Historical data on non-volant mammals in Rome: what do they say about urban environment?

The paper presents a comparison between the non-volant mammals that occurred during the period 1840-1940 in the Rome area and the current mammalian fauna. It is based both on literature records and museum specimens. Available data indicate a decline of at least 38% in native species richness, and an increase in species introduced by man (about 22% of the current mammalian fauna of Rome). Locally extinct species are the same species suffering from a nationwide decline and considered as threatened according to conservation criteria. This fact suggests that urban habitats cannot maintain mammalian populations of more than local relevance in conservation.