Endemic species in Taiwan
checklistTaiwan is a continental island, located between the southeastern coastline of mainland China and Japan's Ryukyu Islands. With diverse terrain and wide range of vertical elevations, Taiwan has tropical, subtropical, temperate, and frigid climate zones. These unique geographical conditions, coupled with the effect of habitat isolation, gave Taiwan its high biodiversity.
The endemic species of Taiwan denotes the native plants and animals of Taiwan and its offshore islands such as Penghu Archipelago, Orchid Island, Green Island, etc. Even though the areas are small, the Checklist of Taiwan (TaiCOL, formerly TaiBNET) lists around 64,000 valid species scientific names. Among them, about 10,000 are endemic species (including endemic subspecies and variety), showing the abundance of Taiwan’s endemic Species. TaiCOL also provides information on these species, such as their scientific names (including authors and years), common names, and synonyms. Through Taiwan Biodiversity Information Facility (TaiBIF), the information on these endemic species are published and then shared and exchanged with other GBIF participants. Users can use keywords to link to other websites with relevant information. All these efforts will result in the circulation and utilization of information in the areas of research, education and conservation.
Shao K, Chung K (2024). Endemic species in Taiwan. Version 8.7. Taiwan Biodiversity Information Facility (TaiBIF). Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/tkdy8a accessed via GBIF.org on 2026-06-14.
