A Bioprovince for the Barremian–Aptian Charophytes of the Central Tethyan Archipelago

A comprehensive bibliographic compilation of dozens of worldwide records of charophytes from the Barremian to early Aptian interval has been revisited aiming to gather the regional and global distribution data for the clavatoracean family. The compiled data were studied with the palaeontological statistics software PAST (PAleontological STatistics), using a cluster analysis. All analyses of the biogeographic data revealed a consistent separation of the Central Tethyan Archipelago (CTA) from other palaeogeographic areas, mainly the neighbouring Eurasian and American landmasses, based on the species richness of Family Clavatoraceae.