DOLOMITES - Annexes 2-8 - Provincia di Udine

NOMINATION OF THE DOLOMITES FOR INSCRIPTION ON THE WORLD NATURAL HERITAGE LIST UNESCO
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Wealth and singularity of the animal populations. It can be estimated that the fauna population is
10% of the entire non-marine fauna of Europe; the recent census (www.faunaeur.org) has recorded
just over 130,000 species. Lepidoptera alone (butterflies and moths) are present on the Dolomites
with a contingent of at least 1,600 species.
The presence of elements that are endemic to the Alps. The Dolomites are noteworthy for the presence
of endemic or subendemic species, characterized, therefore, by distribution over a limited
area that in some cases is entirely within the Dolomites area: carabid beetles of the Carabus genus,
such as C. (Orinocarabus) adamellicola, C. (O.) alpestris dolomitanus and C. (Orinocarabus) bertolinii;
beetles of the Nebria, Trechus, Simplocaria, Dichotrachelus, Otiorhynchus and Oreina genii.
The presence of glacial relicts on the ‘massifs de réfuge’. Above all in the pre-Alpine bands, but also
on the southern border area of the Dolomites, glacial relicts are present.
The presence of paleo-mountain and paleoxero-mountain species. The Dolomites, in as much as
being part of the Alps, are the habitat of species that are distributed only in the high Palearctic
mountain systems. Bird species include the dipper (Cinclus cinclus), the Alpine accentor (Prunella
collaris), the wallcreeper (Tichodroma muraria), the Alpine chough (Pyrrhocorax graculus), and
the white-winged snowfinch (Montifringilla nivalis). Other species, which have adapted to the
particular conditions, found in the more arid mountain areas (always with reference to birds) are:
the crag martin (Ptyonoprogne rupestris), the black redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros), and the rock
thrush (Monticola saxatilis).
The presence of Boreo-Alpine and Arctic-Alpine species . The zoogeographic value of the Dolomites
must be considered in relationship to a series of elements among which the presence of
species with inadunate distribution ranges is certainly important. Examples of such species are:
the mountain hare (Lepus timidus varronis), the rock ptarmigan (Lagopus mutus), the three-toed
woodpecker (Picoides tridactylus), the redpoll (Carduelis flammea), the ring ouzel (Turdus torquatus);
the boreo-Alpine diurnal butterfies: Parnassius apollo, Pontia callidice, Boloria pales, B. thore,
Erebia epiphron, Plebeius (Albulina) orbitulus, Pyrgus andromedae; the boreo-Alpine nocturnal
moths: Agrotis fatidica, Elophos vittaria, Pygmaena fusca, Grammia quenseli, Setema cereola, Sterrhopterix
standfussi, Gazoryctria ganna; the Staphylinidae beetle Mannerheimia arctica, the presence
of which on the Italian Alps is limited to two stations, one of which is in the Dolomites; the
Staphylinidae beetle Eucnecosum tenue; the Elateridae Selatosomus confluens; the minute diptera
known as the spuler (Crumomyia setitibialis); the wood-boring hemiptera (Geocoris lapponicus).
The presence of Steppe species. Always from the zoogeographic viewpoint, it is important to note
the presence of steppe elements, including the common marmot (Marmota marmota), which although
an introduced species, is nevertheless important.
The presence of Alpine species and like-Alpine species. These are northern, Alpine or like-Alpine elements,
many of which are distributed over vast Asian-European, Siberian-European, and European
type areas, although the distribution of others is of the more limited central-European or
Alpine type. These species, which constitute a relevant fraction of the high-altitude animal population,
prefer the cool, damp conditions of the upper slopes where, however, there is still vegetation
(mountain, Alpine and snow-covered environments)
The presence of southern thermophile species. One such is the endemic Italian amphibian Hyla meridionalis
(stripeless treefog), found in the southern areas of the Dolomites.
The presence of central-European fauna. It is highly likely that certain central-European species (e.g.
the European tree frog Hyla arborea) may be present on the northern border areas of the Dolomites,
although due to the lack of study in this area there is no relative documentation as yet
The presence of species in their own marginal areas. These are the numerous species for which the
Dolomites represent the margin of their own distributional area. Particular importance seems to
be represented by arrivals from the Balkans, particularly evident in the more southern and eastern
sectors, such as the nose-horned viper (Vipera ammodytes), Horvath’s rock lizard (Archaeolacerta