An endemic species is a taxonomic unit whose natural distribution is restricted to a defined geographic area, such as a specific island, mountain range, ecoregion, or political region, and does not occur naturally elsewhere. In biogeography and conservation biology, endemism is used to quantify spatial patterns of biodiversity, identify centers of diversification, and prioritize regions for protection. Endemic species often exhibit high levels of local adaptation and evolutionary distinctiveness but are also disproportionately vulnerable to habitat alteration, invasive species, climate change, and other anthropogenic pressures due to their limited range and frequently small, fragmented populations.
In taxonomy, the location where specimens used to formally describe a new species are collected is called a type locality. These sites can be thought of as the species' formal birthplace, much as the scientific article containing ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 14, 2026
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The prediction that this season's El Niño phenomenon will be stronger than normal has alarmed the Ecuadorian scientific community, which has warned of its impact on the flora and fauna of the Galapagos Islands, home to the ...
Environment
Sep 10, 2026
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The world's most endangered tigers have started a family in Greece, offering hope for a predator rapidly vanishing from the wild.
Plants & Animals
Sep 8, 2026
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One of Australia's most comprehensive assessments of endemic, rare or threatened freshwater fish has found numerous species are at severe risk of extinction because of multiple threats, including habitat loss, invasive species ...
Ecology
Sep 1, 2026
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Scientists have often wondered about species that are unique to Antarctica. But the focus has mainly been on animals, like feathery penguins. CIRES researchers wanted to dig deeper—into the soils—believing tiny organisms ...
Ecology
Aug 31, 2026
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Researchers at the University of Idaho have identified a new species of spider in the mountains of northern Idaho and given it a name that pays tribute to the university itself: Hexura vandal. The spider belongs to a small ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 31, 2026
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A researcher from the University of North Carolina Asheville has published the first comprehensive checklist of the native terrestrial reptiles of the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI), drawing on 20 years of collaborative fieldwork ...
Ecology
Aug 27, 2026
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A 30-year conservation effort has helped the critically endangered Galápagos snapdragon (Galvezia leucantha subsp. leucantha) recover from just six individuals to a small, carefully tended wild population. Following tireless ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 25, 2026
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Eight years of painstaking research on the virtually unknown Wolffsohn's viscacha have helped to shine the spotlight on this super-rare South American rodent and catalyze the conservation action it so urgently needs.
Plants & Animals
Aug 18, 2026
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Scientists have described five new species of parasitoid wasps from Cyprus, more than doubling the number of chalcid wasps known to be found nowhere else on the island. The wasps, all belonging to the family Pteromalidae, ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 18, 2026
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