Mammal Diversity of Russian Mountain Regions

In the paper, the geographical changes of mammalian diversity in mountainous regions (orobiomes) throughout Russia are analyzed and shown on maps created using the biome approach. The diversity of mammals was estimated by various parameters: abundance of species, their belonging to orders (taxonomic diversity) and to faunistic complexes (zoogeographic diversity). The distribution of protected objects, which are listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation, by mountain regions is also shown. The theriofauna of most orobiomes located in Central Asia is characterized by moderate species richness (on average 58 species), the prevalence of rodents and forest species. To the north, the diversity drops to 7–9 species in the High Arctic tundra, where Carnivora and tundra species predominate. The orobiomes of the south of Russia are characterized by an increase in diversity in all parameters in the series: Southern Far East, Altai-Sayan and Caucasian orobiomes. Caucasian orobiomes differ markedly from others, especially by the theriofauna composition, very high species richness (up to 97 species), and the predominance of not only the Rodentia species, but also the Chiroptera ones. The leading forest species in the theriofauna of the North Caucasus are almost exclusively represented by species, characteristic for deciduous forests. There are more protected objects, which are listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation, in this region (38.6%) than in other parts of Russia.