“…Given the dependency to a nonmarine aquatic environment, these observed richness patterns of extant hydrobiid species could be significantly influenced by large‐scale geography and dispersal processes as well as climatic conditions affecting continental ecosystems. Variation in species richness of freshwater organisms is often associated with latitude (Abell et al., ; Georgopoulou, Neubauer, Harzhauser, Kroh, & Mandic, ; Hof, Brändle, & Brandl, ; Iversen, Jacobsen, & Sand‐Jensen, ; Perez‐Losada, Bond‐Buckup, Jara, & Crandall, ; Pérez‐Quintero, ), which is, in turn, related to climatic gradients. For instance, the stable temperature and precipitation conditions in the tropics are thought to increase net diversification for a wide range of taxa, resulting in increased species richness (Gaston, ; Oberdorff et al., ; Pyron & Wiens, ).…”