The rithral macrobenthos community biogeography of southeastern Europe

The rithral and hypocrenal (of small rapid streams) macrobenthos faunas of northern Greece, eastern Carpathians, montane Crimea, and northwestern Caucasus are comparatively analyzed based on original material. Peculiarities of the rheophile communities and faunas of each region and of the whole studied area are described. The area is provisionally divided into biogeographic unites based on rithral fauna; this classification is essentially different from those of other authors. The main faunistic border runs meridionally between Greece-Carpathians on one side and Caucasus-Crimea on the other. The present authors believe that the biogeographic variability of macrobenthos rithral faunas results from the position of regions containing rithron communities and from spatial ties between them. Three fundamental biogeographic zones, suggested to be ranked as subregions, are recognized in the West Palearctic: the Balkan-Alpine (West European), the Scandinavian-Ural (North European), and the Caucasian. All the data available fit the suggested scheme, which shows that this approach is of universal value to biogeographic analysis and to divisions of the rithral into biogeographic zones. The local-scale variability of rheophile macrobenthos fauna in the northwestern Caucasus is discussed. Significant faunistic similarity of territories comprising the studied area is shown, internal division into biogeographic zones is conducted, and the lowest scale border of the faunistic diversity of rheophile macrobenthos is established at about 100-150 km.     

福建泉州爬行动物的调查及区系分析

本文报道泉州市的爬行动物共 5 8种 ,分析了这 5 8种爬行类所属的动物区系。它们当中属于古北界的仅 2种 ,属于东洋界的有 5 3种 ,其中华南区与华中区共有者 30种 ,华中区的种类 4种 ,华南区的种类有 19种 ,说明泉州市爬行类的区系组成是以华南区的种类占优势。     

Analysis of insect distribution in the Northern Hemisphere by the example of the subfamily Arctiinae (Lepidoptera,Arctiidae). 2. Species level

An attempt is made to apply cluster analysis to comparison of local faunas in the Northern Hemisphere at the species level by the example of the subfamily Arctiinae (Lepidoptera, Arctiidae). A total of 200 North African, Eurasian (New Guinea inclusive), and North American (north of the United Mexican States) local faunas have been considered. It is found that the circumarctic fauna is clearly separated from the Palearctic and Nearctic ones, being closer to the former only at the level of genera. Therefore, it is not reasonable to recognize the united European-Canadian subprovince of the boreal belt according to the tiger moth faunas. The Palearctic tiger moth fauna is characterized by relatively smooth variations within the boreal, subboreal, and western subtropical belts. The fauna gradually changes from the Amur catchment area to South China, Himalayas, and India so that all fauna types of these regions are closely related to one another and, to a lesser extent, to equatorial fauna types of Southeast Asia islands. The boundary between the Palearctic and Oriental (Indo-Malayan) provinces should be drawn north of the Yangtze catchment area. The most dramatic fauna change at the species level takes place between North China and the Yangtze catchment, and at the genus level, between Northern and Northeastern China. It is reasonable to establish a broad transition area between the two zoogeographic provinces in Eastern Asia. On the grounds of the nonuniform tiger moth fauna, the South Chinese-East Himalayan subprovince should be assigned to the Oriental (Indo-Malayan) province rather than the Palearctic one, as was repeatedly proposed. The Southwest-Asian fauna (Arabian Peninsula and southern Iran) is transitional between the Palearctic, African, and Oriental ones. Many African taxa penetrate to the west and south of the Arabian Peninsula, whereas Oriental and Paleotropical species penetrate to southern Iran. It is reasonable to elevate considerably the rank of the Quinghai-Tibet highland fauna by distinguishing its habitat as a separate zoogeographic subprovince, because the similarity between this fauna type and any other Palearctic fauna at the species level is much less than between temperate faunas of the Palearctic and Nearctic. The assignment of this fauna to the Palearctic is confirmed only at the genus level.     

Zoning Northern Eurasia based on the fauna of terrestrial vertebrates and their classification by similarity of distribution

