Endemic and cryptic: different biogeographic histories of three Italian blister beetles of the genus Meloe (Coleoptera: Meloidae: Meloinae: Meloini)

Abstract

Abstract The Italian geographic region is characterized by complex and diversified biogeographic patterns and is represented by a high number of endemic species. Endemic species characterized by a limited distribution range should be a primary concern in conservation. This article aimed to investigate the phylogenetic and biogeographic relationships of 2 Italian endemic species of the wingless blister beetle genus Meloe Linnaeus, 1758: Meloe (Eurymeloe) apenninicus and Meloe (E.) baudii. Our inferences, based on morphological characters, 2 mitochondrial (16S and COI) and 2 nuclear (CAD and 28S) markers and the use of 3 species delimitation analyses approaches, pointed out the presence of a new Italian endemic species (M. (E.) digiuliorumsp. n.), here described, and 3 different patterns of phylogenetic and biogeographic affinities. M. digiuliorum is close to the Spanish endemic M. orobatescomb. n., revealing a possible fragmentation of the ancestor range in the Pleistocene (ca. 0.84 Mya) followed by isolation in Italy and Spain. M. apenninicus is the sister species of the European-Anatolian M. rugous and M. cfr. rugosus, and this pattern originated around the Plio-Pleistocene boundary (ca. 2.83 Mya) likely influenced by the climatic fluctuations and the presence of the Alpine barrier. Finally, 2 subspecies were referred to M. baudii: the nominal one, endemic to Italy, and the Turanian-E European M. b. glazunovistat. n., disclosing a third more recent (ca. 0.64 Mya) pattern of biogeographic disjunction.