Zoogeography is the branch of the science of biogeography that is concerned with geographic distribution (present and past) of

animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Biology, biological Kingdom (biology), kingdom Animalia (). With few exceptions, animals heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, ...

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

. As a multifaceted field of study, zoogeography incorporates methods of molecular biology, genetics, morphology,

phylogenetics In biology, phylogenetics () is the study of the evolutionary history of life using observable characteristics of organisms (or genes), which is known as phylogenetic inference. It infers the relationship among organisms based on empirical dat ...

, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to delineate evolutionary events within defined regions of study around the globe. As proposed by Alfred Russel Wallace, known as the father of zoogeography, phylogenetic affinities can be quantified among zoogeographic regions, further elucidating the phenomena surrounding geographic distributions of organisms and explaining evolutionary relationships of taxa. Advancements in molecular biology and theory of evolution within zoological research has unraveled questions concerning speciation events and has expanded phylogenic relationships amongst taxa. Integration of phylogenetics with GIS provides a means for communicating evolutionary origins through cartographic design. Related research linking phylogenetics and GIS has been conducted in areas of the southern Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Pacific Oceans. Recent innovations in DNA bar-coding, for example, have allowed for explanations of phylogenetic relationships within two families of marine venomous fishes, scorpaenidae and tetraodontidae, residing in the Andaman Sea. Continued efforts to understand species evolutionary divergence articulated in the geologic time scale based on fossil records for killifish (''Aphanius'' and ''Aphanolebias'') in locales of the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

and Paratethys areas revealed climatological influences during the

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

Further development of research within zoogeography has expanded upon knowledge of the productivity of South Atlantic ocean regions and distribution of organisms in analogous regions, providing both ecological and geographic data to supply a framework for the taxonomic relationships and evolutionary branching of benthic polychaetes. Modern-day zoogeography also places a reliance on GIS to integrate a more precise understanding and predictive model of the past, current, and future population dynamics of animal species both on land and in the ocean. Through employment of GIS technology, linkages between abiotic factors of habitat such as topography, latitude, longitude, temperatures, and sea level can serve to explain the distribution of species populations through geologic time. Understanding correlations of habitat formation and the migration patterns of organisms at an ecological level allows for explanations of speciation events that may have arisen due to physical geographic isolation events or the incorporation of new refugia to survive unfavorable environmental conditions

Zoogeographic regions

Schmarda (1853) proposed 21 regions, while Woodward proposed 27 terrestrial and 18 marine, Murray (1866) proposed 4, Blyth (1871) proposed 7, Allen (1871) 8 regions, Heilprin (1871) proposed 6, Newton (1893) proposed 6, Gadow (1893) proposed 4. Philip Sclater (1858) and Alfred Wallace (1876) identified the main zoogeographic regions of the world used today: Palaearctic, Aethiopian (today Afrotropic),

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

(today Indomalayan), Australasian, Nearctic and Neotropical. Marine regionalization began with Ortmann (1896). In a similar way to geobotanic divisions, our planet is divided in zoogeographical (or faunal) regions (further divided as provinces, territories and districts), sometimes including the categories Empire and Domain. The current trend is to classify the floristic kingdoms of botany or zoogeographic regions of zoology as biogeographic realms. Following, some examples of regionalizations:

Sclater (1857)

Creatio Palaeogeana * I. Regio Palaearctica * II. Regio Aethiopica * III. Regio Indica * IV. Regio Australiana Creatio Neogeana * V. Regio Nearctica * VI. Regio Neotropica

Huxley (1868)

Huxley (1868) scheme: * Arctogea ** Nearctic province ** Palaearctic province ** Ethiopian province ** Indian province * Notogea ** Austro-Columbia province (= Neotropical) ** Australasia province (= Australian; Eastern Palaeotropical)

Wallace (1876)

* Palaearctic region * Ethiopian region * Oriental region * Australian region * Neotropical region * Nearctic region

Trouessart (1890)

Scheme by Trouessart (1890):Trouessart, E. L. (1890). ''La géographie zoologique''. Bailliere, Paris

* Arctic region * Antarctic region * Palearctic region * Nearctic region * Ethiopian region * Oriental region * Neotropical region * Australian region

Darlington (1957)

First scheme: * Realm Megagea (Arctogea): the main part of the world ** 1. Ethiopian Region: Africa (except the northern corner), with part of southern Arabia ** 2. Oriental Region: tropical Asia, with associated continental islands ** 3. Palearctic Region: Eurasia above the tropics, with the northern corner of Africa ** 4. Nearctic Region: North America, excepting the tropical part of Mexico * Realm Neogea ** 5. Neotropical Region: South and Central America with the tropical part of Mexico * Realm Notogea ** 6. Australian Region: Australia, with New Guinea, etc. Second scheme: * Climate-limited regions ** 1. Palearctic Region ** 2. Nearctic Region * Main regions of the Old World tropics ** 3. Oriental Region ** 4. Ethiopian Region * Barrier-limited regions ** 5. Neotropical Region ** 6. Australian Region

References

Bibliography

* Bodenheimer, F.S. (1935). ''Animal life in Palestine. An introduction to the problems of animal ecology and zoogeography''. L. Mayer: Jerusalem. 506 p.

* Ekman, Sven (1953). ''Zoogeography of the sea''. London, Sidgwick and Jackson. 417 p.

External links

* * * * {{Authority control Biogeography