Biogeographic distribution
P. nigrescens is very widespread, inhabiting coastal waters between 30°N and 30°S (Cutler, 1994). This includes the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic Oceans. P. nigrescens wide distribution may be primarily due to the resilience and extended planktonic phase of the pelagosphera larva (Rice, 1981). Figure 18 depicts a map of the worldwide distribution of P. nigrescens (GBIF, 2014).
Figure 18: Global distribution ofP. nigrescens determined by geo-referenced data provided by open data by The Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Each square is a geo-referenced collection of P. nigrescens. Orange points represent more than one collection.
The Atlas of Living Australia reports that 21.7% of all Sipunculids reported in Australia were P. nigrescens. Likewise, 94.4% of all reported P. nigrescens identified in Australia were found in Queensland (ALA, 2014). |