AREA-CLADOGRAMS OF CIRCUM-MEDITERRANEAN TAXA IN RELATION TO MEDITERRANEAN PALEOGEOGRAPHY

Biogeographic characteristics of nine taxon-area-cladograms of various Circum-Mediterranean terrestrial animal groups are compared. Correlation with palaeogeographic reconstructions suggests Oligocene and especially Miocene diversification within these groups. The oldest faunal elements are found in the western part of the region which dates from well before the Miocene. Origin of younger lineages is considered linked with the Late Oligocene-Early Miocene formation of a landmass which separated Tethys and Paratethys. Major divergence is hypothesized to have been achieved by subsequent vicariant and distributional events throughout the Mediterranean during the Miocene. The palaeo-biogeographic correlation results in estimates of the ages of lineages for the newt genus Triturus which largely correspond to the estimates obtained from various biochemical and molecular studies.