Species are the basic units of biodiversity and evolution. Nowadays, they are widely considered as ancestor‐descendant lineages. Their definition remains a persistent challenge for taxonomists due to lineage evolutionary role and circumscription, i.e., persistence in time and space, ecological niche, or a shared phenotype. Recognizing and delimiting species is particularly methodically challenging in fast‐evolving, evolutionary young species complexes often characterized by low genetic divergence, hybrid origin, introgression, and incomplete lineage sorting. Ranunculus auricomus is a large Eurasian apomictic polyploid complex that probably has arisen from the hybridization of a few sexual progenitor species. However, even delimitation of and relationships among diploid sexual progenitors are unclear, ranging from 2 to 12 species. Here, we present an innovative workflow combining phylogenomic methods based on 86,782 parameter‐optimized RADseq loci and target enrichment of 663 nuclear genes accompanied by geometric morphometrics to delimit sexual species in this evolutionary young complex (<1 Mya). For the first time, we revealed a fully resolved and well‐supported maximum likelihood tree phylogeny congruent to neighbor‐net network and STRUCTURE results based on RADseq data. In a few clades, we found evidence of discordant patterns indicated by quartet sampling, and reticulation events in the neighbor‐net network probably caused by introgression and incomplete lineage sorting. Together with coalescent‐based species delimitation approaches based on target enrichment data, we found five main genetic lineages, with an allopatric distribution in central and southern Europe. A concatenated geometric morphometric dataset including data from basal and stem leaves, as well as receptacles, revealed the same five main clusters. We accept those five morphologically differentiated, geographically isolated, genetic main lineages as species: R. cassubicifolius s.l. (incl. R. carpaticola), R. envalirensis s.l. (incl. R. cebennensis), R. flabellifolius, R. marsicus, and R. notabilis s.l. (incl. R. austroslovenicus, R. calapius, R. mediocompositus, R. peracris, and R. subcarniolicus). Our comprehensive workflow combing phylogenomic methods supported by geometric morphometrics proved to be successful in delimiting closely related sexual taxa and applying an evolutionary species concept. This workflow is also applicable to other evolutionarily young complexes.

中文翻译：

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几何形态计量学支持的系统经济学揭示了多倍性无融合生殖毛an毛complex（Ranunculaceae）中有性物种的界限

物种是生物多样性和进化的基本单位。如今，它们被广泛认为是祖先世系。由于沿袭的进化作用和限制，即在时间和空间上的持久性，生态位或共同的表型，它们的定义对于分类学家仍然是一个持续的挑战。在快速发展的，进化的年轻物种复合体中，识别和定界物种尤其具有系统的挑战性，这些复合体通常具有低遗传差异，杂种起源，基因渗入和谱系排序不完整的特征。耳毛毛an是一种大型的欧亚无融合生殖多倍体复合物，可能是少数有性祖先物种杂交产生的。但是，甚至二倍体性祖细胞的界线和它们之间的关系也不清楚，范围从2到12种。在这里，我们提出了一个创新的工作流程，该工作流程结合了基于86782个参数优化的RADseq基因座的植物学方法和663个核基因的目标富集以及几何形态计量学来界定这种进化年轻复合体（<1 Mya）中的有性物种。首次，我们揭示了一个完全解析并得到充分支持的最大似然树系统发育信息，该系统信息与基于RADseq数据的邻居网络和STRUCTURE结果一致。在几个进化枝中，我们发现了四重采样所指示的不一致模式的证据，邻居网络中的网状和网状事件很可能是由于渗入和谱系排序不完整引起的。结合基于目标富集数据的基于聚结的物种划界方法，我们发现了五个主要的遗传谱系，在中欧和南欧具有异源分布。包括来自基叶和茎叶以及容器的数据的级联几何形态计量数据集揭示了相同的五个主要簇。我们接受这五个形态上不同，地理上孤立的遗传主要谱系作为物种：包括来自基叶和茎叶以及容器的数据的级联几何形态计量数据集揭示了相同的五个主要簇。我们接受这五个形态上不同，地理上孤立的遗传主要谱系作为物种：包括来自基叶和茎叶以及容器的数据的级联几何形态计量数据集揭示了相同的五个主要簇。我们接受这五个形态上不同，地理上孤立的遗传主要谱系作为物种：R. cassubicifolius SL（包括R. carpaticola），R. envalirensis SL（包括R. cebennensis） ，R. flabellifolius，R. marsicus，和R. notabilis SL（包括R. austroslovenicus，R. calapius，R. mediocompositus，R. peracris和R. subcarniolicus）。我们综合的系统工作流程结合了由几何形态计量学支持的系统生物学方法，被证明在界定密切相关的性类群和应用进化物种概念方面是成功的。此工作流程也适用于其他进化年轻的复合体。