Faunal lists are important tools in ecology, biogeography, and conservation planning. Such lists can identify gaps in our knowledge of the distribution and taxonomy of regional faunas, and highlight issues needing further study. We present an up to date list of all land vertebrates occurring in Israel. We identify 786 species, of which 551 are birds, 130 are mammals, 97 are reptiles and eight are amphibians. Of these 369 species breed in Israel (including reintroductions), 199 (mostly birds) are regular visitors and 182 are accidental. Fourteen other species are invasive, and 22 species are extinct. We identify issues with the taxonomy and status of several species, and note recent developments in our understanding the Israeli land vertebrate fauna.
Purchase
Buy instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):
Institutional Login
Log in with Open Athens, Shibboleth, or your institutional credentials
Personal login
Log in with your brill.com account
Aharoni I. (1944). Animals hitherto unknown to or little known from Palestine. Bulletin of the Zoological Society of Egypt, Suppl. 6, pp. 40–41.
Arbel A. (1984). Reptiles and amphibians. In: Alon A. , ed., Encyclopedia of Plants and Animals of the Land of Israel. Tel-Aviv: Ministry of Defense Press (in Hebrew).
Arnold E.N. (1980). The reptiles and amphibians of Dhofar, Southern Arabia. Journal of Oman Studies 2, pp. 273–332.
Arslan A. , Kryštufek B. , Matur F. , Zima J. (2016). Review of chromosome races in blind mole rats (Spalax and Nannospalax). Folia Zoologica, 65, pp. 249–301.
Balasanyan V. , Yavruyan E. , Somerová B. , Abramjan A. , Landova E. , Munclinger P. , Frynta D. (2018). High diversity of mtDNA haplotypes confirms syntopic occurrence of two field mouse species Apodemus uralensis and A. witherbyi (Muridae: Apodemus) in Armenia. Russian Journal of Genetics 54, pp. 687–697.
Bar A. , Haimovitch G. (2018). A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Israel, 2nd edition. Jerusalem: The Israeli Nature and Parks Authority Press (in Hebrew).
Bar-David S. , Saltz D. , Dayan T. , Perelberg A. , Dolev A. (2005). Demographic models and reality in reintroductions: Persian fallow deer in Israel. Conservation Biology 19, pp. 131–138.
Bar-Oz G. , Weissbrod L. (2017). The kaleidoscope of mammalian faunas during the terminal Pleistocene and Holocene in the Southern Levant. In: Bar-Yosef O. , Enzel Y. , eds., Quaternary Environments and Humans in the Levant, pp. 363–368. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Bate D.M.A. (1937). New Pleistocene mammals from Palestine. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 20, pp. 397–400.
Ben-Slimen H. , Suchentrunk F. , Stamatis C. , Mamuris Z. , Sert H. , Alves P.C. , Kryger U. , Shahin A.B. , Elgaaied A.B.A. (2008). Population genetics of cape and brown hares (Lepus capensis and L. europaeus): a test of Petter’s hypothesis of conspecificity. Biochemical Systematics and Ecology 36, pp. 22–39.
Bodenheimer F.S. (1935). Animal Life in Palestine. An Introduction to the Problems of Animal Ecology and Zoogeography . Jerusalem: L. Mayer.
Burgin C.J. , Colella J.P. , Kahn P.L. , Upham N.S. (2018). How many species of mammals are there? Journal of Mammalogy 99, pp. 1–11.
Darvish J. , Mohammadi Z. , Ghorbani F. , Mahmoudi A. , Dubey S. (2015). Phylogenetic relationships of Apodemus Kaup, 1829 (Rodentia: Muridae) species in the Eastern Mediterranean inferred from mitochondrial DNA, with emphasis on Iranian species. Journal of Mammalian Evolution 22, pp. 583–595.
Dolev A. , Pervolutzki A. (2002). Endangered Species in Israel. Red List of Threatened Animals. Vertebrates . Jerusalem: The Nature Reserves and Park Authority and the Society for Conservation of Nature (in Hebrew).
Duellman W.E. , Marion A.B. , Hedges S.B. (2016). Phylogenetics, classification, and biogeography of the treefrogs (Amphibia: Anura: Arboranae). Zootaxa 4104, pp. 1–109.
Fritz U. (1989). Does or did the European pond turtle, Emys orbicularis (Reptilia: Testudines), occur in Israel? Israel Journal of Zoology 36, pp. 81–84.
Frost D.R. (2018). Amphibian species of the world: an online reference. Version 6.0 (accessed 14 September 2018). Electronic database accessible at http://research.amnh.org/herpetology/amphibia/index.html. New York: American Museum of Natural History.
Gerrie R. , Kennerley R. (2017). Crocidura katinka. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 15 September 2018.
