Terrestrial Mammals of Bulgaria: Zoogeographical and Ecological Patterns of Distribution -- Fauna, Zoogeography, and Ecology of Birds in Bulgaria -- Amphibians and Reptiles of Bulgaria: Fauna, Vertical Distribution, Zoogeography, and Conservation -- Fauna and Distribution of Fishes in Bulgaria -- Fauna And Zoogeography Of Marine, Freshwater, And Terrestrial Mollusks (Mollusca) In Bulgaria -- Fauna, Ecology, and Zoogeography of Dragonflies (Insecta: Odonata) of Bulgaria -- Fauna and Zoogeography of the Orthopterid Insects (Embioptera, Dermaptera, Mantodea, Blattodea, Isoptera, and Orthoptera) in Bulgaria -- Biogeography of the Endemic Carabidae (Coleoptera) in the Central and Eastern Balkan Peninsula -- Fauna and Zoogeography of Jewel Beetles (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) in Bulgaria -- Fauna and Zoogeography of Myriapoda in Bulgaria -- Fauna and Zoogeography of Scorpions (Arachnida: Scorpiones) in Bulgaria -- Spatial Niches of Opiliones (Arachnida) from Vitosha Mountains, Bulgaria -- Fauna and Zoogeography of Spiders of the Family Linyphiidae (Araneae) in Bulgaria -- Fauna and Zoogeography of Wolf Spiders (Araneae: Lycosidae) in Bulgaria -- Haplogyne Spiders (Araneae) in Bulgaria: Faunistic and Zoogeographical Analysis -- Terrestrial Cave Animals in Bulgaria -- Stygofauna of the Fresh Waters in Bulgaria -- Biodiversity and Ecology of the Bulgarian Black Sea Invertebrates -- Testate Amoebas and Monothalamous Foraminifera (Protozoa) from the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast -- Florogeographical Elements and Evolutionary Trends in the Bulgarian Flora -- Vegetation and Phytogeography: A Brief Characteristic -- Landscapes and Climate of Bulgaria. 1 2 Alexi Popov and Victor Fet 1 National Museum of Natural History, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Tsar Osvoboditel Blvd. 1, 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria, e-mail: alpopov@bulinfo. net 2 Department of Biological Sciences, Marshall University, Huntington, West Virginia 25755-2510, USA, e-mail: fet@marshall. edu Europe grades to Asia through the Balkans. They act as a connecting corridor, a liberal barrier, and a mediating buffer. On top of this, humans with their several millennia of Balkan tenure have changed the biota here. Many creatures perished; others still fight back, meeting the anthropogenic challenge and coexistence with humans. A combination of geological factors, high mountains and river valleys, glacial processes, extensive karst regions with caves, forests and sea coast, as well as incessant human activity, made the Balkan Peninsula one of the two- along with the Iberian Peninsula-most interesting biogeographic regions in Europe. Biogeography, and specifically zoogeography, of the Balkans presents a fascinating reading for any specialist. The interest in the Balkan biodiversity grew steadily during the last hundred years; its patterns and processes have been recently reviewed in an important volume (Griffiths et al. , 2004). The authors of this volume addressed the Balkan Peninsula as "the great European hotspot" of biodiversity. As they commented, "The extremely high level of endemism in the Balkans compared to other parts of Europe is perhaps the most striking element of comparative pattern of biodiversity.