We provide a review and synthesis of key findings in phylogeographic research on terrestrial animals in the Aegean archipelago (Greece) and surrounding regions (Greek mainland, southern Balkans and Asia Minor). A critical review of more than 100 phylogeographic articles on 76 animal genera (30 invertebrates and 46 vertebrates) that have been published so far for the region leads to the recognition of three types of distribution patterns: old ‘colonizers’ diversified in the Aegean before the formation of the mid‐Aegean Trench (MAT – i.e. before 9 Mya), post‐MAT colonizers that arrived to the Aegean in late Miocene and Pliocene and new colonizers that inhabited the region in the Pleistocene or even the Holocene. Several problems, mainly regarding the use of calibration points and/or molecular clock rates for clade chronology, have been identified in many analyses. Despite the large amount of phylogeographic work concerning the Aegean and surrounding regions, many groups remain unstudied (especially invertebrates, micro‐organisms, fungi and plants), and many issues still remain unresolved. The relative roles of extinction, speciation, dispersal and vicariance, as well as the effects of adaptive and non‐adaptive components of diversification, need further analyses with modern tools that can provide deeper insights. A more detailed reconstruction of the palaeogeography of the region is also of prime importance. The critical views presented herein may prove useful also for the evaluation of similar work in other regions.

Xylotrechus chinensis belongs to the entomofauna of China, Japan, the Korean Peninsula and Taiwan. Prior to this paper it has been intercepted twice outside its native range, once in Philadelphia (USA) and once in Germany (Europe). In spring 2017, it was detected for the first time in Greece, in Heraklion city (Island of Crete) infesting the trunk of trees of Morus species planted near the harbour of the city. It can thus be hypothesized that X. chinensis was transported from its native range with commodities that are handled in the harbour. Eradication efforts are being taken in order to prevent its further spread, which could threaten several other tree species because X. chinensis attacks a wide range of hosts. This is the first record of this pest from the EPPO region.

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Defining biodiversity conservation goals requires representative and reliable data. However, data collected with the use of different methods can lead to divergent conclusions. Regardless of the high level of biodiversity of Mediterranean habitats, very little attention was paid in developing methods allowing rapid and scalable estimation of their richness. This study aims to recognize and explain the differences in performance of two methods: pitfall traps (PTM) and a complementary method based on hand collecting (HCM), in surveys of ants in the Mediterranean. We compared the results of applying both methods in three habitats in relation to a-, b-, and c-diversity, and functional traits of species, i.e. Webber's length (WL), nesting preferences, and evolutionary origin. Mean species number per HCM was significantly higher than per PTM sample. Spatial species turnover of HCM samples was higher than in PTM ones. However, assemblage dispersion did not differ. HCM detected a higher number of species and genera. WL differed significantly between HCM and PTM, and HCM recorded significantly more species in individual nesting guilds, regardless of considered habitat. HCM detected higher diversity of functional characteristic combinations of species. PTM detected fewer species with slightly larger body size and is useful in recognizing spatial species diversity patterns. HCM detected a higher number of species and produced more comprehensive results in identifying the functional diversity of ant assemblages. In conclusion, an integrated approach, described here as HCM, appears to be more suitable for heterogeneous Mediterranean habitats, especially when a survey aims at a-, b-, and c-diversity assessments.Keywords Ants Á Biodiversity hot-spot Á Functional diversity Á Island Á Mediterranean Á Species richness Communicated by Andreas Schuldt.