First assessment on the molecular phylogeny and phylogeography of the species Gnaptor boryi distributed in Greece (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)

Abstract

The genus Gnaptor Brullé, 1983 (Blaptini, Gnaptorina) occurs in southeast Europe as well as in Asiatic regions. As regards its taxonomy, four morphological species have been attributed: Gnaptor boryi, G. prolixus, G. spinimanus and G. medvedevi. Here, we use two different mitochondrial genetic markers (16S and cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI)) in order to investigate the relationships between the populations of the species G. boryi in Greece, compare them with the current taxonomy and conjecture about its biogeographic history. In total, 29 specimens (28 G. boryi and one G. prolixus) were analyzed using maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference methods. Our results clarified the presence of three well-supported lineages: two belongs to G. boryi and one to G. prolixus. The first diversification of these lineages started in the Late Miocene at 9 Mya with the split of G. prolixus from Turkey and the second major split occurred in the Early Pliocene at 3.7 Mya between the two lineages of G. boryi distributed separately in northern Greece and Peloponnesos. According to Statistical Dispersal - Vicariance Analysis and dispersal-extinction-cladogenesis analysis analyses, vicariance seems to be the biogeographic event responsible for the divergence of the two major lineages of G. boryi.

Phylogeography and systematics ofAlgyroides(Sauria: Lacertidae) of the Balkan Peninsula

“…We assume that its evolutionary differentiation is related to the geological history of Peloponnese, whose geographical isolation from continental Greece has been considered as the main cause of allopatric speciation for several endemic lizards (Psonis et al., 2018 and references therein), such as Podarcis peloponnesiacus (Bibron & Bory de Saint‐Vincent, 1833), Hellenolacerta graeca (Bedriaga, 1886) and Anguis cephallonica Werner, 1894. This has also been documented for other animal groups, such as the mammal Talpa stankovici (Tryfonopoulos et al., 2010), the land snails Codringtonia (Kotsakiozi et al., 2012) and Josephinella (Psonis et al., 2015), and the beetle Gnaptor boryi (Gkontas et al., 2017).…”

Disentangling a cryptic species complex and defining new species within the Eumerus minotaurus group (Diptera: Syrphidae), based on integrative taxonomy and Aegean palaeogeography

“…The Aegean archipelago and its adjacent regions (Balkan Peninsula, Greek mainland and Anatolian coast) are well-known for their high diversity of both cryptic and endemic species (Poulakakis et al, 2015), as well as for the multiple and complex alterations that have occurred from the Miocene (23 Mya) through to the Holocene (0.0117 Mya to the present) (Poulakakis et al, 2015;Gkontas et al, 2016;Kougioumoutzis et al, 2017;Sfenthourakis and Triantis, 2017). Four major geological events in the Aegean region are considered liable for significant species dispersal barriers: (1) formation of the mid-Aegean Trench (MAT) in the middle Miocene (12-9 Mya), during which a sea interference separated eastern from central-western regions (Sfenthourakis and Triantis, 2017); (2) isolation of Crete from the Peloponnese (5.5-5 Mya) after the Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC) in the late Miocene (5.96-5.33 Mya) when the Mediterranean Sea almost desiccated allowing every species to travel anywhere wanted; (3) extensive segregation and widening of the Aegean Sea and separation of the Karpathos-Kassos island group from Rhodos in the Pliocene (5-2 Mya); and (4) orogenetic and eustatic sea-level changes during the Pleistocene (2-0.0117 Mya) (Kougioumoutzis et al, 2017;Sfenthourakis and Triantis, 2017).…”

“…A series of phenomena including geological (geotectonic forces) and climatic events (sea-level oscillations) as well as Contributions to Zoology, 87 (4) -2018 human pressure (first evidence of human settlement in the Palaeolithic, ca. 130 000 years ago, Strasser et al, 2010), have shaped everything as known today, with the configuration or isolation of landmasses allowing or impeding the dispersal of organisms and thereby driving speciation or species extinction (Poulakakis et al, 2005;Parmakelis et al, 2006;Poulakakis and Sfenthourakis, 2008;Akin et al, 2010;Simaiakis et al, 2012;Gkontas et al, 2016;Sfenthourakis and Triantis, 2017).…”

Spatial patterns of genetic diversity of the genus Eumerus (Diptera: Syrphidae) in the Balkans

“…The Aegean archipelago and its adjacent regions (Balkan Peninsula, Greek mainland and Anatolian coast) are well-known for the high diversity of both cryptic and endemic species (Poulakakis et al, 2015), as well as for the multiple and complex alterations that have occurred since the Miocene (23 Mya) until Holocene (0.0117 Mya to present) (Poulakakis et al, 2015;Gkontas et al, 2016;Sfenthourakis and Triantis, 2017). In the Aegean region, four major geological events are considered liable for the important species dispersal barriers: (1) the formation of the mid-Aegean Trench (MAT) at the middle Miocene (12-9 Mya) during which a sea interference separated the eastern from the central-western regions (Sfenthourakis and Triantis, 2017); (2) the isolation of Crete from Peloponnese (5.5-5 Mya) after the Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC) in the late Miocene (5.96-5.33 Mya) when the Mediterranean Sea almost desiccated allowing every species to travel anywhere wanted; (3) an extensive segregation and widening of the Aegean Sea and the separation of Karpathos-Kassos island group from Rhodos in the Pliocene (5-2 Mya); and (4) orogenetic and eustatic sea-level changes during the Pleistocene (2-0 Mya) Sfenthourakis and Triantis, 2017).…”

“…In the Aegean region, four major geological events are considered liable for the important species dispersal barriers: (1) the formation of the mid-Aegean Trench (MAT) at the middle Miocene (12-9 Mya) during which a sea interference separated the eastern from the central-western regions (Sfenthourakis and Triantis, 2017); (2) the isolation of Crete from Peloponnese (5.5-5 Mya) after the Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC) in the late Miocene (5.96-5.33 Mya) when the Mediterranean Sea almost desiccated allowing every species to travel anywhere wanted; (3) an extensive segregation and widening of the Aegean Sea and the separation of Karpathos-Kassos island group from Rhodos in the Pliocene (5-2 Mya); and (4) orogenetic and eustatic sea-level changes during the Pleistocene (2-0 Mya) Sfenthourakis and Triantis, 2017). A series of phenomena including geological (geotectonic forces), climatic events (sea-level oscillations) and human pressure (first evidence of human settlement in Palaeolithic, ca.130.000 years ago, Strasser et al, 2010) have shaped everything as known today; the configuration or isolation of landmasses allowed or impeded the dispersal of organisms, driving speciation or species extinction (Poulakakis et al, 2005;Parmakelis et al, 2006;Poulakakis and Sfenthourakis, 2008;Akin et al, 2010;Simaiakis et al, 2012;Gkontas et al, 2016;Sfenthourakis and Triantis, 2017).…”