Pantropical

A pantropical ("all tropics") distribution is one which covers tropical regions of both the Eastern and Western hemispheres.[1] Examples of species include caecilians, modern sirenians and the plant genera Acacia and Bacopa.[2]

Neotropical is a zoogeographic term that covers a large part of the Americas, roughly from Mexico and the Caribbean southwards (including cold regions in southernmost South America).

Palaeotropical refers to geographical occurrence. For a distribution to be palaeotropical a taxon must occur in tropical regions in the Old World.

According to Takhtajan (1978), the following families have a pantropical distribution: Annonaceae, Hernandiaceae, Lauraceae, Piperaceae, Urticaceae, Dilleniaceae, Tetrameristaceae, Passifloraceae, Bombacaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Rhizophoraceae, Myrtaceae, Anacardiaceae, Sapindaceae, Malpighiaceae, Proteaceae, Bignoniaceae, Orchidaceae and Arecaceae.[3][4]

  1. ^ Andrés Moreira-Muñoz (2010). "Asteraceae: Chile's richest family". Plant Geography of Chile. Plant and Vegetation. Vol. 5. Springer. pp. 221–248. doi:10.1007/978-90-481-8748-5_8. ISBN 978-90-481-8747-8.
  2. ^ Andrés Moreira-Muñoz (2010). "Geographical relations of the Chilean flora". Plant Geography of Chile. Plant and Vegetation. Vol. 5. Springer. pp. 87–128. doi:10.1007/978-90-481-8748-5_3. ISBN 978-90-481-8747-8.
  3. ^ Тахтаджян А. Л. Флористические области Земли / Академия наук СССР. Ботанический институт им. В. Л. Комарова. — Л.: Наука, Ленинградское отделение, 1978. — 247 с. — 4000 экз. DjVu, Google Books.
  4. ^ Takhtajan, A. (1986). Floristic Regions of the World. (translated by T.J. Crovello & A. Cronquist). University of California Press, Berkeley, PDF, DjVu.