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Data
We now have final datasets from every country in our atlas area. These have all been added to our database, where we now have 142,965 records of 245 species. Draft maps have been prepared for checking and we are now working with our national coordinators and species account authors to review the maps and make corrections. However, we do not expect the maps to change significantly. Some exceptions to this might be the distribution of some cryptic species, where we will try to prepare maps using the most recent information available. The most widely distributed species in Europe is the Red fox Vulpes vulpes, which has been recorded from almost every atlas cell. This is closely followed by the Roe deer Capreolus capreolus, Badger Meles meles, Otter Lutra lutra and Red squirrel Sciurus vulgaris. The species with the most limited occurrence are the Egyptian fruit bat Rousettus aegyptiacus and Tristram’s jird Meriones tristrami, which each occur in only one cell.
Species
There have been several changes to our species list over the 9-year course of our project. Some of these are nomenclatural changes, such as the renaming of the American mink from Mustela vison to Neogale vison, others are taxonomic changes, such as the splitting of one species into two or more. These changes are often the result of genetic investigations into cryptic species complexes, such as the Natterer’s bat Myotis nattereri group, or discovering that an island population is a distinct species, such as Myotis nustrale on Corsica. Our species list currently contains 245 species, but this may yet change!
Species accounts
Each map will be accompanied by a brief account covering phylogenetic relationships, geographic variation, distribution, habitat, population status, international legal & conservation status and other information. These vary in length, as some of the maps include 2, 3 or even 4 species. Altogether, we have more than 180 specialist authors preparing these accounts, the majority of which have now been submitted. The next step is to check and edit all the accounts to make sure they match the maps, include all the right information and fit the style of the atlas. On each page, we will have an accompanying photograph of the species to help the non-specialist identify what is being mapped.
Maps
Our first atlas was published using a two-colour process, so we were quite limited in what we could show on the maps. Now, we can map in full colour, so we are proposing to use a relief backdrop, which adds a lot of context to the species information, for example showing that what appears to be a strange distribution is actually closely tied to mountain ranges. We will also be exploring the use of colour in the symbology used to show date-classes or vagrants.
Putting it all together
The atlas steering group will be meeting in Luxembourg in early July to focus on the editing process, which will continue for several months. At the same time, the other parts of the atlas, such as the introduction, species list and so on, will be finalised. There is a lot to do, but we are still intent on meeting our December deadline.
Atlas of distribution of insectivores of the Czech Republic. Miloš Anděra, Vladimír Hanzal, Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic (NCA), Prague, 2022, 124 pp.
This latest version of the atlas of distribution of insectivores living in the Czech Republic follows up the previous stages of mapping of this mammal group. The large dataset covers the period 1753–2021 and is based on several main sources (results of field efforts, extensive bibliography of different sources, museum collections etc.); almost 24,000 records limited by the end of the year 2021 were used. The assessment of the data set is based on the standard grid mapping (squares 12 km × 11.2 km in size). In the overview of particular species, 3 types of maps are used: 1) summary grid map, 2) point map of localities and 3) chronological map. The text of the atlas for the particular species consists of several sections: the vernacular and scientific names of the species (including synonyms), information about its legal protection and conservation at the national and international level, general distribution and occurrence in the Czech Republic, mapping statistics, hypsometry, habitat preferences and level of threat. In some cases, notes on taxonomy or nomenclature of the species are added. A number of photos of species and their habitats are also attached. An extensive list of references is provided at the end of the atlas. Up to now, the occurrence of 10 species from three families – shrews (7 species), moles (1 species) and hedgehogs (2 species) – has been confirmed in the Czech Republic. The text is bilingual with more comprehensive English summaries.
The atlas can be ordered directly from the publisher – The Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic (NCA), email address: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; price 8 € + postage.
Voles and lemmings (Arvicolinae) of the Palearctic region.
