Endemic Animals of Russia








Baikal Seal
Baikal seals (Pusa sibirica) are tiny seals that are members of the family Phocidae. They are native to Siberia and live only within Lake Baikal, from where their common name comes. They are the only type of freshwater seal type and it is still unknown how they arrived in the lake, thousands of kilometers from a seal’s traditional habitat of the sea. The theory is that seals went along the Yenisey and Angara rivers to the Baikal and settled t ...
here. The existence of an underground channel between the lake and the Lena River and the lake was also proposed, but no scientific basis has been found for this.
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Baikal Seal
Snow sheep
The snow sheep (Ovis nivicola ), or Siberian bighorn sheep, is a species of sheep from the mountainous areas in the northeast of Siberia. One subspecies, the Putorana snow sheep (Ovis nivicola borealis), lives isolated from the other forms in the Putoran Mountains.
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Snow sheep
Arctic Lemming
The Arctic lemming (Dicrostonyx torquatus) is a species of rodent native to Russian Federation. This species was once found in England, but it is now extirpated.
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Arctic Lemming
Ladoga Ringed Seal
The Ladoga ringed seal (Pusa hispida ladogensis) is a freshwater subspecies of the Ringed seal which are found entirely in Lake Ladoga. It was isolated in freshwater lakes and separated from the Arctic ringed seal. This subspecies is related to the even smaller population of Saimaa ringed seals in Lake Saimaa, a lake that flows into Ladoga through the Vuoksi River.
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Ladoga Ringed Seal
Siberian Lynx
The Siberian lynx (Lynx lynx wrangeli) is a subspecies of Eurasian lynx living in the Russian Far East. It is the second most common subspecies of the Eurasian lynx.
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Siberian Lynx
Tundra bean goose
The tundra bean goose (Anser serrirostris ) is a goose that breeds in northern Siberia. This and the taiga bean goose are recognised as separate species by the American Ornithological Society and International Ornithologists' Union, but are considered a single species by other authorities (collectively called bean goose). It is migratory and winters further south in Asia. The taiga and tundra bean goose diverged about 2.5 million years ago and ...
established secondary contact ca. 60,000 years ago, resulting in extensive gene flow.
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Tundra bean goose
Panthera tigris acutidens
Panthera tigris acutidens or Wanhsien tiger is an extinct tiger subspecies, which was scientifically described in 1928 based on fossils excavated near Wanhsien in southern China's Sichuan Province. Otto Zdansky named it Felis acutidens. After the fossils were re-examined in 1947, they were attributed to Panthera tigris acutidens by Dirk Albert Hooijer and Walter W. Granger.
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Panthera tigris acutidens
Siberian nuthatch
The Siberian Nuthatch (Sitta arctica ) is a bird species of the family Sittidae. For a long time considered as a subspecies of the Eurasian nuthatch (S. europaea ), it was clearly differentiated in 2006 on the basis of morphological and molecular characters. It is on average larger than the Eurasian nuthatch and also differs in some morphological features such as the shape of its bill, the size of its claws and the color of its underwing and ...
outer rectrices. Its song has also been described as "distinctly different" from that of the Eurasian nuthatch, though without further clarification. The Siberian nuthatch inhabits the forests northeast of Lake Baikal, up to the Bering Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk, but not near the coast. It lives in northwestern Siberia, barely exceeding the 105th meridian east in the west. It lives in larch stands and flood plains. The Siberian nuthatch has a wide range and its numbers are presumed to be stable, so the International Union for Conservation of Nature considers the bird to be of "least concern".
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Siberian nuthatch
Anser djuktaiensis
Anser djuktaiensis or Dyuktai goose is an extinct goose, similar to but larger than the extant greylag goose, the remains of which have been found in the Dyuktai Cave near the Dyuktai River in Yakutia, Russia. The cave is dated from Upper Pleistocene to possibly Holocene in age.
