[Taxacom] problems with GBIF

[Michael Heads]

Dear colleagues,
 
Two of my favourite sites for basic information on taxa are wikipedia and GBIF, but I wouldn't bet the farm on their data. Compare the GBIF map of the plant family Papilionaceae s.lat. (aka Fabaceae), ranging north exactly to the US/Canada border:
 
http://data.gbif.org/species/13146161/
 
with the butterfly family Papilionidae, ranging south to exactly the same border (and west to Alaska):
 
http://data.gbif.org/species/13143363/

Interesting vicariance! Must be climatic... 
If the 'developed' countries can't get their act together, what about the places where all the biodiversity is?
 
Michael Heads
 
Wellington, New Zealand.

My papers on biogeography are at: http://tiny.cc/RiUE0