A pantropical ("all tropics") distribution is one which covers tropical regions of both the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.1 Examples include caecilians, modern sirenians and the plant genera Acacia and Bacopa.2
Neotropical is a zoogeographic term that covers a large part of the Americas, roughly from Mexico and the Caribbean southwards (including cold regions in southernmost South America).
Palaeotropical refers to geographical occurrence. For a distribution to be palaeotropical a taxon must occur in tropical regions in the Old World.
According to Takhtajan (1978), the following plant families have a pantropical distribution: Annonaceae, Hernandiaceae, Lauraceae, Piperaceae, Urticaceae, Dilleniaceae, Tetrameristaceae, Passifloraceae, Bombacaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Rhizophoraceae, Myrtaceae, Anacardiaceae, Sapindaceae, Malpighiaceae, Proteaceae, Bignoniaceae, Orchidaceae, and Arecaceae.34
References
References
- Andrés Moreira-Muñoz (2010). "Asteraceae: Chile's richest family". Plant Geography of Chile. Plant and Vegetation. Vol. 5. Springer. pp. 221–248. doi:10.1007/978-90-481-8748-5_8. ISBN 978-90-481-8747-8.
- Andrés Moreira-Muñoz (2010). "Geographical relations of the Chilean flora". Plant Geography of Chile. Plant and Vegetation. Vol. 5. Springer. pp. 87–128. doi:10.1007/978-90-481-8748-5_3. ISBN 978-90-481-8747-8.
- Тахтаджян А. Л. Флористические области Земли / Академия наук СССР. Ботанический институт им. В. Л. Комарова. — Л.: Наука, Ленинградское отделение, 1978. — 247 с. — 4000 экз. DjVu, Google Books.
- Takhtajan, A. (1986). Floristic Regions of the World. (translated by T.J. Crovello & A. Cronquist). University of California Press, Berkeley, PDF, DjVu.