Boris Kryštufek & Georgy Shenbrot
Voles and lemmings are the most numerous group of Palaearctic rodents by species, so they are often the subject of basic and applied research. Combining the advances of genomics with traditional taxonomy, the present work is an authoritative and up-to-date guide to the taxonomy of an animal group of interest to epidemiologists, biostratigraphers, zooarchaeologists, evolutionary biologists, population ecologists, biosystematists, conservation biologists, museum curators, and researchers in various other biological fields. . The text is accompanied by 331 illustrations and more than a thousand references. Morphological features and detailed distribution maps are given for each of the 128 species. The book will provide the user with an in-depth and critical interpretation of the relationships between species of voles and lemmings. It will make it easier to understand the taxonomic changes that are still common in this group of rodents.
The book is published as a pdf, which can be freely downloaded here.
The 6th World Lagomorph Conference will take place from 4-8th July 2022 in Montpellier, France.
The World Lagomorph Conference, which takes place every four years, brings together researchers and experts on rabbits, hares, and pikas from all over the world. This quadriennal meeting organised on behalf of the World Lagomorph Society is a great opportunity to share and exchange information on the natural history, ecology, evolution, behaviour, physiology, genetics, morphology, diseases, management and conservation of wild lagomorphs.
The website for the conference can be found here: https://lagomorph2022.sciencesconf.org/ and the conference is already open for the submission of abstracts.
This is an interesting and very important story. Until now the occurrence in the Pyrenees of the Alpine Shrew (Sorex alpinus) has been documented only by a few, rather old data (1878-1930) from the Spanish side of the mountains (three specimens). Since then it has been considered extinct (missing). However, this year (2021) I was lucky enough to find the pdf.file of a book about mammals of the NP Ordesa y Monte Perdido (Ferrer E.W., 2019: Mamíferos del Parque Nacional de Ordesa y Monte Perdido - Ediciones Prames S.L., Zaragoza, 267pp.) and, to my surprise, I saw on pages 58 and 244 photos of the Alpine Shrew, presented as an unknown species; this individual was caught in autumn 2012.
Being sufficiently familiar with this shrew species in the Czech Republic I can, without doubt, state that it is the Alpine Shrew. The external features are quite typical – uniform grey-black colouration, overlong tail, very small eyes, light "meat"-coloured feet, the shape of the head and rostrum etc. Also, other experts on this species agree with this view, e.g. R. Kraft (München) and V. Vohralík (Prague). Therefore, it is my belief that the recent occurrence of the Alpine Shrew in the Pyrenees can be proven. Based on this finding, the occurrence of its relict population(s) in the Pyrenees deserves more attention.
Miloš Andĕra, Czech Republic (EMMA 2 national coordinator)
We are saddened to report the untimely death of our coordinator for Norway, Per Ole Syvertsen, at the age of 62. Per Ole will be known to all who attended the Eurobats Advisory Committee meetings and he was also present at the EMMA meeting in Prague, 2018.
Per Ole was the curator of the natural history department of the Helgeland Museum and was based in Mo i Rana.
There is growing interest across Europe in developing the involvement of volunteers to collect biological observations. A common part of this development is the setting up of a data portal, where observers can submit their biological records for verification and adding to a national database. A portal has been developed in Ireland by the National Biodiversity Data Centre and this video give an introduction to the system.
The new Atlas of the Mammals of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has been published. Covering both terrestrial and marine mammals, the atlas draws on more than 1.8 million observations from a variety of sources. For terrestrial species, the atlas uses the Ordnance Survey National Grid (Great Britain and Ireland) at a resolution of 10km. For marine species, a wider area is covered, with the resolution depending on data availability.
The atlas can be ordered directly from the publisher:
Today, the EMF is a co-signatory, along with many organisations and individual scientists, to an open letter to the EU, asking for the Water Framework Directive to be defended against any weakening of the strong protection it gives to aquatic and wetland habitats, which are widely threatened across Europe.
Droughts, floods, wildfires are on the rise in Europe. Resilient water ecosystems are more vital than ever. But 60% of freshwater ecosystems in the EU are not healthy.
The EU Water Framework Directive is an integrated and holistic environmental legislation, designed to ensure that we will have healthy and resilient freshwater bodies to support people and nature, today and in the future.
The XI International Dormouse Conference will be held from 14-18 September 2020 in Svilengrad, Bulgaria.
