Vertebrata

(1) Vertebrate diversity in China

There are 6,347 species of vertebrates in China, accounting for about 14% of the world’s total (45,417). Many of these are endemic species (667 species) and comprise 10% of Chinese vertebrates. The high species richness and abundance of endemic species are the result of interaction between the complicated fauna history of China and various eco-geographical conditions. Situated in the eastern part of Asia, northern China belongs to the Palaearctic Realm. The Da Hinggan Lin Mountains in the northeast and the Altal Mountains of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region stand on the southern edge of the Taiga forest. There are many representative species of Tundra and Taiga fauna, for example, Gulo gulo, Martes zibellina, Alces alces, Lepus timidus, Castor fiber, Sciurus vulgars, Clethrionomys, C. rutilus, Tetrastes bonasia, Lyrurus tetrix, Lagopus spp., Tetrao parvirostris, Dryocopus martius and Oncorhynchus keta. The northwest of China is bordered by Mongolia and the desert of Middle-Asia, where many typical grassland and desert animals are distributed, for example, Hemiechinus auritus, H. davuricus, Vulpes corsac, Felis bieti, F. manul, Equus przewalskii, E. hemionus, Camelus ferus, Gazella subgutturosa, Procapra gutturosa, P. przewalskii, Saiga tatarica, Lepus capensis and Ochotona daurica, and many species of Dipodidae, for example, Meriones spp., Brachiones przewalskii, Rhombomys opimus, Otis spp., Pterocles orientalis, Syrrhaptes spp., Melanocorypha mongolica, Testudo horsfieldi, Phrynocephalus spp.and Eremias spp., South China belongs to the Oriental Realm. There are many typical Asian tropical and subtropical species, for example, Suncus spp., Hylomys suilus, Tupaia glis, Rhinolophus spp., Hipposideros spp., Nycticebus spp., Macaca spp., Presbytis spp., Hylobates spp., Manis spp., Elephas maximus, Helarctors malayanus and Melogale spp., many species of Viveridae, for example, Felis temminckii, Neofelis nebulosa, Tragulus javanicus, Muntiacus spp., Bos gaurus and Ratufa bicolor, many species of Bucerotidae, Dicaeidae, Nectariniidae, and Timaliinae, for example, Francolimus pintadeanus, Arborophila spp., Gallus gallus, Pavo muticus, Syrmaticus spp., Clemmys spp., Cuora spp., Draco spp., Varanus salvater and Python molurus, and many species of Rhacophoridae and Microphylidae.

The western boundary between the Palaearctic and Oriental Realms lies along the south slope of the Himalayas extending east to the Hengduan Mountains. Palaearctic animals occur to the north of this boundary and Oriental animals to the south. Further east into the monsoon areas of China, the boundary consists of the broad transitional belt of Palaearctic and Oriental species. The two zoo-geographical realms have facilitated the evolution of new species as well as the preservation of relic species because of the complex topography and the criss-crossed hills and rivers. It enables China to be the original centre and/or a modern evolutionary centre for many vertebrate groups as the refuge for relic species.

China is important for its diversity of vertebrates, because of numerous endemic species. For example, of the mammals, the world-famous Giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) represents one of the Chinese endemic families with only one genus and species surviving. Other examples are Lipotes vexillifer, Elaphurus davidianus, Pantholops hodgsonii, Aeretes melanopterus, and Trogopterus xanthips, which are Chinese endemic genera with only one living species each. Furthermore, Rhinopithecus has 4 species in the world, all but one (in Viet Nam) being Chinese endemics. The 2 species of Sciurotamias only occur in China. Of the birds, Crossoptilon has 3 species, all found only in China, except for C. corssoptilon, which is distributed in neighboring countries. Shinisaurus crocodilurus is also rare and whose family has only one genus and one species in China. Its distribution is limited to the Yaoshan District of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The famous Alligator sinensis, an ancient relic species, is only found in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. It is one of only 2 surviving species of Alligator in the world. The other is found in the Mississippi River, U. S. A.. Of the amphibians, Vibrissaphora is a Chinese endemic, which has 4 species. Of the fishes, the Polyodontidae has only 2 species in the world, of which Psephurus gladius is endemic to China while the other is distributed in the Mississippi River, U. S. A.

