Areas of endemism of the Neotropical species of Capparaceae

Neotropical seasonally dry forest (NSDF) has climatic constraints that have produced endemic species confined to floristic nuclei throughout those taxa with distribution restricted to this forest. Capparaceae have a pantropical distribution, although traditionally they have been considered mainly to be distributed in dry areas and therefore influenced by climatic constraints. We carried out an analysis of endemicity (NDM/VNDM) using 7602 records of 21 genera and 104 species in order to test whether climatic constraints of NSDF have shaped endemic species and areas of endemism of Capparaceae geographically confined to NSDF floristic nuclei. A total of three genera (monogeneric) and 29 endemic species included in 38 areas of endemism and 14 consensus areas were recovered. From Consensus areas, we proposed five generalized areas of endemism, mainly located in NSDF: Lower Central America, Northern South America, Northwestern South America, Northeastern South America and Central South of South America. However, only one of them (Lower Central America, located in Panama) is not related to NSDF. These outcomes allow us to suggest that the distributional patterns of Capparaceae, represented by the areas of endemism, were mainly affected by the tectonics and climatic fluctuations that shaped the current distribution of NSDF.