For the purpose of zoning on the basis of fauna of terrestrial vertebrates, Northern Eurasia was considered within the boundaries of the Soviet Union in 1991 and divided into 245 mapping units. Mapping units were marked on the World Vegetation Map at a scale of 1: 20000000 in such a way that each mapping unit occupied a territory within the limits of a natural subzone having a latitudinal distance of 10°. A list of the vertebrate species was generated for each unit. Jaccard similarity coefficients were calculated for the lists; the coefficients were used as the basis for performing the cluster analysis of fauna of the mapping units. Based on the results of calculations, a hierarchical classification has been created. This classification includes 5 faunistic regions (regional groups of subregions), 6 subregions, 18 provinces, and 14 districts. Environmental factors that correlate with faunistic heterogeneity in the studied territory were described. The proposed zoning takes into account 57% of the variance of the similarity coefficients of the faunas of specific regions (coefficient of multiple correlation is 0.75). It is 2–2.5 times more informative than the previously developed schemes on particular groups of animals, which reflected, as the researchers thought at that moment, the heterogeneity of fauna of terrestrial vertebrates in general. Association with environmental factors and natural conditions may explain 82% of the heterogeneity of the fauna (correlation coefficient is 0.91). Comparing the results of zoning that were carried out for different classes of terrestrial vertebrates (amphibians, reptilians, birds, and mammals), we found significant similarity between causes of fauna heterogeneity (zonal features, provinciality, heat availability, and their combined effect). Nevertheless, differences in tolerance to the environment among the studied animal classes resulted in the substantial discordance of the boundaries of the described taxa and their hierarchy. This discordance was found during zoning. A classification of 1243 species of terrestrial vertebrates inhabiting the territory under study is performed based on the similarity of their occurrence (the average in the lower taxon faunistic zoning) and covers three types of distribution: Northern, Middle and Southern. These in turn are divided into 7 subtypes and 13 classes. The informative presentation of the classification is equal to 53% of the variance (correlation coefficient is 0.73).     

Ways of the fleas (Siphonaptera) fauna formation in the Caucasus

Fleas fauna of the Caucasus is considered, possible ways of its formation are discussed. Caucasian fleas belong to 155 species and 40 genera; 23 species are endemics. Hypothesis on Western Palearctic and Eastern Palearctic sources of the Caucasian fleas' fauna formation are proposed.     

Spatial distribution of zoobenthos in the watercourses of the Biya River basin (Altai)

The composition and spatial distribution of macrozoobenthos were studied in 26 watercourses of the Biya River basin from 1997 to 2004. The bottom fauna of the basin’s rivers includes 382 species, 217 genera, 81 families, 21 orders, 11 classes, and 7 types of invertebrates. Species common in the northern and eastern Palearctic prevail, presumably evidencing the oriental origin of the rheophylic benthic fauna. Four basic and two intermediate types of benthic communities were revealed. These communities differ in the structures of the complexes dominant by biomass. The successive substitution of the communities from the upper reaches of Lake Teletskoye tributaries to the Biya mouth depends on factors related to the basin’s relief and corresponds to changes in the landscape and hydrological conditions. This substitution generally conforms to the concept of river continuum.     

Analysis of insect distribution in the Northern Hemisphere by the example of the subfamily Arctiinae (Lepidoptera,Arctiidae). 1. Genus level

An attempt is made to apply cluster analysis to comparison of local faunas in the Northern Hemisphere at the genus level by the example of the subfamily Arctiinae (Lepidoptera, Arctiidae). A total of 200 North African, Eurasian (to New Guinea inclusive), and North American (north of the United Mexican States) local faunas have been considered. It is found that the arctic fauna is clearly detached from the Palearctic and Nearctic faunas, being closer to the former. Therefore, it is not reasonable to recognize the united European-Canadian subprovince of the boreal province according to the tiger moth faunas. The Palearctic tiger moth fauna is characterized by relatively smooth variations within the boreal, subboreal, and western subtropical belts. The boundary between the Palearctic and the Oriental (Indo-Malayan) provinces should be drawn north of the Yangtze catchment area. The most dramatic fauna change at the genus level takes place between North and Northeast China. It is reasonable to recognize a broad transition area between the two zoogeographic provinces in Eastern Asia. On the grounds of the nonuniform tiger moth fauna, the South Chinese-East Himalayan subprovince should be assigned to the Oriental (Indo-Malayan) province rather than the Palearctic, as was repeatedly proposed. The Southwest-Asian fauna (Arabian Peninsula and southern Iran) is transitional between the Palearctic, African, and Oriental ones. Many African genera reach the west and south of the Arabian Peninsula, whereas Oriental and Paleotropical genera reach southern Iran.     

The structure and spatial organization of the butterfly fauna (Lepidoptera,Rhopalocera) of the Ural Mountains

The butterfly fauna of the Ural Mountains contains 233 species: Papilionidae (6 species), Pieridae (23), Lycaenidae (64), Nymphalidae (60), Satyridae (57), and Hesperiidae (23). The number of butterfly species in seven regional and 29 local faunas generally increases gradually from north to south. The mean number of species in the local butterfly faunas is 127 in the southern Urals and slightly over 50 in the Polar Urals. The arealogical structure of the fauna is determined by the distribution of species recorded in 24 meridional and 19 latitudinal groups which together result in 80 distribution patterns. Based on comparison of the local butterfly faunas of the Urals, two large, historically formed faunistic complexes are distinguished: southern and northern. Either complex contains two faunistic complexes of the second order, hypoarctic and boreal in the former, and southern boreal and subboreal in the latter. The faunas of the Kazakhstan part of the Urals form a separate subboreal semi-arid complex, whereas the extreme boreal fauna of Pay-Khoy forms an independent arctic complex.     

