What Does the Distribution of Stygobiotic Copepoda (Crustacea) Tell Us About Their Age?

Abstract

Geographic distribution of stygobionts is often used to estimate age of a group by assuming vicariant speciation with little or no subsequent dispersal. We investigated the utility of using distributional data for Slovenian stygobiotic copepods by assuming that dispersal is a way to measure age of a species. We list some species of Copepoda that, on the basis of their range and frequency of occupancy within their range, should be older. Body size is not predictor either of range or frequency of occupancy.