What question did this study set out to answer?

The aim is to revise the species richness and identify regions of high diversity for terrestrial vertebrates in Russia.

March 15, 2026

Species Richness and Regions of High Diversity of Terrestrial Vertebrates in Russia

Key Points

The aim is to revise the species richness and identify regions of high diversity for terrestrial vertebrates in Russia.
Analyzed four vertebrate classes: mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians.
Used regional-level biomes as the territorial unit for assessment.
Developed original maps showing species richness across different regions.
Species richness increases southward for all vertebrate classes.
Mammal hotspots identified in Black Sea–Ciscaucasian and Zavolzhskii–Kulunda steppe biomes.
Bird hotspots found in Sayan–Southern Transbaikal and Altai–Sayan orobiomes.
Reptile hotspots are in Dagestan orobiome and Caspian desert–steppe biome.
Amphibian hotspot is found in the Dnieper–Volga biome.

Abstract

A revision of the species richness was conducted for the four vertebrate classes (mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians) within the territory of Russia. The regional-level biome was set as the territorial unit. An increase in species richness southwards is characteristic for all classes, with specific differences for each class reflected on originally developed 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 Zavolzhskii–Kulunda (114 species) steppe biomes. For birds, these are the Sayan–Southern Transbaikal (262 species) and the Altai–Sayan (275 species) orobiomes. For reptiles, these are the Dagestan orobiome (31 species) and the Caspian desert–steppe biome (37 species). For amphibians, this is the Dnieper–Volga biome, which includes Kaliningrad oblast (13 species).

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