Endemic fauna of Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan is located in Central Asia, a region that includes several areas of high biodiversity. Parts of Uzbekistan fall within the Mountains of Central Asia biodiversity hotspot, as defined by the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund.^[1] According to the World Wildlife Fund ecoregion classification, Uzbekistan has no ecoregions found exclusively within its borders and shares all six of its ecoregions with neighbouring countries. These include the Alai–Western Tian Shan steppe,^[2] Gissaro–Alai open woodlands,^[3] Badghyz and Karabil semi-desert,^[4] Central Asian northern desert,^[5] Central Asian southern desert,^[6] and Central Asian riparian woodlands.^{[7][note 1]} As a result, much of Uzbekistan's biodiversity is shared across national borders with neighbouring Central Asian countries, including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. Many species occurring in Uzbekistan are also expected to occur elsewhere in the region.

Central Asia has a high rate of endemism. For example, among different insect orders, the rate of endemism ranges from 10% to 50–60% of all recognised species.^[8] Among millipedes, 90% of species are endemic to Central Asia.^[9] At the same time, because biodiversity is shared among several countries, the number of species restricted to the territory of any single Central Asian state, including Uzbekistan, is comparatively limited.

There is no officially recognised checklist of the endemic fauna of Uzbekistan. However, an unofficial preliminary checklist was compiled^[10] by conservationist and Minnesota Zoo staff member Fred Swengel^[11] as part of his global project Living National Treasures, which compiles data from scientific taxonomic databases (HBW/BirdLife Taxonomic Checklist, AviList, The Reptile Database, AmphibiaWeb, Catalog of Fishes, Lepidoptera Mundi, Catalogue of Life, and others) to identify endemic species for each country in the world.^[12]

The region with the highest number of endemic species records in Uzbekistan is the Fergana Valley.^[13] It is also the most densely populated region of the country and has been heavily transformed by agriculture.^[14][15] Many endemic species were described from this area in the 1930s and 1940s and have not been observed since. Some, such as the moth Zygaena ferganae,^[16][17] are considered extinct. At the same time, new species continue to be discovered in the valley, including vertebrates. In 2023 two new species of lizards were described: the Fergana even-fingered gecko (Alsophylax ferganensis) and Emilia's even-fingered gecko (Alsophylax emilia). Between 2021 and 2024, three new species of fish were also described from the valley: the Fergana stone loach (Triplophysa ferganaensis), the Sokh stone loach (Triplophysa daryoae), and the Uzbekistan stone loach (Dzihunia pseudoamudarjensis).

Large-scale environmental transformation during the Soviet period also affected species distributions within Uzbekistan. Beginning in the 1930s, extensive areas of arid and semi-arid land were irrigated and converted to agriculture, especially for cotton cultivation, through projects such as the Great Fergana Canal and the Virgin Lands campaign. These changes caused the loss and fragmentation of natural habitats.^[13] Some species declined or disappeared, while others persisted in modified environments. One example is the butterfly Melitaea acraeina, described in 1886 from the Fergana Valley. It was not recorded again for many decades and was considered possibly extinct until its rediscovery in 1989 by Alexander Kreuzberg. Subsequent observations showed that the species survives in secondary habitats within agricultural landscapes, such as drainage canal slopes.^[18] For some species, inclusion in this list may reflect that their remaining known populations are currently confined to Uzbekistan.

The biodiversity of Central Asia, including Uzbekistan, remains poorly studied. Faunistic and taxonomic research on the invertebrates of Uzbekistan has been especially limited. Much scientific effort historically focused on applied topics such as crop pest management and economically important species.^[8][19] Many invertebrate species are known only from their original descriptions. Technically, such species may be treated as endemic in the literature, but this status may just reflect a lack of research and sampling rather than true geographic restriction. Inclusion in this list indicates that a species has so far been reported only from Uzbekistan in available sources; it does not necessarily imply strict endemism. Future research may document these species in neighbouring regions with similar environmental and climatic conditions.

Only species recognised by the Catalogue of Life are included in this list. Only taxa recognised at species rank are included; endemic subspecies are excluded.

There are no known endemic species of mammals, birds, or amphibians in Uzbekistan.^[10][20] As of April 2026, the list includes 3 reptiles, 4 fish, 30 insects (including 3 butterflies and moths, 12 beetles, 5 ants, 5 bees, 2 wasps, 2 flies, and 1 grasshopper), 28 arachnids (including 22 spiders, 4 scorpions, 2 harvestmen), 2 myriapods, 1 crustacean, and 2 mollusks. The total is 70 species. The list is not complete.