Biogeographic distribution
Figure 10. Map showing some records of T. stellatus around the world.
The patterns of distribution of marine species might be explained by the combination of several factors and mechanisms, although, a relationship among species richness and latitude have already been reported for marine and terrestrial animals (Miloslavich, P., etal, 2013). As features associated with latitude, temperature and harshness can also be key factors to these patterns at large scale (Miloslavich, P., et al, 2013). Trend for mollusks can vary accordingly to the hemisphere and the ocean (Miloslavich, P., et al, 2013).
Australia, Japanand the surrounding waters are the places with the biggest number of gastropod species, with up to 6000 species (Miloslavich, P., et al, 2013). The herbivorous species usually have a great diversity and abundance in all the Large Marine Ecosystems (LME) (Miloslavich,P., et al, 2013). And the family Trochidaehad one of the biggest richness at those sites, and they were also found in 6 of the 8 Large Marine Ecosystem studied by Miloslavich, P., et al (2013) (Figure 10). |