Taxonomic revision of Taiwanese and Japanese Cyrtophora spiders hitherto identified with C. moluccensis (arachnida: Araneae), using molecular and morphological data

Abstract

The Taiwanese and Japanese spiders which have been identified with Cyrtophora moluccensis (Doreshall 1857) are taxonomically revised. Three color morphs, yellow-, green-, and red-types, show their own discrete monophyletic clades in the phylogenetic tree inferred by Neighbor Joining method using the partial sequences of mt-16S-rRNA genes. P-distances within group means are 0.2% in the yellow-type, 0.1% in the green-type, and 0% in the red-type. P-distances between group means are 18.8% between yellow-and green-types, 19.4% between yellow-and red-types, 10% between green-and red-types. These three color morphs can be separated also by the shapes of epigynum and male palp. Consequently we recognize them as three independent nominal species and determined the yellow-type as C. cylindroides (Walckenaer 1842), the green-type as C. moluccensis (Doleschall 1857), and the red-type as C. ikomosanensis (Bosenberg & Strand 1906).