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Anser djuktaiensis
Vipera orlovi
Vipera orlovi is a species of venomous snake in the family Viperidae. The species is endemic to Russia.
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Vipera orlovi
Darevskia szczerbaki
Darevskia szczerbaki, Szczerbak's lizard, also spelled Shcherbak (Russian: ящерица щербака tr. yashcheritsa shcherbaka ) is a lizard species in the genus Darevskia. It is endemic to Russia and named after the Ukrainian herpetologist Mykola Szczerbak. Its range along the Black Sea is restricted to areas with coastal cliffs, as they are the favored habitat of the lizard, which has difficulty adapting to most other environments. It is classified as an endangered ...
species, and extinction is considered by some herpetologists because of the high amount of human development in the Caucasus coast and its popularity in the illegal lizard trade of Europe. It is rarely preyed upon, as its main two predators are the Common Kestrel and Olive Snake.
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Darevskia szczerbaki
Darevskia saxicola
Darevskia saxicola is a lizard species in the genus Darevskia. It is found in Georgia, Russia, and Turkey.
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Darevskia saxicola
Black-capped marmot
The black-capped marmot (Marmota camtschatica ) is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is endemic to the Russian Far East, but its range is discontinuous and divided into three main parts, each with its own subspecies. The black-capped marmot lives in arctic tundra and alpine habitats from near sea-level to an altitude of 2,000 m (6,600 ft). Depending on exact subpopulation, they hibernate for 6–8 months each year, which is long for a m ...
armot.It is a relatively small marmot (head-and-body length c. 39.5–61.5 cm or 15.6–24.2 in, weight 1.65–5.4 kg or 3.6–11.9 lb) with a short tail. The dorsal pelage is a grizzled yellowish-grey while the underparts are cinnamon or rusty brown. The limbs are rather paler while the tail is brownish-black. The upper part of the head is brownish-black, and this colour continues to the mid-back as a dorsal stripe.Black-capped marmots feed on grasses, herbs and mosses. They live in colonies formed from many separate burrows, each occupied by an adult pair and their offspring. A litter consists of five or six young but these stay in the family group for at least three years. The marmots congregate in larger groups to hibernate. The sleeping chamber has large quantities of bedding material and the entrances are plugged.The black-capped marmot hibernates from September to mid-May. It is a diurnal and sedentary mammal. It is subject to extreme conditions throughout the year. The solar altitude plays a significant role in the daily activity pattern of family groups of black-capped marmots. So, the terrestrial activity of black-capped marmots is dependent on daylight period. They usually eliminate heat by lying on rocks or by entering the burrows. It also alters the soil properties that affect the floral structure and distribution of the Arctic tundra by burrowing, hibernation, trampling and reproduction. The main area (center) where the marmots live are gathered in two larger rooms typically so the family can hibernate in these areas. This is usually where the females give birth.
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Black-capped marmot
Giant mole-rat
The giant blind mole-rat (Spalax giganteus ) is a species of rodent in the family Spalacidae endemic to the North Caucasus region of Russia. It feeds on roots and tubers and lives underground in a burrow that it digs with its teeth.
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Giant mole-rat
Forest-steppe marmot
The forest-steppe marmot (Marmota kastschenkoi ) is a rodent species of the marmot genus found in south-central Russia. It lives in wooded forest steppe at an altitude of 180–450 m (590–1,480 ft) in a relatively small region located directly east of the upper Ob River. It has traditionally been considered a subspecies of the similar, more southerly distributed gray marmot (M. baibacina ), but was separated mainly due to different diploid numbe ...
rs. Forest-steppe marmots have a head-and-body length of 45–66 cm (18–26 in), and light individuals weigh as little as 3 kg (6.6 lb) in the spring (after hibernation) and heavy individuals as much as 8.9 kg (20 lb) in the autumn (before hibernation). It hibernates for about 61⁄2 months starting in August or September.In 2011, it was estimated that the forest-steppe marmot population consisted of about 14,000–16,000 individuals and had been stable over the last several decades, but earlier estimates have been both somewhat above and significantly below this figure.
