Ethiopia

Ethiopia's distinctive mammal fauna includes several genera found nowhere else including a primate, the Gelada (ARKive), as well as the Ethiopian Narrow-headed Rat (Google Books), Nikolaus's African Climbing Mouse (SysTax), a rat Desmomys yaldeni (p. 8 of ZFMK pdf file), and the Ethiopian Water Mouse (Field Museum pdf file)(EDGE). Other endemic mammals include the Ethiopian Wolf (EWCP), the Mountain Nyala (ARKive), the Walia Ibex (ARKive), the Bale Mountains Vervet (ARKive), Starck's Hare (Trevor Hardaker), Blick's Grass Rat (ARKive), Lovat's African Climbing Mouse (ARKive), and the Big-headed Mole Rat (ARKive). Recently elevated to full species are Swayne's Hartebeest (ARKive), the Ethiopian Klipspringer (flickr), and the Ethiopian Highlands Bushbuck (flickr).

Birds unique to Ethiopia include Ruspoli’s Turaco (ARKive), the Blue-winged Goose (ARKive), Harwood’s Francolin (BirdLife Int'l), the Yellow-fronted Parrot (WPT), the Wattled Ibis (IBC), the Spot-breasted Lapwing (IBC), the White-tailed Swallow (ARKive), the White-backed Black Tit (IBC), the Abyssinian Black-headed Oriole (IBC), the Ethiopian Bush-crow (ARKive), the Yellow-throated Seed-eater (IBC), the Abyssinian Longclaw (IBC), the Degodi Bushlark (ARKive), the Sidamo Lark (Wildlife Extra), and the Abyssinian Catbird (African Bird Image Database).

Reptiles found only in Ethiopia include the Bale Mountains Heather Chameleon Chamaeleo harennae, the Bale Mountains Two-horned Chameleon Chamaeleo balebicornatus, and the Ethiopian Mountain Chameleon Chamaeleo affinis (all at Herpetofauna of Ethiopia).  Other endemic reptiles include the Ethiopian Girdled Lizard Cordylus rivae (Reptile Database), an agama Acanthocercus guentherpetersi (HL), the Ethiopian House Snake Lamprophis erlangeri (BioLib), Böhme's Ethiopian Mountain Snake Pseudoboodon boehmei (BioLib), and the Ethiopian Mountain Adder Bitis parviocula (Wikipedia).

Six amphibian genera are restricted to Ethiopia: Malcolm's Ethiopia Toad Altiphrynoides malcolmi (ARKive), Osgood's Ethiopian Toad Spinophrynoides osgoodi (ARKive), the Kouni Valley Striped Frog Paracassina kounhiensis (AmphibiaWeb), the Bale Mountains Tree Frog Balebreviceps hillmani (ARKive), the Bale Mountains Frog Ericabatrachus baleensis (ARKive), and the Aleku Caecilian Sylvacaecilia grandisonae (ARKive). Other endemic amphibians include the Badditu Forest Treefrog Leptopelis gramineus (Herpetofauna of Ethiopia),the Ethiopian Snout-burrower Hemisus microscaphus (BioLib), the Ethiopian Banana Frog Afrixalus enseticola (ARKive), and the Tiny River Frog Phrynobatrachus minutus (African Amphibians Lifedesk).

The 15 species of Lake Tana barbs (see p. 18 of Wageningen UR Digital Library 5 MB pdf file) are a spectacular example of adaptive radiation. The Ethiopian Loach Nemacheilus abyssinicus (Google Books) is the only representative of the family in Africa. Other endemic freshwater fish species include the Small-scaled Ethiopian Barb Barbus ethiopicus (SpringerLink), the recently described Garra tana (FishBase), Nannaethiops bleheri (Senckenberg pdf file), a cichlid Danakilia franchettii (Cichlid Room Companion), an elephantfish Marcusenius annamariae (Mormyridae), a mochokid catfish Chiloglanis modjensis (ACSI), and the Lake Afdera Killifish Lebias stiassnyae (BioOne).

Butterflies known solely from Ethiopia include Charaxes galawadiwosi (Learn About Butterflies), Charaxes phoebus (BOLD), Acraea oscari (Dominique Bernaud), and Acraea guichardi (Dominique Bernaud). Other endemic insects include the dragonflies Atoconeura aethiopica (ARKive) and Notogomphus cottarellii (ARKive), the damselflies Elattoneura pasquinii (ARKive) and Ischnura abyssinica (ARKive), a bush cricket Tropidonotacris amabilis (OSF), an owlet moth Batuana rougeoti (Skap's Bug Stamps), and several flower beetles: Eudicella aethiopica (BioLib), Pachnoda abyssinica (Flower Beetles), Hegemus pluto (beetlespace), Centrantyx nitidus (Flower Beetles), and Compsocephalus dmitriewi (beetlespace). Other endemic invertebrates include a freshwater snail Ancylus ashangiensis (fig. 19 at Internet Archive), a scorpion Buthus awashensis (Euscorpius pdf file), and an isopod crustacean Skotobaena mortoni (figs. 19 & 20 on p. 6 of AToL Decapoda pdf file).

Among the many vascular plant species restricted to Ethiopia (ibc-et.org pdf file) are an orchid Habenaria vollesenii (JSTOR), a red hot poker Kniphofia foliosa (flickr), a giant lobelia Lobelia rhynchopetalum (flickr), Cibirhiza spiculata (ARKive), an aroid Amorphophallus gomboczianus (Int'l Aroid Soc.), Gladiolus balensis (IUCN Red List pdf file), a spurge Euphorbia makallensis (euphorbia.de), Aloe pulcherrima (flickr), Carduus macracanthus (eol), Impatiens rothii (Harry Jans), Echinops longisetus (Ib Friis), Erythrina brucei (JSTOR), Helichrysum gofense (Harry Jans), Urtica simensis (Famine Food Field Guide) and the recently discovered Acacia fumosa (ARKive). Endemic genera include Hypagophytum (JSTOR), Nephrophyllum (JSTOR), Chiliocephalum (eol), Afrovivella (Flora of Ethiopia and Eritrea), and Leptagrostis (JSTOR).

Portions of Ethiopia are included in the Eastern Afromontane (Biodiversity Hotspots) and the Horn of Africa (Biodiversity Hotspots) biodiversity hotspots. Important terrestrial ecoregions include the Ethiopian Montane Moorlands (EoE), the Ethiopian Montane Grasslands and Woodlands (EoE), and the Ethiopian Montane Forests (EoE). Lake Tana (FEOW) and the Ethiopian Highlands (FEOW) are important freshwater ecoregions.