洞穴蜘蛛保留着大量的祖征，显示出古老的系统演化痕迹，洞穴蜘蛛的特点及有待发现的新特点将对蜘蛛系统发育与进化研究提供重要和关键的数据。本申请项目拟选择洞穴蜘蛛代表类群（弱蛛科、泰莱蛛科、漏斗蛛科、幽灵蛛科、类球蛛科）为研究对象，通过对我国云贵高原、青藏高原、以及伊朗高原、地中海地区洞穴蜘蛛的广泛采集，开展基于基因证据的分子系统学研究。除贵州高原外，上述地区在地质历史上都属于古地中海。本申请项目将从进化生物学的视角探索洞穴蜘蛛代表类群在云贵高原、青藏高原、伊朗高原、地中海地区的起源、分衍和进化规律，以揭示古地中海消失过程中洞穴蜘蛛的演化过程和物种多样性分化进程。我们推测：随着古地中海的消失，部分生物进入我国西南地区。由于中国西南气候适宜，生境多样，这些物种进入了快速进化过程。这一过程促成了我国西南地区成为物种多样性的热点地区，进而促成中国成为物种多样性大国。

Cave spiders have attracted the attention of evolutionary biologists because of their primitive characters and convergent evolution. Studying the adaptive characters and speciation of cave species is critical to the understanding of their phylogeny and evolutionary history. In this project, we will collect specimens of five spider families, Leptonetidae, Telemidae, Agelenidae, Pholcidae and Nesticidae, from a wide range of distribution, including Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Iranian plateau, and Mediterranean regions. All the above regions, except Guizhou Plateau, belong to the ancient Tethyan areas. Phylogenetic studies will be conducted to understand the modes of speciation of cave spiders. In addition, we will also explore how the vanished Tethys reshaped the evolutionary history and diversity of cave spiders. Our hypothesis is that ancestors of cave spiders occupied the regions of Southwest China since the retreat of Tethys, then adaptively diversified in this region. The climate and heterogeneous topology of Southwest China promoted diversification of animals. Southwest China becomes a diversity hotspot.