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Large groups of non-insect arthropods such as the terrestrial Isopoda, Arachnida and Myriapoda recorded higher than 2,200 meters above sea-level are listed from all mountain systems of Africa, Europe and Asia (including New Guinea). The maximum altitude for each species, genus, family, order and class is reported. This is the first compilation of this kind ever produced.
The groups are compared between the different regions and the levels of endemism are outlined. A short description of each region shows the most peculiar features of high-montane terrestrial life in the Balkan and Iberian peninsulas, the Alps, the Tetras, the Caucasus, the Himalayas, as well as in the mountains of Turkey, Central Asia, South-East Asia, Japan, New Guinea, the Cameroon, eastern and southern Africa, Madagascar, North Africa, the Canary Islands and others. The trend in the number of species and genera decreasing with altitude, termed "taxogradient", is analyzed. Such new terms as "hybsobiont" and "hybsoendemic" are also introduced. The bibliography contains more than 1,300 references.
