Global biogeography of marine tintinnids

Abstract

Literature records of tintinnid distributions (272 references, 1899 to 1992) were plotted with a computer. Distributions at the genus level revealed several distinct biogeographic patterns: cosmopolitan, neritic, warm-water, boreal, and austral. Some of the factors that may account for these patterns are examined. At the species level, certain disjunct distributions are examined, including the bipolar distribution of Acanthostornella norvegica and the interoceanic distributions of tropical tintinnids. Endemicism of species within certain genera, such as Codonellopsis, was also found.