Evolutionary history of the flora from Western Mediterranean continental islands: phylogeography of the palaeoendemic species Arenaria balearica (Caryophyllaceae)

Abstract

Within the Mediterranean global biodiversity hotspot, the Tyrrhenian Islands support a high percentage of endemic taxa (c. 10–20%; Cañadas et al. 2014). Some endemic plant species shared among Corsica, Sardinia, and the Balearic Islands have been designated ‘Hercynian endemics’ (Mansion et al. 2008), and have been frequently considered palaeoendemics. Although it has been traditionally accepted that Arenaria balearica L. (Caryophyllaceae) could be a Tertiary relict plant species, this has never been tested by phylogeographic data. Our aim is investigate the palaeohistorical reasons underlying the highly disjunct distribution of the species in the Western Mediterranean region.