In search of historical biogeographic patterns in the western Mediterranean terrestrial fauna

Abstract

A cladistic biogeographic study of the western Mediterranean terrestrial fauna is made using taxon-area cladograms of ten groups of animals showing high levels of endemicity in the area. The groups analysed are the Nephmtomflavescens group, the Tipula (Acutipula) maxima group, the 7. (Lunatipula) bulhta andfalcatu group, the subgenus X (Medio@uh), the X (Savlshenkia) gorizietlsir group, the X (S.) signnta group (Insecta, Diptera, Tipulidae), the APtonmura corsicana group (Insecta, Plecoptera, Nemouridae), the genus Speonemad~ (Insecta, Coleoptera, Cholevidae), and the subgenera Trituw (Palaeohiton) and Tririatnrs (Tnriatm) (Urodela, Salamandridae). The groups contain a total of 123 species and subspecies. Detailed distribution maps of 94 species and subspecies of Tipulidae included in the study are given. Based on the distributions of 74 endemic species and subspecies, 13 areas of endemism in the Mediterranean are recognized. The geology of the western Mediterranean since the late Oligocene is discussed with reference to a number of maps showing kinematic reconstructions of the area. Five methods for cladistic biogeographic purposes were employed, viz. Brooks

Patterns of animal dispersal, vicariance and diversification in the Holarctic

“…There have been several studies of the biogeographic history of the Holarctic fauna (Allen, 1983;Noonan, 1988a,b;Enghoff, 1993Enghoff, , 1995De Jong, 1998) but most of them cover only one or two of the Holarctic infraregions. Enghoff (1995) is the only comprehensive study of the entire Holarctic.…”

Dung beetle assemblages organization in two contrasted areas of the Mediterranean region: affinities and divergences

“…Signifi cant proportions of dung beetle species are common to North Africa and Western Europe, with a limited number of endemic species shared between the Iberian Peninsula and the Maghreb (Lumaret & Lobo 1996). Th e relationship between the faunas of North Africa (Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia) and Europe were largely infl uenced by the connectiondisjunction cycles of the Gibraltar Strait which acted like a fi lter or a barrier for many organisms (Beerli et al 1996;De Jong 1998;Gantenbein & Largiadèr 2003). During the last land connection between the Iberian Peninsula and northwestern Africa, the Mediterranean Sea underwent intense desiccation (the Messinian crisis during the Late Miocene), potentially allowing contacts between the faunas through emerged corridors (Hsü et al 1977;Krijgsman 2002;Duggen et al 2003).…”

The phylogenetic relationships ofTriturus italicus

“…The presence of a number of endemic taxa and the availability of several phylogenies of the genus Triturus based on molecular data with the possibility to calibrate a molecular clock, made the genus a model for biogeographic studies (Ooesterbroek & Arntzen, 1992;De Jong, 1998;Taberlet et al, 1998;Hugot & Cosson, 2000). The radiation centre of Triturus is probably Europe or Western Eurasia, as evidenced by the fossil record and the distribution of the present species (Ooesterbroek & Arntzen, 1992).…”

“…The radiation centre of Triturus is probably Europe or Western Eurasia, as evidenced by the fossil record and the distribution of the present species (Ooesterbroek & Arntzen, 1992). The Apennines are regarded as an area of endemism for Triturus (e.g., De Jong, 1998), due to the presence of the endemic taxa T. italicus, T. vulgaris meridionalis, T. alpestris apuanus, and T. a. inexpectatus (SHI, 1996). Lack of older elements in Iberia or Italy indicates that representatives of the extant lineages of Triturus had entered the Mediterranean by the late Oligocène or Miocene (Ooesterbroek & Arntzen, 1992).…”