Attention must be paid to the following conditions when we discuss China’s vertebrate diversity：

a. The endemic species are highly concentrated in the Qingzang Plateau and its surrounding areas, with the Himalaya-Hengduan Mountains as the centre. In this area, there are 48 endemic mammals accounting for 43.6% of the total in China, 38 species of birds accounting for 38.8%, 7 species of reptiles accounting for 28%, 13 species of amphibians accounting for 43.3% and 123 species of fishes accounting for 30.5%. The area not only has many endemic species, but is also the diversity centre of many vertebrates. For example, the Ochotonidae has 25 species in the world and 14 in this area. The Caprinae has 31 species in the world and 9 in the area. It is also known as the “Kingdom of Pheasants” with many species, such as Crossoptilon spp., Chrysolophus spp., Arborophila spp., Tragopan spp., Lophophorus spp., Ithaginis cruentus, Lophura leucomelana, Tetraophasis obscurus, Lerwa lerwa and Tetraogallus tibetanus. In addition, of the amphibians, the Pelobatidae has more than 80 species in the world and greater than 20 in this area. Triplophysa fishes are also concentrated in the area.

b. On two large islands of China (Hainan and Taiwan), the vertebrate faunas have their own characteristics, with many endemic species and subspecies.

Table 1 A comparison of the endemic vertebrate species and subspecies of Hainan and Taiwan

Hainan		Taiwan
Mammals	Neohyloms hainanensis	Soriculus fumidus
	Talpa micrura hainanus	Talpa micrura insularis
	Rhinolophus luctus spureus	Rhinolophus luctus formosae
	Hylobates concolor hainanus	Macaca cyclopis
	Manis pentadactyla pusillus	Manis pentadactyla pentadactyla
	Lepus hainanus	Lepus sinensis formosus
	Petaurista hainana	Petaurista petaurista grandis
	Petinomys electilis	Belomys pearsonii kaleensis
	Tamiops swinhoei hainanus	Tamiops swinhoei formosanus
	Selenarctos thibetanus melli	Selenarctos thibetanus formosanus
	Martes flavigula hainana	Martes flavigula chrysospila
	Poguma larvata hainana	Paguma larvata taiwana
	Felis bengalensis hainana	Neofelis nebulosa brachyurus
	Muntiacus muntjak nigripes	Muntiacus reevesi micrurus
	Cervus unicolor hainana	Cervus unicolor swinhoei
	Cervus eldi hainanus	Cervus nippon taiouanus
		Capriconis crispus swinhoei
Birds	Arborophila ardens		Arborophila crudigularis
	Picus canus hainanus		Picus canus tancolo
	Lophura nycthemera whiteheadi		Lophura swinhoii
	Polyplectron bicalcaratum katsumatae		Syrmaticus mikado
	Hypsipetes madagascariensis perniger	Hypsipetes madagascariensis nigerrimus
	Lanius schach hainanus		Lanius schach formosae
	Cissa whiteheadi whiteheadi		Cissa caerulea
	Niltava hainana		Nillava vivida vivida
	Criniger pallidus pallidus		Pycnonotus taivanus
	Melanochlora sultanea flavocristata		Parus holsti
	Dicaeum concolor minullum		Dicaeum concolor uchidai
Retiples	Ophisaurus hainanensis		Ophisaurus formosensis
	Tropidophorus hainanus		Scicella formosensis
	Achalinus hainanus Dinodon rosozonatum		Lygosoma taiwanensis Japalura swinhonis
	Elaphe porphyracea hainana		Takydromus formosanus
	Cuora hainanensis		Platyplacopus kuehnei
			Achalinus formosanus
			Typhlops koshunensis
			Pareas formosensis
Amphibians	Pelaphryne scalptus		Hynobius formosanus
	Rana fragilis		Hynobius sonani
	Amolops hainanensis		Chirixalus idiootocus
	Buergeria oxycephalus		Rhacophorus moltrechti
			Rhacophorus taipeianus
Fishes	Anabarilius hainanensis		Oncorhynchus masou formosanum
	Chorinemus hainanensis		Hemimyzon formosanum
	Psettina hainanensis		Rasborinus formosea
	Hainania serrata Pseudohemiculter hainanensis		Liobagrus formosanus Zacco taiwanensis
	Rhinoptera hainanica
	Pseudoperilampus haimanensis
	Ctenogobius hainanensis