中国翼手目区系的研究及与日本翼手目区系的比较

翼手类是哺乳动物中唯一能够占领空间领域,真正飞行的一目。在现生哺乳纲中,为其种数仅次于啮齿类的一个大目,这无论就全世界来说,或者就中国来说,都是如此。以往中国对翼手目的报道,均散见于各区系报告中,缺乏专门系统研究,这同此类群之繁多是很不相称的,本文仅在材料很不充分的情况下,作初步概括性讨论。     

Contribution to the knowledge of the rotifera of Mexico

This faunistic survey of Mexican Rotifera, covering 32 localities, mostly in Central Mexico, has yielded 96 taxa of which 41 are new to Mexican fauna. The zoogeographic status of the rotifer fauna of Mexico was reevaluated on the basis of the present data.     

Biogeographic characteristics of Far Eastern wasps: A case study with eumenine wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Eumeninae)

A total of 107 forms of 88 eumenine wasp species occurring in the Far East were used to produce a more comprehensive picture of the geographical pattern of wasps in the Far East. All forms occurring in the Far East were biogeographically classified into 22 types in four larger categories, and a summarized table and discussion are presented. The eumenine wasp fauna of the Far East was characterized as a mixture of a fair number of endemic elements, a moderate number of transpalearctic elements, and some Oriental elements. The endemism of the Far East reached 0.71 at the species/subspecies level when the calculation was based on true Palearctic elements occurring in Far Eastern Russia, the Korean peninsula and Japan proper. The relationship between the Far Eastern fauna and the Central/Western Palearctic faunas was also analyzed and discussed. The species occurring in each treated district was counted, and provides evidence for the importance of the Korean fauna in biodiversity evaluation/estimation of Far Eastern fauna. The similarity index between the Korean Peninsula and Japan proper, the Korean Peninsula and the Russian Far East, and the Russian Far East and Japan proper was calculated to explain possible factors for faunal formation in the Far East. The distributional pattern of each form treated in this study and its relatives is tabulated in Appendix I.     

梵净山土壤甲螨属级阶元区系初步研究

在不同季节通过定点和随机采集相结合,对梵净山土壤甲螨进行了调查,共得到甲螨标本11 487号,分属于45科81属.在世界动物地理区划中,以世界广布类群、东洋-古北界区系型类群和东洋界特有类群为主体;跨古北界的区系型中所包含类群所占比例最高.在中国动物地理区划中,以华中区独有类群、华中-华南区系型类群和华中-东北区系型类群为主体.含东北区跨区区系型类群最多.     

Diversity and endemicity in the scorpion fauna of Vietnam. A preliminary synopsis

A faunistic inventory is proposed for the known Vietnamese scorpion species. The aim of this contribution is to bring an up-to-date checklist of all known species in Vietnam, prior to a more detailed study of the Vietnamese fauna to be performed by one of the authors (T.-H.T.) in the context of the preparation of a doctoral degree. Final taxonomic decisions should be taken at the end of the doctoral dissertation.     

Amphibian and reptile biogeographic regions of Northern Eurasia,mapped separately

Distributions of amphibian and reptile faunas were separately delimited on a 1:20 000 000 vegetation map of Northern Eurasia divided into 245 10-degree-longitudinal segments of native subzone within the USSR borders as of 1990. All reptile and amphibian species recorded in every segment were listed, and the Jaccard indices were calculated, and the similarity matrix was studied with cluster analysis. Hierarchic classifications were made: the amphibian one consisting of 3 faunistic regions, divided into 4 subregions, 7 biologic provinces, and 23 districts. The reptile classification includes 4 faunistic regions, 7 subregions, 18 provinces, and 14 districts. The reptile classification has 1.5 times more provincial and district subdivisions than amphibian one. Environmental factors correlating with faunistic nonuniformity were revealed. Our amphibian and reptile schemes are 1.9 and 3.5 times more informative than those proposed earlier and account for 75 and 91% of variance in the faunal similarity coefficient of specific areas, respectively (multiple correlation coefficients 0.87 and 0.95). Environmental factors can explain 84 and 93% of faunistic nonuniformity (correlation coefficients 0.95 and 0.96).     

甘肃两栖动物的保护研究

调查表明甘肃有两栖类动物24种,其中有尾目3科3属3种,无尾目6科21种.属于古北界的有5种和亚种,属东洋界的有14种,其余5种为两界兼有种.对引起甘肃省两栖类动物种群衰退、变异和灭绝的主要因素进行了初步分析,提出了若干针对甘肃两栖类动物的保护对策.     

