Philippines

An exceptionally rich endemic bird fauna includes the Azure-breasted Pitta (ARKive), the Visayan Wrinkled Hornbill (ARKive), the Palawan Peacock-pheasant (gbwf.org), the Negros Bleeding-heart (ARKive), the Philippine Cockatoo (Katala Foundation), the Camiguin Hanging Parrot (WPT), the Celestial Monarch (ARKive), the Cebu Flowerpecker (BirdLife Int'l), the Philippine Leafbird (RPN), and the Mindanao Broadbill (ARKive). Endemic genera include the Guaiabero (Romy Ocon), the Philippine Eagle (philippineeagle.org), the White-eared Brown Dove (IBC), the Coleto (Field Museum), and the Giant Scops-owl (ARKive). The Philippine creepers (Creagrus) represent an endemic family, the Rhabdornithidae, and it has been proposed that the Cinnamon Ibon (Creagrus) also warrants its own family .

Mammals found nowhere else include the Philippine Tarsier (ARKive), the Kagwang or Philippine Flying Lemur (ARKive), the Mindanao Tree Shrew (Field Museum), the Palawan Stink Badger (ARKive), the Golden-crowned Flying Fox (ARKive), the Philippine Dwarf Fruit Bat (Field Museum), the Philippine Porcupine (ARKive), the Tamaraw (Ultimate Ungulate), the Calamian Deer (ARKive), the Visayan Spotted Deer (ARKive), the Balabac Mouse Deer (ARKive), and the Visayan Warty Pig (ARKive). A remarkable adaptive radiation of endemic mice and rats includes 15 genera found nowhere else such as the Slender-tailed Cloud Rat (Field Museum), the Luzon Montane Striped Shrew-rat (Field Museum), the Dusky Moss Mouse (Field Museum) and the Panay Bushy-tailed Cloud Rat (ARKive).

Reptiles exclusive to the Philippines include the Philippine Crocodile (Field Museum), the Philippine Pond Turtle (ARKive), Boie's Keelback (Polillo Project), the Philippine Pitviper (CalPhotos), the Lake Taal Sea Snake (Haribon), the Philippine Coral Snake (RPN), the Northern Philippine Cobra (Wolfgang Wüster), the Philippine Sail-fin Lizard (ARKive), the Pretty Short-legged Skink (RPN), the Polillo False Gecko (Polillo Project), Gray’s Monitor or Butaan (mampam.com), and the recently discovered Northern Sierra Madre Forest Monitor Varanus bitatawa (IISE).

Amphibians unique to the Philippines include the Basilan Island Caecilian (RPN), Muller's Stream Toad (ARKive), the Philippine Toad (AmphibiaWeb), the Palawan Horned Frog (ARKive), the Philippine Flat-headed Frog (ARKive), the Truncate-toed Chorus Frog (Polillo Project), the Polillo Forest Frog (ARKive), the Negros Cave Frog (RPN), the Luzon Bubble-nest Frog (RPN), the Giant Visayan Frog (ARKive), the Spiny Tree Frog (ARKive), and the recently described Panay Limestone Frog (PESCP).

Notable freshwater fish include the world's smallest commercially fished species, the Sinarapan (FishBase), and the remarkable species flock of barbs from Lake Lanao including Puntius tumba (FishBase) and Puntius lindog (FishBase). Other endemic freshwater fish include the Freshwater Sardinella (eol), the Luzon Ricefish (Black Jack's Room), the Luzon Mottled Eel (Species New to Science), Stiphodon surrufus (ARKive), and the endemic genera Spratellicypris (FishBase) and Gulaphallus (CAS). Endemic marine fish include the Bluespotted Angelfish (FishBase), the Philippine Clown Blenny (eol), Thielle’s Anemonefish (nhm.ku.edu), a reef bass Pseudogramma erythreum (FishBase), and the Spot-lined Flasher (eol).

Butterflies known solely from the Philippines include the Golden Birdwing (PBase), the Palawan Birdwing (Palawan Birdwings), a swallowtail Atrophaneura semperi (Magic of Life), Electra's Tree Nymph (ARKive), and the endemic genus Paruparo (Jamides). Other endemic arthropods include a huge stag beetle Odontolabis intermedia (KabuKabu), a longhorned beetle Doliops multifasciata (Salagubang), a weevil Pachyrrhynchus congestus (Salagubang), a jewel beetle Coraebosoma violaceum (Salagubang), a stick insect Ophicrania vittipennis (Andy Maluche), and a jumping spider Mantisatta longicauda (Salticidae of the World). Endemic molluscs include the Helicostyla land snails (Schnecken der Welt), Conus barbieri (coneshell.net), the Imperial Volute (Eddie Hardy), and a nudibranch Melibe digitata (Sea Slug Forum). Boholiniidae is an endemic family of copepod crustaceans (CaveBiology.com pdf file).

Among over 6000 vascular plant species restricted to the Philippines are the Mindanao Giant Pitcher Plant (joachim-nerz.de), Rafflesia mira (Parasitic Plants), the Philippine Teak (pinoytrees.blogspot.com), the Cebu Cinnamon (Global Trees Campaign), the Red Lauan (ARKive), the Kapa-Kapa (Field Museum), the Kris Plant (Cal's Plant of the Week), the Anubing (Indi Journal), a cycad Cycas wadei (Cycad Pages), Hoya darwinii (RPN), and the Jade Vine (Field Museum). Endemic genera include the Christmas Palm (PACSOA), the Philippine Tung (Indi Journal), the Tabog (UC-Riverside), Gloeocarpus (ARKive), Villaria (Indi Journal), and several orchids: the Waling-waling (IOPSE), Amesiella (IOPSE), Ceratocentron (Malesian Orchid Genera), and Megalotus (Malesian Orchid Genera).

The Philippines comprises its own biodiversity hotspot (Biodiversity Hotspots) and is home to one of the world's top ten coral reef hotspots (Reef Guardian pdf file). Important terrestrial ecoregions include the Mindanao Montane Rain Forests (EoE), the Greater Negros-Panay Rain Forests (EoE), and the Luzon Rain Forests (EoE). Important areas for freshwater endemic species include Lake Lanao (ARCBC) and the Northern Philippine Islands (FEOW).