Taxonomy, phylogeny, and biogeography of a species-group of West-Mediterranean Tentyria (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)

Abstract

The species of the Tentyria mucronata group inhabit seashore dunes in the western Mediterranean, including the Balearic Islands, Corsica, and Sardinia. Five main biogeographical hypotheses have been proposed to explain the current distributional ranges of the wingless fauna from this region. When the phylogeny of a group is known, competing biogeographical hypotheses can be tested. Therefore, after taxonomic analysis, the phylogeny of the T. mucronata group is proposed based on cladistic analysis. The diversification of the group is best explained by 2 hypotheses based on vicariance events (only few initial assumptions are needed). Human-mediated dispersal and Messinian dispersal seem implausible. Sea-surface dispersal of some species is possible, but the overall observed pattern cannot be explained simply by random dispersal events.