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Forest-steppe marmot
Turuchan pika
The Turuchan pika (Ochotona turuchanensis ) is a species of pika found in isolated regions in the Central Siberian Plateau. It is a small (16–19 cm) rock dwelling species that is active during the day due to the low temperature at night. It was previously thought to be a subspecies of the northern pika. Little is known about this species, but is known to be locally abundant.
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Turuchan pika
Amur lemming
The Amur lemming (Lemmus amurensis ) is a species of lemmings found near the Amur River in Siberia.
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Amur lemming
Wrangel lemming
The northern collared lemming or Nearctic collared lemming (Dicrostonyx groenlandicus ), sometimes called the Peary Land collared lemming in Canada, is a small lemming found in Arctic North America and Wrangel Island. At one time, it was considered to be a subspecies of the Arctic lemming (Dicrostonyx torquatus ). Some sources believe several other species of collared lemmings found in North America are actually subspecies of D. groenlandicus.
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Wrangel lemming
Wrangel Island lemming
The East Siberian lemming, Eastern Siberian brown lemming, or Ognev's lemming (Lemmus paulus ) is a species of lemming endemic to Russia, where it has a disjunct distribution throughout parts of Siberia east of the Verkhoyansk Range.
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Wrangel Island lemming
Caucasian Mountain ground squirrel
The Caucasian Mountain ground squirrel (Spermophilus musicus ) is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is endemic to the North Caucasus.
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Caucasian Mountain ground squirrel
Lemming vole
The lemming vole (Alticola lemminus ) is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found only in the Russian Federation.
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Lemming vole
Lake Baikal mountain vole
The Lake Baikal mountain vole or Olkhon mountain vole (Alticola olchonensis ) is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found principally on the Olkhon and Ogoi islands on Lake Baikal, in southern Siberia. While it was originally described as a species, Pavlinov and Rossolimo reassigned it as a subspecies of A. tuvinicus in 1987 before reinstating it as a species in 1998.
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Lake Baikal mountain vole
Kamchatka shrew
The Kamchatka shrew (Sorex camtschatica ) is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is endemic to Russia.
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Kamchatka shrew
Muisk vole
The Muisk vole (Microtus mujanensis ) is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae.It is found only in Russia.
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Muisk vole
Middendorf's vole
Middendorf's vole (Microtus middendorffi ) is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found only in Russia, most commonly north Siberia.The common name commemorates Alexander Theodor von Middendorff (1815–1894), a German–Russian naturalist who traveled extensively in Siberia. It is also known as the north Siberian vole or Altai vole.This vole, along with Microtus gregalis, is one of the primary preys of the Arctic fox on the Yamal Pen ...
insula.
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Middendorf's vole
Evorsk vole
The Evorsk vole (Microtus evoronensis ) is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae.It is found only in Russia. They are stout rodents with short ears, legs and tails. These animals live in grassy areas where they eat green vegetation such as grasses and sedges in summer, and grains, seeds, roots and bark at other times.
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Evorsk vole
Paramushir shrew
The Paramushir shrew (Sorex leucogaster ) is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is endemic to Russia. Its natural habitat is temperate forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.
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Paramushir shrew
Sakhalin vole
The Sakhalin vole (Microtus sachalinensis ) is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae.It is found only in Russia.
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Sakhalin vole
Portenko's shrew
Portenko's shrew (Sorex portenkoi ) is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae that is endemic to Russia.
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Portenko's shrew
Obesotoma gigas
Obesotoma gigas is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Mangeliidae.
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Obesotoma gigas
Antiplanes abyssalis
Antiplanes abyssalis is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Pseudomelatomidae.
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Antiplanes abyssalis
Oenopota valentina
Oenopota valentina is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Mangeliidae.
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Oenopota valentina