Are Molopina of the Euro-Mediterranean region related to the Madagascan, South African and Australian Pterostichini? (Coleoptera, Carabidae)

Abstract

The disjunct distribution of supposedly related carabid taxa in different con- tinents highly stimulated the curiosity of carabidologists interested in Biogeography, which resulted in the proposition of a long series of hypothe- ses and theories. The tribe Pterostichini, one of the most diverse groups in the family Carabidae and with a world wide distribution, has been the object of some recent phylogenetic analyses and classifications, based on both external and genital characters and on molecular data. The main goal of the present contribution is the study, using a molecular approach, of the supposed close relationships between the Euro-Mediterranean taxa attributed to “Pterostichidae Molopini”, and some genera of South Africa, Madagascar, Australia and New Zealand.