(2) The status of threatened Chinese vertebrates

Since meat and eggs of most vertebrates are edible, furs can be used for clothing and many species are of high medicinal value, vertebrates have always been the targets for hunting. Moreover, some of their biological characteristics, such as body size, means of reproduction, generation time, and position in the ecosystem, make them vulnerable to environmental changes and deterioration. Generally speaking, vertebrates are more seriously threatened than other species.

Chinese wild vertebrates, not only in their native regions but also their numbers, are being reduced rapidly. In the Beidahuang marshland of northeastern China, the scene of “cudgeling roe deer, scooping up fish and pheasants flying into the cooking pot” has disappeared owing to large scale reclamation. There were many tigers in China and they have been described in literary works, but have now disappeared not only in the Jingyanggang Hills (a well-known place in Chinese classics situated in the southwest of Shantung Province), but also in the north, northeast and southwest of China. It is believed that China will become a country with no tigers unless there is an urgent rescue. The banks of the Three Gorges where “ceaseless is the cry of apes on the banks of the Yangtze River” (from a Tang Dynasty poem, 9th century) have no apes now and they have moved over 500 km away. Many large herbivores, on which our ancestors lived, for example, Elaphurus davidanus, are extinct. The wild Cervus elaphus and C. nippon have also disappeared in many districts. Psephurus gladius, the largest fish known as Wanjinxiang (a 5,000kg, fish literally) in the Yangtze River, is nearly extinct. Even in remote regions, the situation of vertebrates is also not optimistic. In the desert and steppe of northwestern China, Equus ferus and Saiga tatarca became extinct in the 1940s-1950s. Equus hemionus, Camelus ferus, and procapra przewalskii are also nearly extinct. The Qingzang Plateau’s depopulated zone, known as the last intact kingdom of wildlife in the world, is beginning to be destroyed. Gold diggers have rushed into the Aerjinshan Reserve and hunt wild animals. Panthelops hodgsoni are illegally hunted for their high-priced furs, purchased dy foreigners.

It is most worrying that many Chinese endemic species are endangered

The threatened situation of vertebrates has already affected people’s daily lives. Some species which used to be abundant, for example, the resources of Procapra gutturosa, Capreolus capreolus, Pseudosciaena crocea, P. polyactis, Trichiarus haumela and Macrura reevesi, have become exhausted.

The threats against the vertebrates of China can be summarized as follows：

a. Over-exploitation (mainly for food and medicines)

There are countless examples of species threatened because of their edible value. In addition to the threatened species mentioned above, other famous examples are Manis spp., Paguma larvata, Pheasant, turtle, Varanus salvater, Andrias davidianus, frogs, snakes, sharks and edible swallow’s nests. Species endangered because of medicinal use include tiger (bone), leopard (bone), bear (bile), musk deer (musk), deer (pilose antler), antelope (horn), presbytis entellus and Gekko gekko.

