Mammals of Turkey and Cyprus: Introduction, Checklist, Insectivora

The country of Turkey lies at the juncture of Europe (Turkish Thrace) and Asia (Anatolia), but its fauna exhibits an African influence as well. To be thus situated between different biogeographical regions increases the faunistic value of an area, but this may not be reflected by pubhcations. The recent Atlas of European Mammals (Mitchell-Jones et al. 1999), for instance, of which both Krystufek and Vohralik were coauthors, covers only the extreme western (European) part of Turkey, known as Turkish Thrace. Turkey is a member of the Council of Europe (different from the European Union), which is why Turkey and Cyprus are included in Threatened Mammals in Europe by Smit and van Wijngaarden (1976). Surveys of Turkish mammals are few, as are those of the island of Cyprus, in the Eastern Mediterranean sea and close to Turkey. This volume is a welcome addition to this literature. Mammals of Turkey and Cyprus represents the 1st synthesis of a series of treks to Turkey and Cyprus, started by the 2 authors in 1993. Both Drs. Krystufek (Llubljana, Republic of Slovenia) and Vohralik (Prague, Czech Republic) already were specialists on mammals of the Balkans, especially of small mammals.