MOUNTAIN REGIONS ARE THE PUTATIVE PLACE OF ORIGIN OF MANY ARCTIC ANIMAL AND PLANT FORMS

摘要

In this study, we tried to understand why the biota of northern regions is similar to that of southern mountain regions. Phylogeographic studies of several Arctic-alpine plants (Arabis alpina, Bistorta vivipara, Carex atrofusca, Gentiana sect. Cruciata, Koenigia islandica, Oxyria digyna, Ranunculus glacialis, Saxifraga oppositffolia, Sibbaldia procumbens, Trollius europaeus, Veronica alpina, Lagotis spp., and Pedicularis spp.), insects (Oeneis spp. and Arcynopteryx dichroa), and a mammal species (Ovibos moschatus) indicate that the respective groups emerged in the mountains of the temperate climatic zone and then migrated to the Arctic. As paleontological findings indicate, the mountains of the temperate and tropical zones provided habitats for the ancestors of several Salmonidae genera and at least some of the mammalian species common to the Eurasian mammoth steppe (Mammuthus primigenius, Coelodonta antiquitatis, Bos (Poephagus) baikalensis, Alopex lagopus, and Panthera spelaea). A hypothesis is suggested to explain the crucial role of mountain regions in the evolution of northern forms. Additionally, colonization events by Arctic taxa in the mountains of temperate climatic zones have been demonstrated in a few studies.