Is Antarctica really isolated?
Cheilostome bryozoan diversity from the southwest Atlantic region: Is Antarctica really isolated? Blanca Figuerola, et al. Animal Biology Department (Invertebrates) and Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat (IRBio), Faculty of Biology, University of Barcelona, published on Journal of Sea Research Volume 85, January 2014, Pages 1–17
During the Cenozoic, the break-up of Gondwana was accompanied by a gradual separation of its components and the subsequent establishment of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, leading to a relative thermal and biogeographic isolation of the Antarctic fauna. However, the zoogeographical affinities of several taxa from South America and Antarctica have been subject to debate, bringing into question the extent of Antarctic isolation. Here we present new data on bryozoan species and their spatial distribution in the Argentine Patagonian (AP) region, as well as an analysis of the bryozoological similarities between deep ranges from Argentina and neighboring regions