A cosmopolitan distribution is a term applied to a biological category of living things meaning that this category can be found anywhere around the world. See "cosmopolitan" for etymology. Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Look up cosmopolitan in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

An example of a cosmopolitan species is the widely distributed Painted Lady butterfly. Binomial name Vanessa cardui (Linnaeus, 1758) The Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) is a well-known colourful butterfly, known in North America as the Cosmopolite. ... Families Superfamily Hesperioidea: Hesperiidae Superfamily Papilionoidea: Papilionidae Pieridae Nymphalidae Lycaenidae Riodinidae A butterfly is an insect of the order Lepidoptera, it belongs to either the Hesperioidea (the skippers) or Papilionoidea (all other butterflies) Superfamilies. ...

It is also spoken about, e.g., cosmopolitan genus, cosmopolitan family, etc.. A cosmopolitan category is sometimes called simply cosmopolite. See genus (mathematics) for the use of the term in mathematics. ... In biological classification, family (Latin: familia, plural familiae) is 1) a rank or 2) a taxon in that rank. ...

Normally the term is understood in a narrower sense: a cosmopolitan species can be found around the world, but only within the conditions suitable for its habitation. For example, the basking shark is described as cosmopolitan, but clearly it cannot be found in, say, Siberian taiga. So, the term "cosmopolitan tropical" would mean that the species may be found within the tropical zone around the world. Binomial name Cetorhinus maximus (Gunnerus, 1765) The Basking Shark (Cetorhinus maximus), also known as the Bone Shark, is the second largest fish alive, after the Whale Shark. ... Siberian Federal District (darker red) and the broadest definition of Siberia (red) Udachnaya pipe Siberia (Russian: , Sibir; Tatar: ) is a vast region of Russia constituting almost all of Northern Asia. ... The taiga is found throughout the high northern latitudes, just below the tundra, and just above the steppes. ...

Examples of cosmopolitan species

• Groundsel (Senecio vulgaris)
• House dust mite
• Moray eel
• Painted Lady butterfly
• Many species of cetacean, including the orca
• Humans