Biogeographic hypothesis explaining the diversity of the genus Amphimallon Berthold, 1827, in the Mediterranean Basin (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Melolonthinae, Rhizotrogini)
Abstract In this paper, the analysis of the current distribution of species, or species-groups, of the Western–Palaearctic genus Amphimallon Berthold, 1827, based on a phylogenetic hypothesis recently provided and relevant paleogeographical events that occurred in the Mediterranean Basin from Late Paleogene (35 Myr BP) to the present, supports a biogeographical scenario to explain species diversity within this genus. The center of origin of this genus is hypothesized to be in the Iberian Peninsula. Microplate fragments drifting from the Iberian Peninsula, successive landmass suture events between the Eastern and Western Mediterranean Basins, separation of Tethys and Paratethys Oceans, re-establishment of marine connections, uplift of the Alps, and drying out of the Mediterranean are hypothesized as the principal events allowing dispersal of populations throughout Mediterranean Basin and biogeographical vicariances within the genus Amphimallon.