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. The term cosmopolitan refers to an individual who retains cultural roots in his or her country of origin, yet has adopted a wide taste for other cultures, and so lives both a local and global life. ...

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 a flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, and belongs to one of the superfamilies Hesperioidea (the skippers) or Papilionoidea (all other butterflies). ...

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. ... Scientific classification or biological classification refers to how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ...

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. ... Siberia is also an album by Echo & The Bunnymen. ... The taiga is found throughout the high northern latitudes, just below the tundra, and just above the steppes. ...