The International Dormice Conference (IDC) is being organized every three years to gather for four days scientists and conservationists to share findings and ideas on the research and conservation of the dormouse species. A mid-conference field trip, part of the conference programme, provides opportunities to get acquainted with the species ecology and habitats in different areas.
The Conference website can be found at http://dormouseconference.net/index.html
The European Mammal Foundation has today (5/5/2019) joined with other European scientific and conservation organisations to call on the European Parliament to undertake a far-reaching reform of the Common Agriculture Policy. Our open letter can be found here.
Over the last few decades, the CAP has driven an intensification of agriculture including the simplification of landscapes, an increase in the use of pesticides and the destruction of semi-natural grasslands and uncultivated land. Together, these practices have had a very significant impact on wildlife. Invertebrate populations have been severely affected, leading to declines in farmland birds and mammals, which are still continuing today.Without a fundamental reform of the CAP, such negative trends will not only diminish nature in current EU member states but will also threaten the nature of candidate ones.
We call on the EU to undertake an ambitious and fundamental review of the CAP to ensure that it will deliver sustainable and diversified agriculture through spatially-targeted measures supporting smaller farms which carry out sustainable farming and maintain high nature value farmland. This can be achieved by truly aligning a future CAP with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs.
European Mammal Foundation
Societas Europaea Herpetologica
Societas Europaea Lepidopterologica
A Confe
rence on The Mammals of Russia: Faunistics and Problems of Theriogeography will take place in Rostov-on-Don on 17-19 April 2019.
The conference, which will help to deliver the EMMA2 project, will include sessions on the following themes:
- Local and regional mammal faunas
- Structure and dynamics of mammal distribution ranges
- Mammal phylogeography
- Introduction of mammals: modern problems
- Use of the "Mammals of Russia" database to increase the effectiveness of fauna studies
- Problems of mammal species identification in the Russian fauna
Further information about the conference is available from This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Wild Mammals of Morocco: Populations, Distribution and Ecology, edited by S. Aulagnier, F. Cuzin and M. Thévenot, has recently been published by the Société Française pour l'Etude et la Protection des Mammifères. The work includes distribution maps for all species recorded in the second half of the 20th century, as well as data on their taxonomy, vernacular names and ecology. More details about the publication and where to buy it can be found here.
A new Mammal Atlas for Ireland has just been published. The Atlas of Mammals in Ireland 2010-2015 is the first publication to map all 72 terrestrial and marine mammals that occur in Ireland. Almost a quarter of a million mammal sightings were used to produce the distribution maps. The full colour maps compare the pre-2010 distribution to 2010-2015 distribution. The 200 page hardback book also contains especially written species accounts by 42 leading authorities on Irish mammals as well as chapters on: legal protection, the origins of Irish mammals, mammal research in Ireland, advances in genetic techniques and more.
The Atlas is now available to purchase online: http://www.nhbs.com/title/213914/atlas-of-mammals-in-ireland-2010-2015?bkfno=234271
Photo: Mustafa Sözen
The first meeting to discuss the 2nd edition of the Atlas of European Mammals (EMMA2) was held in Rome on 25026 November 2016. 33 people from 21 countries attended, though 2 were not present for this photo on Saturday morning.
The agenda, notes and report of the meeting can be downloaded by following the menu EMMA2>Documents.
Dear Colleague,
We wish to extend a cordial invitation to you to participate in the 5th International Berlin
Bat Meeting: Are bats special? to be held in Berlin, Germany. We have some important
new information for you.
We had to shift the days of the conference from 10-12 March to 24-26 February 2017
(two weeks earlier), because we learned recently that all hotels in Berlin are fully booked in
mid-March owing to a convention (the few hotel rooms available are exceedingly expensive).
We hope that this does not cause any problems and apologize for any inconvenience.
Please note the new date.
Our conference web page is now open for registration! Please go to http://www.leibnizizw.
de/registration-336.html or register directly at http://www.bayceer.unibayreuth.
de/bat2017/. Please register as soon as possible since you may then benefit from
the early-bird registration fees.
The revised program is now available.
