564 BIOLOGY OF THE SEAS OF THE U.S.S.R. 



Table 235. Composition of the fauna of the Caspian Sea, except the parasites 



the Caspian from the Black and Azov Seas within the last thirty-forty years, 

 either with or without the help of man. The general composition of the Cas- 

 pian Sea fauna cannot be considered as finally established, since many groups 

 (among them Protozoa and Vermes) have not yet been sufficiently des- 

 cribed. 



The data given in Table 235 shows that ' of the total number, 695, of the 

 Caspian species (excluding the parasites) 315 species are limited in their 

 distribution by the basins of the south Russian seas. The list of the Caspian 

 endemic forms, in the strict sense of this term, contains 222 species. Besides 

 this, the presence of 50 sub-species of Protozoa, polychaetes, crustaceans and 

 fish, found only in the Caspian Sea, stresses the endemic character of the 

 Caspian fauna.' (A. Derzhavin, 1951.) 



It is also clear from this computation that the Caspian Sea is now the main 

 habitat of the ancient autochthonous fauna of the south Russian seas. 

 Derzhavin believes, however, that the considerable number of representatives 

 of the Caspian fauna peculiar to the Black and Azov Seas should not be under- 

 estimated. 



