Endemism in the mammalian fauna of the Carpathians

Abstract

The paper presents a survey of the concept of endemism with special attention to the most actual problems of interpretation of this biogeographic phenomenon. The overview of the main processes that determine species richness in areas of endemism is presented as well. The unique biogeographic location of the Carpathian mountain system allows considering this region as a special area, where endemic elements are represented on such taxonomic levels as species and, especially, subspecies. Proposed here are 14 subspecies of mammals to consider them endemic for the Carpathian region and a brief overview of these subspecies is given as an annotated list. Substantiated here is the expediency to consider the Carpathian region a local biodiversity hotspot that requires increased attention for conservation, in particular because of significant number of isolated populations of highly specialized species. The loss of these taxa would mean not only a significant depletion of the local biodiversity, but also the loss of the region’s uniqueness in general.

Keywords

• endemism
• the Carpathian Mountains
• mammals
• local biodiversity