A new Germ
an regional atlas, the Atlas der Säugetiere Nordrhein-Westfalens has recently been published on-line. This covers 86 species of mammals (including humans) occuring in the Land at a resolution of 5 x 5 km. The atlas maps are interactive, so that clicking on a square will display the underlying biological record.
The Atlas of European Mammals was published in 1999, with most of the data being rather older than this. The Atlas is now out of print and the underlying data, though still available through this website, are getting more and more out of date. Is the time right for a new project to update the Atlas?
Since the beginning of the first atlas project in 1988, mammal mapping across Europe has improved greatly. Many countries have now published their own mammal atlas, or have a project to do so, and some have live on-line databases that can produce a new map on demand. However, the picture is uneven and our Atlas remains the only publication that covers a significant part of Europe in a consistent and objective way, using mammal records supplied by each country. It remains an important source work for anyone studying the distribution of mammals at a large scale.
A new atlas project would, of course, be a cooperative venture, involving input from mammalogists or mammal mappers from each country. For some, this may be relatively straightforward, for others much more challenging. An immediate question is whether it would be possible to extend coverage to the whole of geographic Europe, rather than just western Europe as previously. This almost doubles the area to be mapped and includes large areas where mammalogists are few and far-between.
In order to stimulate debate and help us decide whether such a project is worthwhile, we have prepared a short discussion document setting out some of the challenges and questions to be addressed. We would welcome views on this and also indications of interest from national Mammal Societies, holders of national mammal records or others with an interest in the subject. Please e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with your comments and questions about collaboration.
Update
A meeting will be held in Rome on 25-26 November 2016 to discuss this proposal. An invitation for the meeting can be found here, the Agenda here and some notes about the topics to be discussed can be found here. If you are interested in attending this meeting, please e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
A new book Behaviour and Management of European Ungulates, edited by Rory Putman and Marco Apollonio has recently been published. It contains the following chapters, contributed by recognised experts in the field:
1. Behaviour and management of European ungulates, Rory Putman and Marco Apollonio.
2. Valuing ungulates in Europe, Sándor Csányi, Juan Carranza, Boštjan Pokorny, Rory Putman and Mark Ryan.
3. Reintroductions as a management tool for European ungulates, Massimo Scandura, Marco Apollonio and Nikica Šprem.
4. Introducing aliens: problems associated with invasive exotics, Francesco Ferretti and Sandro Lovari.
5. Competition between domestic and wild ungulates, Roberta Chirichella, Marco Apollonio and Rory Putman.
6. Effects of selective harvesting on ungulate populations, Atle Mysterud.
7. The management of urban populations of ungulates, Rory Putman, Jochen Langbein, Peter Watson,Peter Green and Seán Cahill.
8. The management of ungulates in protected areas, Stefano Grignolio, Marco Heurich, Nikica Šprem and Marco Apollonio.
9. Challenges in the management of cross-border populations of ungulates, Carlos Fonseca, Rita Torres,João P.V. Santos, José Vingada and Marco Apollonio.
10. Novel management methods: immunocontraception and other fertility control tools, Giovanna Massei,Dave Cowan and Douglas Eckery.
11. Welfare issues in the management of wild ungulates, Frauke Ohl and Rory Putman.
12. Management of ungulates in the 21st century: how far have we come?, Naomi Sykes and Rory Putman.
The book is published by Whittles Publishing and can be ordered here.
La Nutria en España: Veinte años de seguimiento de un mamífero amenazado, edited by José María López Martín & Juan Jiménez Pérez has been published by the Grupo Nutria of SECEM. This multi-authored volume details the status of the otter in each region of Spain, based on work caarried out between 2004-6. Following this, a smaller number of chapters consider the reasosn for the poor conservation situation of this species and what might be done to improve matters.
The Guide des Mammifères d'Europe, d'Afrique du Nord et du Moyen-Orient has been published by Delachaux et Niestlé. The guide was authored by Stéphane Aulagnier, Patrick Haffner, Tony Mitchell-Jones, François Moutou and Jan Zima and illustrated by Jean Chevallier, Julien Norwood and Juan Varela. This is the first field guide covering all the 400+ species of mammals of the Western Palearctic, although it does not cover the Cetacea.