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Dryad

Data from: Climatic niche divergence and high-elevation adaptation promoted rapid diversification of Pimoa spiders in Pan-Himalaya

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Jun 01, 2026 version files 55.74 MB
Jun 22, 2026 version files 62.36 MB

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Abstract

The Pan-Himalayan region harbors exceptional biodiversity, yet the origins and underlying mechanisms driving this remarkable diversity remain poorly understood, especially among species-rich invertebrates. Pimoa spiders exhibit an intercontinental disjunct distribution across three major mountain regions: the Rockies, the Alps, and the Pan-Himalaya. Notably, in the Pan-Himalaya, Pimoa occurs at significantly higher elevations and exhibits far greater species diversity than in the other two regions, making it an ideal model for studying invertebrate diversification in this area. We integrated extensive genetic data (59 new transcriptomes and over 22,700 newly generated DNA sequences from 393 samples), along with distribution and climatic data, to explore the origins and drivers of the rich diversity of Asian Pimoa in the Pan-Himalaya. Our findings indicate that Pan-Himalayan Pimoa spiders originated from widely distributed ancestors in North America and Asia. During the Miocene, they dispersed southward from Northeast Asia to South China and the Pan-Himalaya, experiencing rapid diversification. Climatic niche modeling and ancestral reconstruction analyses revealed niche divergence between Pan-Himalayan Pimoa and their ancestors, particularly in elevation and temperature. Gene selection analyses showed that high-elevation adaptations primarily involve enhanced energy metabolism, hypoxia resistance, and DNA repair mechanisms. These results suggest that ecological niche differentiation, high-elevation adaptation, and rapid diversification during the Miocene are crucial factors shaping the rich diversity of Asian Pimoa in the Pan-Himalaya. Our study, which integrates genetic, distributional, and climatic data, provides a novel framework for understanding invertebrate diversification in the Pan-Himalaya.