Climatic refugia boosted allopatric diversification in Western Mediterranean vipers

In the Western Mediterranean biodiversity hotspot, palaeo‐tectonic and palaeo‐climatic factors drove diversification since the Miocene. Comparisons among patterns of diversification, haplotype diversity, and climatic stability suggest that southern Iberian and Italian peninsulas, and north‐western African mountains acted as refugia since the Pliocene, while some northern areas favoured population persistence during the Pleistocene. Climate adaptation likely played a secondary role in the diversification of some lineages. Leer más.