Moreover, many carnivores have been hunted for their precious fur. Elephants have been poached illegally for their valuable teeth.

b. Habitat decreases and fragmentation

Vertebrate habitats have been largely decreased and fragmented by over-reclamation of grassland and wetland and excessive logging, which seriously threatens the survival of some species. For example, it is estimated that there are only 1,000～1,500 individuals of Rhinopithecus bietii, segregated into 13 groups, in small forest areas of Deqen, Yunnan Province. Should the forest be further logged, R. bietii will become extinct immediately. According to historical records, Hylobates concolor hainanus, with a population of about 20,000 individuals was distributed in all 10 counties of Hainan Province. Now with only 15～20 individuals surviving in a small tract of forest in Bawangling Mountains, this species is extremely endangered. There are only dozens of Panthera tigris amoyensis in south China, scattered in Hunan, Jiangxi, Guangdong and Fujian Provinces, with a largest group of 5～6 individuals and the smallest of 3～4. It is nearly impossible for them to reproduce normally. They will soon be extinct unless urgent rescue actions are adopted. There are about 1,000 Giant pandas, as documented by the Ministry of Forestry, living in rapidly reducing habitats. Although 13 special nature reserves have been set up for the Giant panda, it is still confronted with the threat of extinction because it has been separated into too many small populations. Lipotes vexilifer is distributed in the lower and middle reaches of the Yangtze River below Zhicheng, Hubei Province. Owing to increases in navigation, the decrease of effective habitat space, and habitat degradation, population size has decreased rapidly. It is estimated that only about 100 individuals survive in an extremely endangered status.

Among other factors, for example, dams hinder the spawning migration of fishes and railways interrupt the migration routes of ungulates. The former directly threatens the reproduction of sturgeonns and other fishes, and the latter affects the distribution of Mongolian gazelle and other ungulates.

c. Introduction of alien species

The introduction of both alien predatory and/or competitive species often leads local species to extinction. Compared with other vertebrates, Chinese fishes are more seriously affected by this threat. For example, Perca fluviatilis was introduced into Bositeng Lake in the south of Xinjiang Autonomous Region from the Geerqisi River in the north and this led to the extinction of the aboriginal Aspiorhynchus laticeps in the former.

d. The loss of ecological balance owing to the elimination of predators

The elimination of carnivores, such as Canis lupus and Vulpes vulpus in the prairie, Elopichthys bambusa and Erythroculter spp. in lakes, has led to the massive increase of a single or a few dominant species of rats and fishes, and decreased the biodiversity of vertebrates in both ecosystems.

e. Environmental pollution

Water pollution (including eutrophication) seriously threatens fishes and waterfowl. For example, fish diversity in Dianchi Lake, Yunnan Province, has been decreased because of the discharge of polluted water from the surrounding industrial areas. Pesticide pollution can be detrimental to the biodiversity of small carnivores, birds (especially falcons), amphibians and reptiles. The poisoning of rodents in the grassland is not only unfavorable for the long-term control of rats, but also threatens the biodiversity of wildlife.

(3) Strengthening the protection of vertebrates

The task of wildlife protection is largely a management issue. Our national departments responsible for this task have made great efforts. For example, many protection laws have been issued and, in 1985, the list of (mainly) vertebrates for national protection was also issued, and includes 82 species of mammals (42 species belonging to grade Ⅰ, 40 to grade Ⅱ) 227 species of birds (grade Ⅰ:37, grade Ⅱ: 190), 24 species of amphibians and reptiles (gradeⅠ:6, gradeⅡ:18) and 16 species of fishes (grade Ⅰ:4, gradeⅡ:12). Many in-situ reserves and ex-situ breeding canters for specific species have been established. However, problems and shortcomings still exist and which can be generalized as: lack of an overall protection strategy, management slackness, insufficient basic surveys and research, weakness in communication and education, and the poor protection consciousness of the public. All of these should be further improved.

Table 2 Extinct species of vertebrates in China

Species	Extinct	Extinct in China	Probably extinct
Anabarilius alburnops			√
A. polylepis			√
Aspiorhynchus laticeps	√
Cyprinus yilongensis	√
Crocodilus porosus