Modern benthic foraminifera of the gulf of mexico: A census report

摘要

A new literature survey, based on 157 publications, documents the presence of 987 extant species of benthic foraminifera in the Gulf of Mexico; they are listed here. Thirty-six (4%) species are endemic to the Gulf and 33 (3%) are relict (presently restricted to the Gulf but with a fossil record in other areas), whereas 349 (35%) show a cosmopolitan distribution. The remaining 569 (58%) species are regarded as non-cosmopolitan. This pattern of species distribution does not fit either the ubiquity model or the moderate endemicity model proposed for the biogeography of protists.