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In this paper, we investigated a set of narrow endemics of Centaurea subsect. Phalolepis from the mountains of South Italy (mainly Calabria and Salento), segregated from the widespread species Centaurea deusta, using microsatellite (SSR) markers. The goal was to analyse the genetic makeup (levels and structure) of C. deusta and the segregated species and verify whether genetic clusters were in agreement with current classification of the species. With C. deusta, we also carried out an ecological niche modelling (ENM) analysis to check its potential distribution under present climatic conditions and to project it to the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). As also found in former studies with subsect. Phalolepis in Greece and Turkey using the same set of SSRs, genetic diversity for the segregated Italian species was higher than expected for narrow endemics with small populations. Genetic clusters, however, were not correlated with the described species and did not support the segregation of the purported narrow endemics from a widely defined C. deusta. The results of the ENM indicate that the Adriatic Sea was a migration corridor for C. deusta at the LGM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The genus Eudonia is rarely recorded in Tibet despite having a wide occurrence in the plateau. In the taxonomy of the genus, the morphological characters are insufficient to delimit the closely related congeners due to the subtly interspecific differences and conspicuously intraspecific variability. In this study, the Tibetan species are studied with an integrative approach using molecular data and morphological characters. It is found that the number of Eudonia species in Tibet accounts for about 20% of the total species previously catalogued for the genus in China. Five species are described as new to science: Eudonia galonglaensis Li, sp. nov., E. varians Li, sp. nov., E. triangulata Li, sp. nov., E. angusta Li, sp. nov., and E. bomiensis Li, sp. nov. The potential distribution of Chinese Eudonia is predicted and illustrated using MaxEnt and DIVA-GIS. The results reveal the exceptionally high species diversity of Eudonia in Tibet for the first time, demonstrate that the integrative morphological and molecular approach is highly effective for resolving the difficult-to-distinguish morphologies, and predict the region of China to the south of 35°N and to the east of 95°E as having potentially high Eudonia species diversity. http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:EA3C5D21-9674-46E4-838D-48D5A098314B [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]