Aim We tested the competing hypotheses concerning the relative importance of Pleistocene versus Miocene–Pliocene geological events for the formation of endemism in an Asian archipelago using the Macrothele taiwanensis (Hexathelidae) species group. Location Taiwan‐Ryukyu Archipelago. Methods We estimated phylogenetic trees from cytochrome oxidase I subunit ( COI ) and 16S rRNA ( 16S ) gene regions and employed Bayesian ancestra...

Recent theory predicts that stochastic dilution effects may result in species‐rich communities with statistically independent species spatial distributions, even if the underlying ecological processes structuring the community are driven by deterministic niche differences. Stochastic dilution is a consequence of the stochastic geometry of biodiversity where the identities of the nearest neighbors of individuals of a given spec...