A combined palaeomodelling approach reveals the role as selective refugia of the Mediterranean peninsulas

Piecing the barcoding puzzle of Palearctic water frogs (Pelophylax) sheds light on amphibian biogeography and global invasions

“…Further north, the E‐Adriatic P. shqipericus may have split from Apennine pool frog ancestors during the MSC (l in Figure 10). Its closest relatives ( P. lessonae lessonae / bergeri ) are now distributed in peninsular Italy, and likely persisted there since the Pliocene, as moist paleo‐conditions favored long‐term refugial maintenance for amphibians (Macaluso et al., 2023). Ancient cross‐Adriatic connections are emphasized by the phylogenetic relatedness between other Apennine and Balkan taxa for example, in Triturus newts ( T. carnifex / macedonicus , also dated to the MSC, Wielstra et al., 2019), Rana brown frogs ( R. graeca / dalmatina , Yuan et al., 2016), or by evidence from Messinian hybridization events between them, for example, in Anguis slow worms ( A. veronensis / cephallonica , Gvoždík et al., 2023).…”

Vrba was right: Historical climate fragmentation, and not current climate, explains mammal biogeography

“…This peripheral location has likely transformed these climate domains into geographic extremes, resulting in a higher pattern of fragmentation during glacial–interglacial cycles. A paradigmatic example is illustrated by the Mediterranean peninsulas acting as temperate climate refugia during glacial periods throughout the Plio‐Pleistocene (Baquero & Tellería, 2001; Macaluso et al., 2023). This finding is consistent with the results of Coelho et al.…”

Fossil snakes of the Penny Creek Local Fauna from Webster County, Nebraska, USA, and the first record of snakes from the Early Clarendonian (12.5-12 Ma) of North America

“…This may have favoured the survival of amphibians in this area. In a somehow similar way, a persistent humid climate allowed the Italian Peninsula to act as a preferential refuge for amphibians during the Quaternary glacial cycles, versus the role of reptile refuges that was played by the more arid Balkan and Iberian peninsulae (Macaluso et al, 2021(Macaluso et al, , 2023a. A comparable role may be advocated for the Lower Rhine Embayment as well during the late Neogene and maybe the Early Pleistocene.…”

“…With the onset of the Quaternary glacial cycles, amphibians, together with the rest of the European herpetofauna, started to face unsuitable conditions in the areas most influenced by glaciers, thus retreating towards more appropriate environments in the South. The Italian Peninsula, in particular, seems to have acted as a better refuge for at least some groups of amphibians during these times (Macaluso et al, 2021(Macaluso et al, , 2023a, possibly due to a less arid climate compared to the other northern Mediterranean peninsulae. In any case, the Pleistocene witnessed the extirpation or extinction of amphibians that were previously very widespread throughout Europe, such as the alytid frog Latonia von Meyer, 1843 (Szentesi, 2019;Sorbelli et al, 2021) and the whole anuran family Palaeobatrachidae Cope, 1865 (Wuttke et al, 2012;Villa et al, 2016;Roček et al, 2021).…”