Species richness and regions of high diversity of terrestrial vertebrates in Russia
https://doi.org/10.35885/1684-7318-2025-4-481-497
Abstract
A revision of the species richness of four vertebrate classes (mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians) within the territory of Russia was conducted. The regional-level biome was adopted as the territorial unit. An increase in species richness towards the south is characteristic for all classes, with specific differences for each class reflected on our plotted maps. The zones of high diversity partially overlap; however, the biomes with the maximum values do not coincide. For mammals, these are the Black Sea-Ciscaucasian (113 species) and the Zavolzhsky-Kulunda (114 species) steppe biomes. For birds, they are the Sayan-Southern Transbaikal (262 species) and the Altai-Sayan (275 species) orobiomes. For reptiles, it is the Dagestan orobiome (31 species) and the Caspian desert-steppe biome (37 species). For amphibians, it is the Dnieper-Volga biome, which includes the Kaliningrad region (13 species).
Supporting agencies: The work was carried out as part of the state assignments of the A. N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences: “Fundamental Principles of Conservation of Living Nature and Sustainable Natural Resource Management” (project No. FFER-2024-0022), “Taxonomic and Biocorrelation Analysis of the Animal World as a Basis for Studying and Preserving the Structure of Biological Diversity” (section 0110, project number 18-1-21, CITIS project number 121032300105-0).
About the Authors
L. A. Khlyap
A. N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Liudmila A. Khlyap
Laboratory for Biodiversity Conservation and Bioresources
33 Leninsky Prosp., Moscow 119071
E. A. Koblik
Zoological Museum of Moscow State University
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Evgeniy A. Koblik
2 Bolshaya Nikitskaya St., Moscow 125009
V. V. Bobrov
A. N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Vladimir V. Bobrov
33 Leninsky Prosp., Moscow 119071
A. A. Varshavskiy
A. N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Alexander A. Varshavskiy
33 Leninsky Prosp., Moscow 119071
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For citations:
Khlyap L.A., Koblik E.A., Bobrov V.V., Varshavskiy A.A. Species richness and regions of high diversity of terrestrial vertebrates in Russia. Povolzhskiy Journal of Ecology. 2025;(4):481-497. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.35885/1684-7318-2025-4-481-497
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