Barry Cox was formerly head of Biological Sciences at King’s College London. He was originally a vertebrate palaeontologist, but soon became also interested in the patterns of distribution of life in the past. He has published extensively on the relations between fossil distributions and plate tectonics, how and when the mammals dispersed across the planet, competing theories on how to interpret past patterns, and the basic patterns of life today at the worldwide level.

Peter Moore is a Reader in Ecology at King’s College London. He first trained as a botanist/biochemist, later turning to palaeoecology and vegetation history and, ultimately, wider ecological issues including global environmental change. He retains a particular interest in wetlands.

The questions asked by biogeography evolve over time, and this new edition of a long-established book raises new questions concerned with such topics as global biodiversity, the roles of species in ecosystems, and the degree to which traditional biogeographical concepts can be applied to the extensive but neglected realms of the world's oceans. Marine biogeography is a new, but fast developing discipline and is included here for the first time. The book is intended for readers interested in biogeography, as well as geography, ecology, paleobiology, and evolution.