Alessandro Baragona

• Biodiversity Journal, 8 (1): 249-278 - MONOGRAPH

  Calogero Muscarella & Alessandro Baragona
  The endemic fauna of the Sicilian islands

  ABSTRACT
  In this survey we propose an analysis of the endemic fauna (Mollusca, Arthropoda, Chordata) present in the 14 major circum-sicilian islands and in Lampione islet (Strait of Sicily, Pelagie Islands). Overall, 111 endemic taxa between species and subspecies have been identified. The largest taxonomical groups are Tenebrionid Beetles and Curculionids (respectively 18 and 16 taxa) and Gastropods (20 taxa), due to their strong inclination to insular differentiation, which is inversely proportional to their vagility. The number of endemic taxa per island is positively associated to the extent of the surface but not to the distance from the closest continental mass or altitude or geological origin. The most important connection is with the complex paleogeographic history pertaining the different insular complexes.

  Download PDF