Gilad O. , Grant W.E. , Saltz D. (2008). Simulated dynamics of Arabian Oryx (Oryx leucoryx) in the Israeli Negev: effects of migration corridors and post-reintroduction changes in natality on population viability. Ecological Modelling 210, pp. 169–178.
Grach C. , Plesser Y. , Werner Y.L. (2007). A new, sibling, treefrog from Jerusalem (Amphibia: Anura: Hylidae). Journal of Natural History 41, pp. 709–728.
Grillitsch H. , Werner Y.L. (2009). The southern limit of Natrix natrix in the Levant – a detective story (Squamata: Serpentes: Colubridae). Herpetozoa 22, pp. 65–74.
Gueta T. , Templeton A.R. , Bar-David S. (2014). Development of genetic structure in a heterogeneous landscape over a short time frame: the reintroduced Asiatic wild ass. Conservation Genetics 15, pp. 1231–1242.
Gvozdik V. , Moravec J. , Klutsch C. , Kotlik P. (2010). Phylogeography of the Middle Eastern tree frogs (Hyla, Hylidae, Amphibia) as inferred from nuclear and mitochondrial DNA variation, with a description of a new species. Molecular Phylogenetics & Evolution 55, pp. 1146–1166.
Horwitz L.K. (2002). The development of archaeozoological research in Israel and the West Bank. Archaeofauna 2002, pp. 131–145.
Hutterer R. , Kock D. (2002). Recent and ancient records of shrews from Syria, with notes on Crocidura katinkaBate, 1937 (Mammalia: Soricidae). Bonner Zoologische Beitrage 50, pp. 249–259.
Kirwan G.M. , Schweizer M. , Copete J.L. (2015). Multiple lines of evidence confirm that Hume’s Owl Strix butleri (A.O. Hume, 1878) is two species, with description of an unnamed species (Aves: Non-Passeriformes: Strigidae). Zootaxa 3904, pp. 28–50.
Kryštufek B. (2002). Identity of four Apodemus (Sylvaemus) types from the eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East. Mammalia, 66, pp. 43–52.
Leviton A.E. , Anderson S.C. (1967). Survey of the reptiles of the Sheikdom of Abu Dhabi, Arabian Peninsula. Part II. Systematic account of the collection of reptiles made in the Sheikhdom of Abu Dhabi by John Gasperetti . Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 35, pp. 157–192.
Lymberakis P. , Ajtic R. , Tok V. , Ugurtas I. H. , Sevinç M. , Crochet P-A ., Disi A. M. M. , Hraoui-Bloquet S. , Sadek R. , Haxhiu I. , Bohme B. , Agasyan A. , Tuniyev B. , Ananjeva N. , Orlov N. (2009). Platyceps najadum. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 15 September 2018.
Mayr E. (1942). Systematics and the Origin of Species. New York: Columbia University Press.
Meiri S. (2016). Small, rare and trendy: traits and biogeography of lizards described in the 21st century. Journal of Zoology 299, pp. 251–261.
Meiri S. , Mace G.M. (2007). New taxonomy and the origin of species. PLoS Biology 5, pp. 1385–1386.
Mendelssohn H. (1963). On the biology of the venomous snakes in Israel, Part I. Israel Journal of Zoology 12, pp. 143–170.
Mendelssohn H. , Yom-Tov Y. (1987). Mammals. In: Alon A. , ed., Encyclopedia of plants and animals of the land of Israel, vol. 7. Tel Aviv: Ministry of Defense, The Publishing House Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (in Hebrew).
Mendelssohn H. , Yom-Tov Y. (1999). Mammalia of Israel. Jerusalem: The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities.
Moyal H. (2004). Lexicon of Vertebrate Names in Israel. Herzlia: Teva Hadvarim (in Hebrew).
Musser G.G. , Carleton M.D. (2005). Superfamily Muroidea. In: Wilson D.E. , D.M. Reeder, eds., Mammal Species of the World, 3rd edition, pp. 894–1351. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Ndiaye A. , Chevret, P., Dobigny, G., Granjon, L. (2016a). Evolutionary systematics and biogeography of the arid habitat-adapted rodent genus Gerbillus (Rodentia, Muridae): a mostly Plio-Pleistocene African history. Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research 54, pp. 299–317.
Ndiaye A. , Tatard, C., Stanley, W., Granjon, L. (2016b). Taxonomic hypotheses regarding the genus Gerbillus (Rodentia, Muridae, Gerbillinae) based on molecular analyses of museum specimen. ZooKeys 566, pp. 145–155.
A. Nehring (1897). Über mehrere neue Spalax Arten. Sitzungsber der Gesellsch. Naturforsch .,Freunde zu Berlin 10, pp. 163–183.
