Areography of North American fishes, amphibians, and reptiles. American Museum novitates ; no. 2802

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dc.contributor.authorAnderson, Sydney, 1927-en_US
dc.date.accessioned2005-10-06T18:12:44Z
dc.date.available2005-10-06T18:12:44Z
dc.date.issued1984en_US
dc.description16 p. : ill., maps ; 26 cm.en_US
dc.descriptionIncludes bibliographical references (p. 15-16).en_US
dc.description.abstract"Sizes of geographic ranges of species of freshwater fishes (635), amphibians (141), and reptiles (199) occurring north of Mexico in North America were measured and compared with each other and with ranges of birds and mammals. All groups have 'hollow curve' frequency distributions in which most species have small ranges; and all groups have latitudinal gradients in which more species occur at lower latitudes. For fishes and amphibians the greatest density is in the southeastern United States and not the southwest. The frequency distributions of range sizes for amphibians and reptiles are approximately lognormal. The geometric means (in 10[superscript 5] km[superscript 2] units) for ranges of species in these groups are: fishes 0.82, salamanders (Caudata) 0.86, lizards (Lacertilia) 2.8, turtles (Chelonia) 4.1, frogs and toads (Anura) 4.6, snakes (Serpentes) 6.2, and the alligator (Crocodilia) 8. Comparable means for mammals and birds are 5.8 and 16, respectively. At most local areas in North America, the percentage of the continental fauna present for each of these groups is correlated with the mean size of the geographic ranges in the groups. Exceptions for certain localities or subgroups are of interest. Species of amphibians and reptiles occurring in places of higher diversity have smaller geographic ranges. Available space (probably chiefly related to climatic conditions) and analytical artifacts provide a better explanation than competition for this correlation. Fishes were not examined in this regard; adequate data have not been assembled. Amphibians and reptiles have a higher percentage of species that are North American endemics than do mammals and birds, which are groups with generally larger species ranges. On the average, fishes have smaller ranges than amphibians and reptiles but have a higher percentage of intercontinental cosmopolitan species (or a smaller percentage of North American endemics) than do amphibians and reptiles. This is because fishes have Arctic and coastal proclivities not present in the other groups"--P. [1].en_US
dc.format.extent2232533 bytes
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2246/5274
dc.languageengen_US
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.publisherNew York, N.Y. : American Museum of Natural Historyen_US
dc.relation.ispartofseriesAmerican Museum novitates ; no. 2802en_US
dc.subject.lccQL1 .A436 no.2802, 1984en_US
dc.subject.lcshFishes -- North America -- Geographical distribution.en_US
dc.subject.lcshAmphibians -- North America -- Geographical distribution.en_US
dc.subject.lcshReptiles -- North America -- Geographical distribution.en_US
dc.subject.lcshZoogeography -- North America.en_US
dc.titleAreography of North American fishes, amphibians, and reptiles. American Museum novitates ; no. 2802en_US
dc.typetexten_US

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