Provinciality as the Main Principle in BiogeographicRegionalization

摘要

Methods of biogeographic regionalization are discussed. One of these methods is ranging of different territories based on three principles: zonality, sectorality, and provinciality. This primary type of regionalization, established in classical biogeography by P.L. Sclater (1858) and A.R. Wallace (1876), was widely used in phyto-geography and zoogeography of insects starting from A.P. Semenov-Tian-Shansky (1936) and developed for the Palaearctic by A.F. Emeljanov (1974). Zonality and sectorality areconstructive principles associated with the bio-spheric abiotic factors and determining the boundaries of major biogeographic entities (not provinces). Provinciality is considered the main principle of biogeography because the province has a predicativestatus with faunistic substantiation at the species level. Species of a certain provincial fauna can be combined in a group with a particular habitus which may be taken as a characteristic biogeographic "fashion," or a province-specific style. Examples of such provincial styles for Myrmeleontidae (Neuroptera) and Tephritidae (Diptera) are discussed. These styles can be used for biogeographic indication in parallel with individual indicatory species.