Abstract
Aim It is not trivial to estimate the relative contributions of dispersal, vicariance, and range contraction in explaining the present‐day distribution of ancient clades. In this study, we aim to infer the historical biogeography of bark and ambrosia beetles using a genus‐level time‐calibrated molecular phylogeny that encompasses 70% of all described genera. We also evaluate the potential influence of external factors, such as host‐plant associations, feeding strategies, and tectonic events, on their spatial patterns over time. Location Worldwide. Taxon Scolytinae (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). Methods We conducted molecular phylogenetic analyses of Scolytinae at the genus level and dated the results tree using node dating and updated timeframe from the most recent work on the age of Scolytinae. Using the ‘BioGeoBEARS’ R package with a time‐stratified framework based on past landmass configurations, we inferred the ancestral ranges of the subfamily and its tribes across its whole evolutionary history. Results Our results support a Gondwanan Cretaceous origin of Scolytinae in the Afrotropical–Neotropical regions ( ca . 134 Ma). Earliest splits occurred between the Afrotropics and Neotropics, largely mirroring the fragmentation of the Gondwanan landmass. More recent dispersal events were directed toward the Oriental, Nearctic, Australasian, Indian Ocean (notably Madagascar), and the Pacific regions. Main Conclusions Early distributions were concentrated in tropical regions such as the Afrotropics and Neotropics, but also part of the Palearctic (Western part), where Early Cretaceous woody angiosperm fossils are documented. More recent and significant expansions occurred into the Nearctic and Oriental regions. Subsequent independent host shifts to gymnosperms in some lineages may have facilitated colonisation of temperate zones, including part of the Palearctic and Nearctic. While range contraction events did occur, they were comparatively few and scattered, compared to range expansions that clearly dominated the evolutionary history of the group, highlighting the strong resilience of Scolytinae through time.