Biogeography of the World: A Case Study from Cyphophthalmid Opiliones, a Globally Distributed Group of Arachnids
Boyer SL, Clouse RM, Benavides LR, Sharma P, Schwendinger PJ, Karunarathna I, Giribet G. 2007. Biogeography of the World: A Case Study from Cyphophthalmid Opiliones, a Globally Distributed Group of Arachnids. Journal of Biogeography. 34(12):2070-2085
From the Abstract: "Aim To test the hypothesis that continental drift drives diversification of organisms through vicariance, we selected a group of primitive arachnids which originated before the break-up of Pangaea and currently inhabits all major landmasses with the exception of Antarctica, but lacks the ability to disperse across oceanic barriers. ... Main conclusions By studying a group of organisms with not only an ancient origin, low vagility and restricted habitats, but also a present global distribution, we have been able to test biogrographical hypotheses at a scale rarely attempted. Our results strongly support the presence of a circum-Antarctic clade of formerly temperate Gondwanan species, a clade restricted to tropical Gondwana and a Southesat Asia clade that originated from a series of early Gondwanan terranes that rifted off northwards from the Devonian to the Triassic and accreted to tropical Laurasia. The relationships among the Laurasian species remain more obscure."
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Boyer, Sarah; Clouse, Ronald; Benavides, Ligia; Sharma, P; Schwendinger, Peter; Karunarathna, I; Giribet, G
- Units
- OLYM
- Keywords
- arachnida, Arthropoda, Biogeography, Phylogeny, vicariance