago (Ma) in relation to the Pleistocene glacial‐inglacial cycles. The biogeographic reconstructions suggest that the species complex P. laura most likely originated in central China around 7.68 (11.17–4.85) Ma in relation to the recent ( approximately 8 Ma) expansion of grasslands and retraction of forests. The inter‐colony dispersal between central China and northeastern China occurred during the late Neogene, between around 7.68 and 3.14 Ma. Central China is an important dispersal center, with dispersal to southwestern and northern China between the late Pliocene and middle Pleistocene, approximately 3.14–2.89 and 2.89–1.43 Ma, respectively. Main Conclusions The contemporary genetic structure of the P. laura species complex presents a high correlation between lineages and geographic distribution. The historical phylogeographic patterns suggested that the late Cenozoic climate changes and the mountainous corridors and isolation events, as well as the lineage dispersals and ecological adaptations shaped the diversification of a spider species complex in eastern China over long timescales.