disjunct endemism

disjunct endemism

[′dis‚jəŋkt ′en·də‚miz·əm]

(paleontology)

A type of regionally restricted distribution of a fossil taxon in which two or more component parts are separated by a major physical barrier and hence not readily explicable in terms of present-day geography.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.