Typhlocharis santschii

Pérez-González, Sergio & Zaballos, Juan P., 2012, Re-description of two species of Typhlocharis (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Anillini) and revision of the models of female genitalia within the genus, Zootaxa 3279, pp. 46-62 : 59-61

Implications of T. santschii on the biogeography of the genus.

The distribution of T. santschii is striking, not only for its remoteness in respect to the rest of the genus, but because morphologically it is closer to species inhabiting the interior of the Iberian Peninsula ( T. outereloi , T. fozcoaensis , etc.) than to those known in the north of Africa ( T. silvanoides and T. armata ). This geographical pattern suggests two possible explanations: its presence in Tunisia could be explained by direct palaeogeographic connections during the Messinian through the dry lands of Mediterranean basin ( Rouchy & Caruso 2006; Hsü 1983), or by a gradual range expansion of the genus by dispersal along the north of Africa from the Betic-Rifean massif towards Tunisia (Jeannel 1936).

The first hypothesis is coherent with the current habitat of this species in saline soils, associated to halophile flora ( Normand 1915), the sort of environment likely present in the open steppe-like habitats of the Mediterranean basin during Messinian crisis (Favre et al. 2007; Jiménez-Moreno et al. 2007).

Distribution of the genus Pseudanillus Bedel, 1896 in Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco ( Jeannel 1963; Zaballos & Banda 2000) would reinforce the second hypothesis, due to the potential occupation of the same habitats. The restricted known distribution of the other north African Anillini ( Geocharis Ehlers, 1883 , Anillopsidius Coiffait, 1969 ) does not provide relevant information about this question ( Zaballos 2005; Zaballos & Banda 2000).

However, Typhlocharis have never been found in Sicily or southern Italy despite being well known entomologically. These regions were connected with Tunisia during the Miocene (Jeannel 1936; Azzaroli & Guazone 1979) and possibly the Pleistocene (Jeannel 1936; Stöck et al. 2008), which may involve that the expansion to these areas of North Africa has been recent, posterior to the isolation between both regions.