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Cosmopolitan distribution
 
 
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In biogeography
Biogeography

Biogeography is the study of the distribution of biodiversity over space and time. It aims to reveal where organisms live, and at what abundance....
, a biological category of living things is said to have cosmopolitan distribution if this category can be found almost anywhere around the world. See "cosmopolitan" for etymology.

It is also spoken about, e.g., cosmopolitan genus
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
, cosmopolitan family
Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
, etc. A cosmopolitan category is sometimes called simply cosmopolite.

Normally the term is understood in a narrower sense: a cosmopolitan species can be found around the world, but only within the conditions suitable for its habitation.






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In biogeography
Biogeography

Biogeography is the study of the distribution of biodiversity over space and time. It aims to reveal where organisms live, and at what abundance....
, a biological category of living things is said to have cosmopolitan distribution if this category can be found almost anywhere around the world. See "cosmopolitan" for etymology.

It is also spoken about, e.g., cosmopolitan genus
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
, cosmopolitan family
Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
, etc. A cosmopolitan category is sometimes called simply cosmopolite.

Normally the term is understood in a narrower sense: a cosmopolitan species can be found around the world, but only within the conditions suitable for its habitation. For example, the basking shark
Basking shark

The basking shark, Cetorhinus maximus, is the second largest living fish, after the whale shark. It is a cosmopolitan species ? it is found in all the world's temperate oceans....
 is described as cosmopolitan, but clearly it cannot be found in, say, Siberia
Siberia

Siberia , is the name given to the vast region constituting almost all of North Asia and for the most part currently serving as the massive central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, having served in the same capacity previously for the Soviet Union from its beginning, and the Russian Empire beginning in the 16th century....
n taiga
Taiga

Taiga is a biome characterized by coniferous forests. Covering most of inland Alaska, Canada, Sweden, Finland, inland Norway and Russia , as well as parts of the extreme northern continental United States , northern Kazakhstan and Japan , the taiga is the world's largest terrestrial biome....
. So, the term "cosmopolitan tropical" would mean that the species may be found within the tropical zone around the world.

Some examples of cosmopolitan species are:
  • House dust mite
    House dust mite

    The house dust mite , is a cosmopolitan distribution guest in human habitation. Dust mites feed on organic detritus such as flakes of shed human skin and flourish in the stable environment of dwellings....
  • Painted Lady
    Vanessa cardui

    The Painted Lady is a well-known colourful butterfly, sometimes known in North America as the Cosmopolitan.It is one of the most widespread of all butterflies, found on every continent except Antarctica....
     butterfly
    Butterfly

    A butterfly is an insect of the Order Lepidoptera. Like all Lepidoptera, butterflies are notable for their unusual Biological life cycle with a larval caterpillar stage, an inactive pupal stage, and a spectacular metamorphosis into a familiar and colourful winged adult form....
  • Many cetacean species, including the orca
    Orca

    The Killer Whale or Orca , less commonly, Blackfish or Seawolf, is the largest species of the dolphin family. It is found in all the world's oceans, from the frigid Arctic and Antarctica regions to warm, tropical seas....
     and most rorquals
  • Humans
  • Brown Rat
    Brown Rat

    The brown rat, common rat, Hanover rat, Norway rat, Norwegian rat, or wharf rat is one of the best known and most common rats....
  • Peregrine Falcon
    Peregrine Falcon

    The Peregrine Falcon , also known simply as the Peregrine, and historically as the "Duck Hawk" in North America, is a Cosmopolitan distribution bird of prey in the family Falconidae....


See also

  • Endemism, a notion opposite to cosmopolitanism
  • Gondwanan distribution
  • Holarctic
    Holarctic

    The Holarctic ecozone refers to the habitats found throughout the northern continents of the world as a whole. This region is divided into the Palearctic, consisting of Northern Africa and all of Eurasia, with the exception of Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent, and the Nearctic, consisting of North America south to northern Mexico....
     distribution, distribution throughout most of the Northern Hemisphere
    Northern Hemisphere

    The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of the equator?the word sphere literally means 'half sphere'. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator....
    , both in Eurasia
    Eurasia

    Eurasia is a large landmass covering about 53,990,000 km? or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface . Often considered a single continent, Eurasia comprises the traditional continents of Europe and Asia, concepts which date back to classical antiquity and the borders for which are somewhat arbitrary....
      and North America
    North America

    North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
     (example: loon
    Loon

    The loons or divers are a group of aquatic birds found in many parts of North America and northern Eurasia. All living species of loons are members of one genus, Gavia, family , Gaviidae, and order Gaviiformes all of their own....
    )