Wildlife of the Philippines

The Philippine tarsier is endemic to the southern Philippines.

The wildlife of the Philippines includes a significant number of endemic plant and animal species. The country's surrounding waters reportedly[1] have the highest level of marine biodiversity in the world. The Philippines is one of the seventeen megadiverse countries and is a global biodiversity hotspot. In 2013, 700 of the country's 52,177 species were listed as threatened.[2]

The Philippines has among the highest rates of species discovery in the world with 16 new species of mammal discovered in the last ten years. Because of this, the degree of endemism in the Philippines has risen and will likely continue to rise.[3]

Some of the smallest and largest animals and plants are found in the Philippines. These include the smallest primate (tarsier), the biggest moth (Atlas moth, or mariposa in Tagalog), the smallest deer (Philippine mouse-deer or pilandok), the smallest fish (Philippine goby), and the biggest fish (whale shark).[4]

  1. ^ Carpenter, K.E. and V.G. Springer. 2005. Environmental Biology of Fishes (2005) 72: 467–480.
  2. ^ OECD Food and Agricultural Reviews Agricultural Policies in the Philippines. OECD Publishing. April 7, 2017. ISBN 978-92-64-26908-8. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  3. ^ Conservation International. "Biological diversity in the Philippines". Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  4. ^ Biology for Non-Science Majors. 1983. ISBN 9789712314452.