First global map of every vertebrate completed

SPECIES FEATURED IN THE MAP ARE NOW BEING CLASSIFIED WITH RATINGS BASED ON HOW ENDANGERED THEY ARE

An international team of researchers has completed the “atlas of life” – the first review and map of every vertebrate on Earth – that will help identify new areas where action for the conservation of species is vital.

Led by researchers at the University of Oxford and Tel Aviv University, 39 scientists have produced a catalogue and atlas of the world’s reptiles.

By linking it with existing maps for birds, mammals and amphibians, the team has identified the areas for action.

The University of Oxford said in a statement that in order to best protect wildlife, it is important to know where species live, so that the right action can be taken and scarce funding allocated in the right places. With this in mind, the team produced detailed maps highlighting the whereabouts of all known land-living vertebrate species.

The research has been published in Nature Ecology & Evolution. Maps showing the habitats of almost all birds, mammals and amphibians have been completed since 2006, but it was widely thought many reptile species were too poorly known to be mapped, the statement said.

The atlas covers more than 10,000 species of snakes, lizards, turtles and tortoises. The data completes the world map of 31,000 species of humanity’s closest relatives, including around 5,000 mammals, 10,000 birds and 6,000 frogs and salamanders.

The map revealed unexpected trends and regions of biodiversity fragility. They include the Arabian Peninsula and the Levant, inland arid southern Africa, the Asian steppes, the central Australian deserts, the Brazilian caatinga scrubland, and the high southern Andes.