Abstract: Calculating the number of species on earth has always been an issue of extreme concern, and suspicious species are among the most important obstacles to solve. Presently, the type specimen is the only criteria for identifying the suspicious species but is difficult to observe and study effectively because of its special taxonomic position. Therefore, the mostly effective way is to search the original information for suspicious species in the type locality. As molecular biological method, DNA barcoding, has been widely used in species classification and identification and can be used to identify a suspicious species accurately and quickly. In this study, a suspicious species, Dryopteris yenpingensis, was used as an example. We used DNA barcode analysis with the molecular data for the material from the type locality and combined morphological traits to clarify the doubtful taxonomic status of D. yenpingensis. The results supported D. yenpingensis and D. liboensis as the same species, and D. liboensis should be treated as a synonym. This study provides a reference for clarifying the taxonomic status of other suspicious species.

Key words: Dryopteris yenpingensis, type locality, DNA barcode, taxonomically suspicious species, biodiversity