Changes in taxonomic diversity of Ukrainian mammals for the last three centuries: extinct, phantom, and alien species

Abstract

The species composition in the mammal fauna of Ukraine for the last three centuries has been analyzed. Estimates of species richness were presented for families, superfamilies, suborders and orders. The data were grouped into superorders: Glires (58 species, 52 of them in the modern fauna), Lipotyphla (14, 12), Chiroptera (29, 28), Ferae (23, 21), Ungulata (22, 18). The modern mammal fauna includes 131 species (among them 23 alien species); in addition, 15 species became extinct during the last 300 years. Thus, the complete list of Ukrainian mammal fauna (including extinct mammals) includes 146 species. There are also 9 “phantom” species which were not included in diversity indices or fauna changes calculations. The index of fauna changes (IFR) is 15.4 %; it has the maximum in Ungulata (42.9 %) and Ferae (23.5 %), and the minimum in Lipotyphla (7.1 %) and Chiroptera (5.6 %). The rates of fauna changes are increasing over time, and they reached the highest values in the last few decades.

Keywords

• mammals
• taxonomic richness
• extinction
• alien species
• Ukraine