Neumann O. (1902). Ueber neue Arten von Ginsterkatzen. Sitzungs-Bericht der Gesellschaft Naturforschender Freunde zu Berlin 1902, pp. 181–184
Nevo E. , ivanitskaya E. , Beiles A. (2001). Adaptive Radiation of Blind Subterranean Mole Rats: Naming and Revisiting the Four Sibling Species of the Spalax ehrenbergi Superspecies in Israel . Leiden: Backhuys Publishers.
Paz U. (1986). Birds. In: Alon A. , ed., Encyclopedia of Plants and Animals of the Land of Israel, vol. 6. Tel Aviv: Ministry of Defense / The Publishing House Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (in Hebrew).
Roll U. , Stone L. , Meiri S. (2009). Hot-spot facts and artifacts – questioning Israel’s great biodiversity. Israel Journal of Ecology and Evolution 55, pp. 263–279.
Roll U. , Tallowin O. , Berkowic D. , Maza E. , Ostrometzky Y. , Slavenko A. , Shacham B. , Tamar K. , Meiri S. (2013). Rueppel’s sSnake-eyed skink, Ablepharus rueppellii (Gray, 1839) (Reptilia: Squamata: Scincidae): distribution extension and geographic range in Israel. Check List 9, pp. 458–464.
Roll U. , Mittermeier J.C. , Diaz G.I. , Novosolov M. , Feldman A. , Itescu Y. , Meiri S. , Grenyer R. (2016). Using Wikipedia page views to explore the cultural importance of global reptiles. Biological Conservation 204, pp. 42–50.
Roll U. , Feldman A. , Novosolov M. , Allison A. , Bauer A. , Bernard R. , Bohm M. , Chirio L. , Collen B. , Colli G.R. , Dabul L. , Das I. , Doan T. , Grismer L. , Herrera F.C. , Hoogmoed M. , Itescu Y. , Kraus F. , LeBreton M. , Lewin A. , Martins M. , Maza E. , Meirte D. , Nagy Z. , Nogueira C.C. , Pauwels O.S G. , Pincheira-Donoso D. , Powney G. , Sindaco R. , Tallowin O. , Torres-Carvajal O. , Trape J.F. , Uetz P. , Vidan E. Wagner P. , Wang Y.Z. , Orme D. , Grenyer R. , Meiri S. (2017). The global distribution of tetrapods reveals a need for targeted reptile conservation. Nature Ecology & Evolution 1, pp. 1677–1682.
Rotics S. , Dayan T. , Kronfeld-Schor N. (2011). Effect of artificial night lighting on temporally partitioned spiny mice. Journal of Mammalogy 92, pp. 159–168.
Schlitter D. , Shenbrot G. , Kryštufek B. , Sozen M. (2017). Nannospalax ehrenbergi (amended version of 2008 assessment). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 15 September 2018.
Shenbrot G. , Feldstein T. , Meiri S. (2016). Are cryptic species of the lesser Egyptian jerboa, Jaculus jaculus (Rodentia, Dipodidae), really cryptic? Re-evaluation of their taxonomic status with new data from Israel and Sinai. Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research 54, pp. 148–159.
Sinaiko G. , Magory-Cohen T. , Meiri S. , Dor R. (2018). Taxonomic revision of Israeli snakes belonging to the Platyceps rhodorachis species complex (Reptilia: Squamata: Colubridae). Zootaxa 4379, pp. 301–346.
Sindaco R. , Kornilios P. , Sacchi R. , Lymberakis P. (2014). Taxonomic reassessment of Blanus strauchi (Bedriaga, 1884) (Squamata: Amphisbaenia: Blanidae), with the description of a new species from south-east Anatolia (Turkey). Zootaxa 3795, pp. 311–326.
Skourtanioti E. , Kapli P. , Ilgaz C. , Kumlutas Y. , Avci A. , Ahmadzadeh F. , Crnobrnja-Isailovic J. , Gherghel I. , Lymberakis P. , Poulakakis N. (2016). A reinvestigation of phylogeny and divergence times of the Ablepharus kitaibelii species complex (Sauria, Scincidae) based on mtDNA and nuDNA genes. Molecular Phylogenetics & Evolution 103, pp. 199–214.
Stock M. , Dubey S. , Klutsch C. , Litvinchuk S. N. , Scheidt U. , Perrin N. (2008). Mitochondrial and nuclear phylogeny of circum-Mediterranean tree frogs from the Hyla arborea group. Molecular Phylogenetics & Evolution 49, pp. 1019–1024.
Stock M. , Dubey S. , Klutsch C. , Litvinchuk S.N. , Scheidt U. , Perrin N. (2010). On tree frog cryptozoology and systematics. Molecular Phylogenetics & Evolution 57, pp. 957–958.
Tamar K. , Carranza S. , Sindaco R. , Moravec J. , Meiri S. (2014). Systematics and phylogeography of Acanthodactylus schreiberi and its relationships with Acanthodactylus boskianus (Reptilia: Squamata: Lacertidae). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 172, pp. 720–739.