四川海子山自然保护区大中型兽类多样性调查

四川海子山自然保护区地处四川省甘孜藏族自治州理塘县和稻城县境内,东经99°33′00″～100°31′48″, 北纬29°06′36″～30°06′00″,保护区总面积459 161 hm2,区内海拔3 160～6 204 m.主要以山原和丘状高原地形为主.属寒温带,海拔高,属高原气候,年均气温3.0 ℃,年均降水量600～750 mm,雨季为6～8月.全年日照时数为2 637.7 h.随着海拔升高,气温和热量下降,降水量增加.在四川植被区划中属川西山原植被地区、沙鲁里山北部植被小区.保护区植被大致可分为以下7种类型:     

Fauna of bumblebees (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Bombus Latreille) in the mainland part of Arkhangelsk Region,NW Russia

The focus of this study is to present bumblebee fauna of Arkhangelsk Region (north-western Russia). This research is based on the museum collections and materials collected by the authors. Collecting localities and data of faunistic records are given in the species list. We include 34 species in the fauna of bumblebees of Arkhangelsk Region. The regional fauna is dominated by Transpalaearctic species. Bumblebee fauna in the study region has low specificity. The recent distribution of bumblebee species in the study region is a result of post-glacial immigration.     

Spring benthic macroinvertebrate communities of selected streams in the High Caucasus (Azerbaijan SSR)

Investigations on invertebrate fauna were carried out at fifteen sites in some chosen streams of the Caucasus (Azerbaijan SSR) in March 1970. Seventy-five taxa of invertebrates were found in the investigated streams. Chironomidae constituted the most numerous group at all sites, Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Simuliidae being other important components of the fauna. On the basis of percentage structure of dominance in the examined streams four types of faunistic communities were distinguished. The most common one was the type characteristic of high mountain streams and rivers with Diamesa sp. (gr. latitarsis) predominant. Nevertheless, in springtime this community was characterized by a greater number of taxa and a greater abundance of specimens as compared with the summer period. It may be thus assumed that the spring period in high mountain streams and rivers is more conducive to the development of the invertebrate fauna.     

Holocene vegetation change and the mammal faunas of South America and Africa

Aim Although sharing many similarities in their vegetation types, South America and Africa harbour very dissimilar recent mammal faunas, not only taxonomically but also in terms of several faunistic patterns. However late Pleistocene and mid‐Holocene faunas, albeit taxonomically distinct, presented many convergent attributes. Here we propose that the effects of the Holocene climatic change on vegetation physiognomy has played a crucial role in shaping the extant mammalian faunistic patterns. Location South America and Africa from the late Pleistocene to the present. Methods Data presented here have been compiled from many distinct sources, including palaeontological and neontological mammalian studies, palaeoclimatology, palynology, and publications on vegetation ecology. Data on Pleistocene, Holocene and extant mammal faunas of South America and Africa allowed us to establish a number of similar and dissimilar faunistic patterns between the two continents across time. We then considered what changes in vegetation physiognomy would have occurred under the late Pleistocene last glacial maximum (LGM) and the Holocene climatic optimum (HCO) climatic regimes. We have ordained these proposed vegetation changes along rough physiognomic seral stages according to assumptions based on current botanical research. Finally, we have associated our hypothesized vegetation changes in South America and Africa with mammalian faunistic patterns, establishing a putative causal relationship between them. Results The extant mammal faunas of South America and Africa differ widely in taxonomical composition; the number of medium and large species they possess; behavioural and ecological characteristics related to herbivore herding, migration and predation; and biogeographical patterns. All such distinctions are mostly related to the open formation faunas, and have been completely established around the mid‐Holocene. Considering that the mid‐Holocene was a time of greater humidity than the late Pleistocene, vegetation cover in South America and Africa would have been dominated by forest or closed vegetation landscapes, at least for most of their lower altitude tropical regions. We attribute the loss of larger‐sized mammal lineages in South America to the decrease of open vegetation area, and their survival in Africa to the existence of vast savannas in formerly steppic or desertic areas in subtropical Africa, north and south of the equator. Alternative explanations, mostly dealing with the disappearance of South American megamammals, are then reviewed and criticized. Main conclusions The reduction of open formation areas during the HCO in South America and Africa explains most of the present distinct faunistic patterns between the two continents. While South America would have lost most of its open formations within the 30° latitudinal belt, Africa would have kept large areas suitable to the open formation mammalian fauna in areas presently occupied by desert and semi‐arid vegetation. Thus, the same general climatic events that affected South America in the late Pleistocene and Holocene also affected Africa, leading to our present day faunistic dissimilarities by maintaining the African mammalian communities almost unchanged while dramatically altering those of South America.