Centrifugal speciation and centres of origin

Aim To discuss the development and usefulness of the theory of centrifugal speciation and its practical application to the centre of origin hypothesis. Location The Indo‐West Pacific Ocean. Methods Utilization of patterns demonstrating species diversity, generic age, dispersal tracks, phylogenetics, extinction and genetic diversity. Results The centrifugal speciation hypothesis appears to provide a suitable explanation for the way in which centres of origin theoretically operate. Recent information about the centre of origin in the marine East Indies suggests that it is the source of evolutionary radiation for the Indo‐West Pacific. Its mechanism appears to conform to the centrifugal prediction. Main conclusions The East Indies Triangle is the origin of a series of dynamic systems that extend across the entire Indo‐West Pacific. These systems are apparently maintained by a continuous outflow from the centre of origin. A series of species replacements from the East Indies over the past 10 million years would create and perpetuate the systems that have been identified.