Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Dedication Page -- Contents -- Contributors -- Preface -- Part One: Continental Analysis -- 1: Introduction to Neotropical Freshwaters -- Geological Features -- Landscape and Ecological Features -- Earth History Effects -- Brief History of Biogeographic Studies -- 2: Major Biogeographic and Phylogenetic Patterns -- The Neotropical Ichthyofauna -- Major Biogeographic Patterns -- Phylogenetic Patterns -- Why So Many Species? -- Conclusions -- 3: Geological Development of Amazon and Orinoco Basins -- Amazonia through Time -- A Cratonic Amazonian River Runs Westward (Cretaceous-Oligocene: 112-24 Ma) -- Wetland Development and Amazon Reversal (Early-Middle Miocene: 24-11 Ma) -- The Initial Transcontinental Amazon (Late Miocene-Pliocene: 11-2.5 Ma) -- Ice Age Amazonia (Quaternary: <2.5 Ma) -- Concluding Remarks -- 4: The Paraná-Paraguay Basin: Geology and Paleoenvironments -- Overview of the Geology and Geography -- Mesozoic Formations -- Paleogene Formations -- Neogene Formations -- Neogene Paleoenvironmental Interpretations -- 5: Species Richness and Cladal Diversity -- Hollow Curves -- Clades and Basins -- Attributes of Species-Rich Clades -- Clade-Diversity Profiles -- Conclusions -- 6: Paleogene Radiations -- Paleogene Geology and Hydrogeography -- Transition from Mesozoic to Cenozoic Paleofaunas -- Environments and Diversification in Paleogene South America -- Considerations of an Ancient Fauna -- 7: Neogene Assembly of Modern Faunas -- Vicariance and Geodispersal -- Biogeographic Analyses -- Geological Fragmentation of Sub-Andean Foreland -- Vicariance and the Geography of Extinction -- Geodispersal and the Assembly of Regional Species Pools -- Age of Modern Amazonian Species Richness -- Conclusions -- 8: The Biogeography of Marine Incursions in South America -- Marine Incursions in South America.

The Effects of Marine Incursions on Resident Freshwater Taxa -- Miocene Incursions and Freshwater Transitions in Marine Taxa -- 9: Continental-Scale Tectonic Controls of Biogeography and Ecology -- Materials and Methods -- Geological Background -- Distribution Patterns -- Shields and Lowlands -- Conclusions -- 10: An Ecological Perspective on Diversity and Distributions -- Aquatic Habitats and Faunas -- Paleohabitats and Paleodrainages -- Geographical and Ecological Distributions of Gymnotiformes -- Origins and Maintenance of Species Diversity -- Part Two: Regional Analysis -- 11: The Amazon-Paraguay Divide -- Physical Geography -- Geological History -- Biogeographic History -- Marine-Derived Lineages -- Molecular Dating of the Amazon-Paraguay Divide -- Historical Biogeography -- Conclusions -- 12: The Eastern Brazilian Shield -- Highland Isolation along Watershed Divides -- Latitudinal Zonation among Drainages of the Eastern Watershed Divides -- Vicariance across the Eastern Coastal Watershed Divides: The Case of Paraiba do Sul -- Vicariance across the Eastern Coastal Watershed Divides: General Patterns -- São Francisco-Paraná Watershed Divide -- General Conclusion -- 13: The Guiana Shield -- Geology and Hydrology -- Biogeography of Guiana Shield Fishes -- Conclusions -- 14: The Vaupes Arch and Casiquiare Canal: Barriers and Passages -- Amazon and Orinoco Fish Faunas -- Paleogeography -- Contemporary Habitats and Species Distribution Patterns -- Conclusions -- 15: Northern South America: Magdalena and Maracaibo Basins -- The Geological History, Topography, and Hydrology of Northern South America -- Faunal Records, Distribution, and Methods -- Diversity, Shared Faunas, and Biogeographic Units -- Provinces, Faunas, and Drainages -- 16: The Andes: Riding the Tectonic Uplift -- Geological and Topographic Settings -- Habitats and Drainage Systems.

The Andes and Its Fishes -- Diversity, Patterns, and Relationships -- Endemism and Implications -- 17: Nuclear Central America -- Geological History of Nuclear Central America -- Hydrology of Nuclear Central America -- Climate and the Distribution of NCA Fishes -- Connections, Phylogeny, and Geography: NCA Fishes at a Crossroads -- Future Directions -- 18: Not So Fast: A New Take on the Great American Biotic Interchange -- Overview of Geology and Paleogeography -- Methods -- Interpreting Biogeographic Patterns of Major Lineages -- Reversals and Gradients before the Isthmus -- Conclusions -- Glossary -- Literature Cited -- Name Index -- Index.