Revising the geographic distribution of western European <i>Forficula</i> (Dermaptera) using mtDNA data

Revising the geographic distribution of western European Forficula (Dermaptera) using mitochondrial DNA data. The taxonomy and biogeography of Forficula earwigs remains contentious, largely due to the challenges in using morphological traits for their identification. Here we analysed populations of Forficula from south-western Europe by combining morphological and molecular mitochondrial DNA data. As a result, we confirm the presence of F. mediterranea in the island of Menorca, and also in the islands of Sardinia and Tenerife, both of which are located at a considerable distance from its currently known distribution (Iberian Peninsula and Northwest Africa). Additionally, we confirmed the presence of F. auricularia in Italy, and found that the distribution of F. iberica extends to southern Spain, which also clarifies the phylogenetic position of local populations. Despite our predictions, we did not find F. iberica to be closely related to the Italian F. silana, with which it shares similar general facies. Here we confirm the presence of F. decipiens in Spain, a species for which previous records were scarce, old, and imprecise. Furthermore, we determined that it is closely related to the F. auricularia species complex, as well as to F. silana. Key words: Earwigs, Mediterranean Basin, Tenerife, Sardinia, Balearic Islands