# The tropics weren't always the most diverse marine environments, study finds

Source: [Biology News - Evolution, Cell theory, Gene theory, Microbiology, Biotechnology](https://phys.org/news/2026-11-tropics-werent-diverse-marine-environments.html) · 2026-11-12 · Life
Page: https://themorning.science/story/the-tropics-weren-t-always-the-most-diverse-marine-environments-study-finds-5dc7bda9f9fd1e7c
Kind: research · Impact: low

## In brief

- A study finds that tropical waters were not always the most diverse marine environments.
- Today tropical waters host a wider range of marine animals than polar waters, a pattern called the latitudinal diversity gradient.
- The source coverage available here is a brief summary; no further methods or figures are provided.

## Why it matters

It challenges the assumption that the present-day latitudinal diversity gradient has always held, which matters for how science reads the history of marine biodiversity.

## Timeline

- 2026-11-12: Biology News article reports the study finding that tropics were not always the most diverse marine environments

## Coverage

- [The tropics weren't always the most diverse marine environments, study finds](https://phys.org/news/2026-11-tropics-werent-diverse-marine-environments.html) — Biology News - Evolution, Cell theory, Gene theory, Microbiology, Biotechnology, 2026-11-12

Tags: marine biodiversity, latitudinal diversity gradient, evolution, paleobiology, ocean ecology

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Brief generated by AI (claude-haiku-5-5) from the reporting listed under Coverage. Headlines belong to their publishers. The Morning Science – https://themorning.science