Buffalo Museum of Science - Panbiogeography Methods

Panbiogeography - Methods and Applications

Major world tracks and nodes (from Croizat 1958)

Panbigoeography provides spatial techniques of biogeographic analysis. The principal conceptual tools are the track, node, baseline, and main massing. As this page develops, descriptive details of the method will be provided. In the links below are examples of different types of track relationships classified according to their baseline or spatial homoloy with respect to the major tectonic basins. These classifications provide a spatial hypothesis of which geographic/tectonic sector the origin and evolution is most likely associated according to spatial proximity.

Track construction: Example of how to construct a track and identify an ocean baseline using a scorpion
distribution.

Ocean basin links
The following examples illustrate the possible or probable baseline assignment for a range of taxa. Most examples provide baseline orientation with respect to geographic proximity and main massings. Further phylogenetic or distributional information may lead to revision of the baselines presented here. These examples provide a general beginning point for comparing broad geographic relationships among different taxa.

Galapagos marine iguana. Member of an ignuanid clade with a Pacific baseline

Taxonomic links

Currently under construction

Selected examples for Amphibians and reptiles