El Salvador
El Salvador has more than 20 species of vascular plants found nowhere else including an endemic
genus, Cuscatlania
vulcanicola (p. 62 of US AID El Salvador pdf file).
Other endemic plants include Peperomia linaresii
(Tropicos),
a wood-sorrel Oxalis salvadorensis (p. 61 of US AID El Salvador pdf file),
a mallow Hampea reynae (Tropicos), Ageratum
salvanaturae (JSTOR),
Quetzalia
reynae (JSTOR), an oak Quercus
esesmilensis (JSTOR),
Begonia
salvadorensis (JSTOR),
Ateleia martinezii
(Tropicos), Matelea filipes (Tropicos), Sedum salvadorense (p. 63 of US AID El Salvador pdf file), Dalbergia salvanaturae (p. 21 of Zamorano pdf file), Eugenia shimishito (JSTOR), Lonchocarpus stenophyllus (SciELO),
Lennea
salvadorensis (JSTOR), Cedrela monroensis (JSTOR), Meliosma echeverriae (JSTOR),
Guapira witsbergeri (p. 60 of US AID El Salvador pdf file), Thouinidium cyrilli-nelsonii (Zamorano pdf file), an orchid Goodyera polyphylla (p. 6 of Taiwania pdf file), and the ferns Anemia
salvadorensis (NYBG) and Elaphoglossum microproductum (JSTOR).
Insects unique to El Salvador include a longhorned beetle Acyphoderes dehiscens
(Smithsonian),
a scarab beetle Cyclocephala
melolonthida (p. 3 of Univ. Nebraska
pdf file), a grasshopper Paralethus
insolitus (OSF),
a dragonfly Paltothemis
nicolae (Bio-Nica
pdf file), a stick insect Autolyca
daemonia (Phasmatodea.com),
a leafroller moth Paraptila
pseudogamma (Tortricid.net),
the ants Eurhopalothrix
apharogonia (Antbase
pdf file) and Neivamyrmex
quadratooccipitus (Antbase
pdf file), and the
ichneumonid wasps Scambus
monroi (NHM
- London) and Anastelgis imposiblita
(NHM
- London). Other endemic invertebrates include a
jumping spider Corythalia
chickeringi (Salticidae
of the World), a centipede Sotimpius salvadorensis
(CHILOBASE), a land snail Lysinoe starretti (Internet Archive), and
the freshwater crabs Elsalvadoria
zurstrasseni (ARKive)
and Potamocarcinus vulcanensis
(IUCN
Red List). Marine molluscs known only from El Salvador include Coania rhypis (p. 20 of sbnature.org pdf file), a chiton Lepidochitona salvadorensis (Biologos de El Salvador), and a moonclam Periploma kaiserae (p. 2 of Zootaxa pdf file).
An endemic freshwater fish is the recently described convict cichlid Amatitlania coatepeque
(p. 3 of FAAS
pdf file)
which is found only in Lake Coatepeque. The Black-fin
Specter-goby Akko rossi
(STRI)
is known only from the Gulf of Fonseca.
El Salvador is included in the Mesoamerica biodiversity hotspot (Biodiversity
Hotspots). An important area for endemic species is
the Central American Pine-oak Forests ecoregion (EoE).
For more information on the natural history of El Salvador
see
"Estado del Conocimiento de la Biodiversidad en El Salvador" (INBio
pdf file).