Tamar K. , Carranza S. , Sindaco R. , Moravec J. , Trape J-F ., Meiri S. (2016a). Out of Africa: phylogeny and biogeography of the widespread genus Acanthodactylus (Reptilia: Lacertidae). Molecular Phylogenetics & Evolution 103, pp. 6–18.
Tamar K. , Smid J. , Gocmen B. , Meiri S. , Carranza S. (2016b). An integrative systematic revision and biogeography of Rhynchocalamus snakes (Reptilia, Colubridae) with a description of a new species from Israel. PeerJ. 4, pp. e2769.
Tchernov E. (1988). The biogeographical history of the southern Levant. In: Yom-Tov Y. , Tchernov E. , eds., The Zoogeography of Israel . The Distribution and Abundance at a Zoogeographical Crossroad, pp. 159–250. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Tristram H.B. (1884). The Survey of Western Palestine: The Fauna and Flora of Palestine . London: Palestine Exploration Fund.
Tsahar E. , Izhaki I. , Lev-Yadun S. , Bar-Oz G. (2009). Distribution and extinction of ungulates during the Holocene of the Southern Levant. PLoS One 4, pp. e5316.
Uetz P. (2016). The Reptile Database turns 20. Herpetological Review 47, pp. 330–334.
Uetz P . (2018). The Reptile Database. http://reptile-database.reptarium.cz. Accessed 13 September 2018.
Weissbrod L. , Malkinson D. , Cucchi T. , Gadot Y. , Finkelstein I. , Bar-Oz G. (2014). Ancient urban ecology reconstructed from archaeozoological remains of small mammals in the Near East. PloS One 9, pp. e91795.
Werner Y.L. (1988). Herpetofaunal survey of Israel (1950–1985), with comments on Sinai and Jordan and on zoogeographical heterogeneity. In: Yom-Tov Y. , Tchernov E. , eds., The Zoogeography of Israel: The Distribution and Abundance at a Zoogeographical Crossroad, pp. 355–387. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Werner Y.L. (2016). Reptile Life in the Land of Israel. Frankfurt am Main: Edition Chimaira.
Werner Y.L. , Babocsay G. , Carmely H. , Thuna M. (2006). Micrelaps in the southern Levant: variation, sexual dimorphism, and a new species (Serpentes: Atractaspididae). Zoology in the Middle East 38, pp. 29–48.
Yom-Tov Y. (1967). On the taxonomic status of the hares (Genus Lepus) in Israel. Mammalia 31, pp. 246–259.
Yom-Tov Y. , Tchernov E. , eds. (1988). The Zoogeography of Israel: The Distribution and Abundance at a Zoogeographical Crossroad. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Yom-Tov Y. , Werner Y.L. (1996). Environmental correlates of geographical distribution of terrestrial vertebrates in Israel. Israel Journal of Zoology 42, pp. 307–315.
ארבל, א. (2008(. לקסיקון מפה היונקים. המדריך השלם ליונקי ארץ ישראל. תל אביב, מפה הוצאה לאור.
מירוז, א., וין, ג., לבינג’ר, ז. ושטייניץ, ע. (2018(. הרשימה האדומה של העופות המקננים בישראל. ירושלים, רשות הטבע והגנים, ותל אביב, החברה להגנת הטבע.
מרגולין, י. (1964(. זואולוגיה. חלק ב'. בעלי חוליות. הדפסה חמישית. מרחביה, הוצאת ההקיבוץ המאוחד.
פישלזון, ל. (1979(. זואולוגיה. חלק ב'. דגים, דו-חיים, זוחלים. תל-אביב, הוצאת הקיבוץ המאוחד.
פישלזון, ל. (1982(. זואולוגיה. חלק ג'. עופות, יונקים. תל-אביב, הוצאת הקיבוץ המאוחד.
All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
---|---|---|---|
Abstract Views | 1808 | 281 | 33 |
Full Text Views | 253 | 24 | 1 |
PDF Views & Downloads | 352 | 51 | 2 |
Faunal lists are important tools in ecology, biogeography, and conservation planning. Such lists can identify gaps in our knowledge of the distribution and taxonomy of regional faunas, and highlight issues needing further study. We present an up to date list of all land vertebrates occurring in Israel. We identify 786 species, of which 551 are birds, 130 are mammals, 97 are reptiles and eight are amphibians. Of these 369 species breed in Israel (including reintroductions), 199 (mostly birds) are regular visitors and 182 are accidental. Fourteen other species are invasive, and 22 species are extinct. We identify issues with the taxonomy and status of several species, and note recent developments in our understanding the Israeli land vertebrate fauna.
All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
---|---|---|---|
Abstract Views | 1808 | 281 | 33 |
Full Text Views | 253 | 24 | 1 |
PDF Views & Downloads | 352 | 51 | 2 |