Circumpolar distribution

A circumpolar distribution is any range of a taxon that occurs over a wide range of longitudes but only at high latitudes; such a range therefore extends all the way around either the North Pole or the South Pole.^[1][2] Taxa that are also found in isolated high-mountain environments further from the poles are said to have arctic–alpine distributions.^[3]

The range of the polar bear encircles the North Pole.

Animals with circumpolar distributions include the reindeer^[1][2], polar bear,^[4] Arctic fox^[1][5], snowy owl^[5], snow bunting^[5], king eider^[5], gyrfalcon, brent goose^[5] and long-tailed skua^[5] in the north, and the Weddell seal^[1] and Adélie penguin^[1] in the south.

Plants with northern circumpolar distributions include Eutrema edwardsii (syn. Draba laevigata),^[2] Saxifraga oppositifolia,^[3] Persicaria vivipara^[6] and Honckenya peploides.^[7][8][9]