Decapod Crustacean Paleobiogeography: Resolving the Problem of Small Sample Size

Abstract

Studies of paleobiogeography have changed markedly in recent decades transforming a once static subject into one which now has great potential as a useful counterpart to systematic and ecological studies in the interpretation of the geological history of organisms. This has resulted, in large part, from the emergence of plate tectonic models which, in turn, have been used as the bases for extremely sophisticated paleoclimatic modeling. As a result, paleobiogeography has attained a level of precision comparable to that of the studies of paleoecology and systematic paleontology. It is now possible to consider causes for global patterns of origin and dispersal of organisms on a much more realistic level than was previously possible.