Endemic Maltese wildlife

The Maltese Islands, although small in area (316 km²), host many endemic species. This may make the organism endangered. These endemic species are important to the Maltese Islands because they form part of Maltese national heritage and are topics of scientific research.^[1]

Introduction

Of the 10,000 estimated terrestrial and freshwater species in the Maltese archipelago,^[2] 78 are endemic,^[1]^{[unreliable source?]} a large number considering the country's size. Only 4,500 species have so far been identified, and others still await correct taxonomic classification,^[2] which means that there may be several more endemic species yet to be discovered.

Twenty-three of the endemic species are vascular plants and plants such as bryophytes, while the remaining 55 species are animals.^[1]

Plants

Malta hosts around 860 plants of indigenous nature, occurring in the archipelago before man. Another 20 taxa are considered archaeophytes, being introduced through human intervention but having established themselves before 1500 AD A further 180 taxa are of uncertain origin, whilst at least 640 taxa are considered neophytes, having been introduced after 1500 AD, and may include casual alien species. Most importantly, at least 24 endemic vascular plants, and 18 vascular plants that are sub-endemic to the Mediterranean region.^[3]

Endemic vascular plants


Image	Species name
	Allium lojaconoi
	Allium melitense (until 2018)
	Anacamptis pyramidalis var. urvilleana
	Anthemis urvilleana
	Anthyllis hermanniae subsp. melitensis
	Atriplex lanfrancoi
	Cheirolophus crassifolius
	Chiliadenus bocconei
	Euphorbia melitensis
	Helichrysum panormitanum subsp. melitense, syn. Helichrysum melitense
	Hyoseris frutescens
	Legousia hybrida var. foliosa (extinct)
	Limonium melitense
	Limonium zeraphae
	Matthiola incana subsp. melitensis
	Ophrys bombyliflora var. parviflora
	Ophrys hospitalis
	Ophrys melitensis
	Orobanche densiflora
	Orobanche mutelii var. melitensis
	Polypodium vulgare subsp. melitense
	Romulea melitensis
	Salsola melitensis
	Sedum album subsp. rupi-melitense
	Zannichellia melitensis

Sub-endemic vascular plants


Image	Species name
	Calendula maritima
	Calendula suffruticosa subsp. fulgida var. gussonei
	Daucus carota subsp. rupestris
	Daucus lopadusanus
	Desmazeria pignattii
	Elatine gussonei
	Euphorbia exigua var. pycnophylla
	Filago cossyrensis
	Moraea sisyrinchium var. Moraea sicula
	Hymenolobus revelierei subsp. sommieri
	Iris pallida synonym Iris sicula
	Linaria pseudolaxiflora
	Ophrys caesiella
	Ophrys calliantha
	Ophrys lunulata
	Romulea linaresii
	Scilla sicula also known as Scilla peruviana
	Senecio pygmaeus

Animals

There are more endemic animals than plants in the Maltese Islands, they are often subspecies of species in nearby countries e.g. the Sicilian shrew in Gozo which has been defined as a subspecies of its own. Endemic animal species include:

Image	Species name
	Maltese field beetle (Pimelia rugulosa ssp. melitana)
	Schembri's spider fly (Ogcodes schembrii)
	Maltese ruby tiger moth (Phragmatobia fuliginosa ssp. melitensis)
	Maltese swallowtail (Papilio machaon ssp. melitensis)
	Maltese freshwater crab (Potamon fluviatile ssp. lanfrancoi)
	Maltese palpigrade (Eukoenia christiani)
	Maltese wall lizard (Podarcis filfolensis - this species has many subspecies, four of which are endemic to the Maltese Islands)
	Sicilian shrew (Crocidura sicula ssp. calypso)
	Esther's gecko mite (Gekobia estherae)

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Schembri, Patrick. "The Ecology of the Maltese Islands". geog.plym.ac.uk. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007.
^ ^a ^b Wildlife of the Maltese Islands, BirdLife Malte and Nature Trust, 1995.
^ Lanfranco, Edwin (2015). Wild flowers of the Maltese Islands. Guido Bonett. San Gwann. ISBN 978-99957-46-59-9. OCLC 992500794.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

[ecology-1] Schembri, Patrick. "The Ecology of the Maltese Islands". geog.plym.ac.uk. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007.

[Wildlife-2] Wildlife of the Maltese Islands, BirdLife Malte and Nature Trust, 1995.

[3] Lanfranco, Edwin (2015). Wild flowers of the Maltese Islands. Guido Bonett. San Gwann. ISBN 978-99957-46-59-9. OCLC 992500794.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

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