CAPRELLIDAE OF WESTERN NORTH ATLANTIC 



105 



• Fallot ritella biscrnpicn 



• Pamcapnila imsilla 

 ■ Paracaprella tenuis 



J. 



• Previous record 

 ONev) record, ,^/^U 



m 



Figure 53. — Distribution records of Fallotritella biscaynensis, Paracaprella pusilla, and 

 Paracaprella tenuis in the western North Atlantic. 



The distribution of Paracaprella tenuis is interesting since it shows 

 the disjunct distribution pattern which Hedgpeth (1953) cites for 

 Littorina irrorata and several other organisms. Hedgpeth points out 

 that this disjunct distribution arose during the interglacial periods 

 of the Pleistocene when Florida was submerged and counter currents 

 probably arose across the shoals which "made possible the dispersal 

 of northern species into the Gulf of Mexico . . . ". 



Hedgpeth (1953) states that the conditions are such in the northern 

 Gulf of Mexico to allow mixing of temperate and tropical faunas 

 with a low number of endemic species. This general statement is 

 true for the Caprellidae since no northern Gulf caprellid is endemic 

 and that area receives contributions from both the temperate and 

 tropical areas. 



