Abstract
Aim The current configuration of the Mediterranean Basin is the result of a complex geological history that promoted a drastic change of biological diversity, richness and distribution of freshwater organisms. Currently cyprinids of the genus Luciobarbus are the only representative of primary freshwater fishes widely distributed in the Mediterranean Basin, showing its highest diversity in the Western Mediterranean. Within this context, our objective was to explore the biogeographical patterns of the genus Luciobarbus in the context of the drastic geological changes during the Messinian. Location Western Mediterranean, including southern Iberia and North Africa. Methods Sampling covered the range of all known populations of Luciobarbus present in North Africa and southern Iberian Peninsula. Molecular data included mitochondrial and nuclear markers ( mt‐cyb and actin II ). Time‐calibrated phylogenies were inferred and a dispersal–extinction–cladogenesis model was used to reconstruct the biogeographical history. Results Our results suggest that the two western lineages of Luciobarbus originated during the Messinian, one including most of the North African species from Morocco and western Algeria and another composed of Iberian, one Moroccan and one Algerian species. Main conclusion During the Messinian, we found that two main events shaped the distribution of the western lineages of Luciobarbus . The first is associated with the end of the Messinian, which has previously been claimed to explain the difference between sister groups of freshwater fish fauna from both sides of the Gibraltar Strait. The second older and previously undetected event is associated with the existence of the last gateways connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.