Endemic species play an important role in conservation ecology. However, knowledge of the real distribution and ecology is still scarce for many endemics. The aims of this study were to predict the distribution of the short-range endemic Alpine jumping bristletail Machilis pallida; to evaluate the actual level of endemism via ground validation using an iterative approach for testing the models in field trips and increasing the quality of the prediction step by step; and to test the potential of species distribution modelling for increasing the knowledge about the ecological niche. Based on seven known locations of M. pallida, we used species distribution modelling via Maxent. After a set of seven field trips a new model was built if new locations were found. Three such iterations were performed to increase model quality. We discovered four new locations of M. pallida, increasing the area of known distribution from 470 to 4,890 km 2 . The distribution of M. pallida is thus wider than formerly known, but our results support Eastern Alpine endemism of the species. The knowledge about the ecological niche could be increased due to the newly found locations. Our study showcases the potential of the iterative approach of modelling and ground validation to evaluate the actual level of endemism and the ecological niche in Alpine species and beyond.

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Mitopus morio is a widespread harvestman species occurring in most of Europe and in moderate and cold-moderate zones of Asia and North America. The species is characterized by extreme variability in body size and leg length. As leg length is correlated with habitat temperature, M. morio has been considered as an example of Allen's rule. Recently, observations for a single location in Tyrol, Austria, indicated the absence of mating between short- and long-legged individuals. This study examines for signs of putative cryptic species in M. morio using an integrative approach that combines mating trials, amplified fragment length polymorphism whole-genome scans, mitochondrial sequences and morphometrics. The mating trials did not corroborate the initial hypothesis of a reproductive barrier associated with leg size. Both types of genetic data revealed the existence of three distinct groups, in line with the mating results but largely unrelated to leg morphology and geographical origin of specimens. Morphometric characters supporting the findings of the other disciplines were identified using a supervised approach. We infer from all data together the existence of strongly diverged cryptic lineages among the analysed individuals, cautiously interpret them as three sympatric species and conclude that in these harvestmen Allen's rule applies at different levels. Due to the unexpected amount of differentiation found within a geographical scale very small compared with the distribution of M. morio, we suggest a thorough revision of the genus prior to formal taxonomic changes. Our case study underlines the general applicability of the integrative taxonomic protocol used and highlights the relevance of several rationales implemented in the protocol.

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