Systematics, phylogeny and biogeography of Anterastes (Orthoptera, Tettigoniidae, Tettigoniinae): evolution within a refugium

The genus Anterastes, distributed in southeastern Europe and the western part of Anatolia, is revised based on previous materials and numerous specimens collected from new localities. A key to all species is presented. Two new species, A. antitauricus sp. n. and A. ucari sp. n. are described. Anterastes akdaghensis Ramme is placed in synonymy with A. babadaghi Uvarov. Cladistic analysis confirmed the monophyly of Anterastes. The relationships among the species of Anterastes are: A. uludaghensis + ((A. serbicus + A. burri + A. antitauricus sp. n.) + (A. anatolicus + A. tolunayi + (A. niger + (A. babadaghi + A. turcicus + A. ucari sp. n.)))). The biogeography of the genus shows a correlation with its phylogeny. It is assumed that the genus arose from an ancestral stock in northwestern Anatolia in the Pliocene and the later range of this ancestral population expanded and contracted under the effects of the ice ages (glacial and interglacial periods, respectively). It is postulated that speciation within the genus, suggested by phylogenetic analysis, might have occurred when the range of ancestral populations expanded during glacial periods and contracted in subsequent warm periods. The present species may be the product of relict populations remaining in refugia at higher altitudes with alpine or subalpine vegetation in southern Anatolia.