Endemic Species of Peru

Peru’s endemic biota is best represented with separate taxonomic datasets rather than one synthetic all-taxa total. Plant records, national bird and mammal checklists, and assessed vertebrate datasets differ in rank, coverage and taxonomic treatment, so their counts should remain separate.

Endemic vascular-plant records under WCVP V16

The WCVP V16-derived ppendemic release, extracted on 4 June 2026, contains 8,030 accepted taxonomic records restricted to Peru across 165 families and 1,121 genera. The dataset includes records at species and infraspecific ranks, so 8,030 is a taxon-record count and must not be presented as 8,030 distinct species. Introduced, cultivated, synonymic, misapplied and unplaced names are excluded from the endemic dataset. ^[S2]

The national natural-heritage inventory uses a broader flora estimate: about 25,000 flora species, with 30% reported as endemic. ^[S1] That percentage and the WCVP-derived 8,030-record dataset should not be converted into a single revised species total because their taxonomic ranks and inventory scopes differ.

{
  "type": "bar",
  "title": "Largest families in Peru's WCVP V16-derived endemic-plant dataset",
  "description": "Accepted endemic taxonomic records by family. Counts include species and infraspecific taxa.",
  "unit": "taxonomic records",
  "orientation": "horizontal",
  "data": [
    {"label": "Orchidaceae", "value": 1168},
    {"label": "Asteraceae", "value": 883},
    {"label": "Piperaceae", "value": 680},
    {"label": "Fabaceae", "value": 334},
    {"label": "Bromeliaceae", "value": 319},
    {"label": "Solanaceae", "value": 314},
    {"label": "Melastomataceae", "value": 263},
    {"label": "Araceae", "value": 214},
    {"label": "Cactaceae", "value": 188},
    {"label": "Rubiaceae", "value": 176}
  ],
  "source": "[S2] ppendemic, WCVP V16-derived release, 4 June 2026"
}

Country-endemic vertebrates in the IUCN assessed-group table

IUCN Red List Table 8a version 2025-2 records species known to occur naturally within one country only and reports country endemics for vertebrate groups with more than 80% of species assessed. Under that treatment, Peru has 60 endemic mammals, 132 endemic birds, 140 endemic reptiles and 309 endemic amphibians. ^[S3]

Threatened share is calculated within each IUCN row from the threatened-endemic count divided by the total endemic count. “Threatened” covers CR, EN and VU in this table; EX/EW is reported separately.

{
  "type": "bar",
  "title": "Country-endemic vertebrates in Peru under IUCN Table 8a",
  "description": "Species known to occur naturally only in Peru within the four assessed vertebrate groups shown.",
  "unit": "species",
  "orientation": "horizontal",
  "data": [
    {"label": "Amphibians", "value": 309},
    {"label": "Reptiles", "value": 140},
    {"label": "Birds", "value": 132},
    {"label": "Mammals", "value": 60}
  ],
  "source": "[S3] IUCN Red List Table 8a, version 2025-2"
}

Bird endemism under the 2026 Peru checklist

The Unión de Ornitólogos del Perú checklist updated on 23 March 2026 recognizes 1,925 bird species. Its occurrence codes include 1,552 residents, 119 endemics, 140 non-breeding migrants, 90 vagrants, 3 introduced species, 21 unconfirmed records and no extirpated species. The list follows South American Checklist Committee taxonomy through 27 February 2026. ^[S4]

Marañón dry-forest endemism

The inter-Andean seasonally dry tropical forests of the Marañón valley form a sharply defined regional endemism system across parts of Cajamarca, Amazonas, Piura, La Libertad, Ancash and Huánuco. A 2021 review reported 143 woody-plant species endemic to the Marañón valley and 50 endemic tetrapods in its regional treatment: 4 amphibians, 28 reptiles, 13 birds and 5 mammals. ^[S8]

Mammal endemism in the 2021 national checklist

The November 2021 national mammal checklist recorded 573 species and 87 Peru endemics, or 15.2% under that checklist’s treatment. Six of the 13 mammal orders contained endemic species. Rodents accounted for 56 of the 87 endemics, followed by didelphimorph marsupials with 10, primates and bats with 9 each, eulipotyphlans with 2 and cingulates with 1. ^[S5]

Order-level shares are derived only from the total and endemic counts in the same 2021 checklist.

{
  "type": "bar",
  "title": "Endemic mammals by order in the 2021 Peru checklist",
  "description": "Orders with at least one endemic species in the national mammal checklist.",
  "unit": "species",
  "orientation": "horizontal",
  "data": [
    {"label": "Rodentia", "value": 56},
    {"label": "Didelphimorphia", "value": 10},
    {"label": "Primates", "value": 9},
    {"label": "Chiroptera", "value": 9},
    {"label": "Eulipotyphla", "value": 2},
    {"label": "Cingulata", "value": 1}
  ],
  "source": "[S5] Pacheco et al., Peru mammal checklist, 2021"
}

Three mammal genera were treated as endemic to Peru in the same checklist: Eremoryzomys, Cuscomys and Tomopeas. Tomopeas was associated with the western Andean slope, Cuscomys with the southern Yungas and Eremoryzomys with the Marañón valley. ^[S5]

Geographic concentration of endemic mammals

The 2021 mammal checklist also reports ecoregional occurrence. The Yungas contain records for 48 of the checklist’s endemic mammals, the largest ecoregional count in that treatment. Lowland rainforest follows with 18, the coast with 16, the western slope with 15 and the Puna with 14. ^[S5]

{
  "type": "bar",
  "title": "Endemic mammals recorded by ecoregion in the 2021 checklist",
  "description": "Counts of endemic mammals recorded in each ecoregion. A species may occur in more than one ecoregion, so bars are not additive.",
  "unit": "endemic species recorded",
  "orientation": "horizontal",
  "data": [
    {"label": "Yungas", "value": 48},
    {"label": "Lowland Rainforest", "value": 18},
    {"label": "Coast", "value": 16},
    {"label": "Western Slope", "value": 15},
    {"label": "Puna", "value": 14},
    {"label": "Equatorial Dry Forest", "value": 4},
    {"label": "Páramo", "value": 4},
    {"label": "Oceanic", "value": 0},
    {"label": "Pacific Rainforest", "value": 0},
    {"label": "Palm Savanna", "value": 0}
  ],
  "source": "[S5] Pacheco et al., Peru mammal checklist, 2021"
}

Complete endemic-bat subset in the 2023 specialist checklist

Velazco’s specialist Peru bat checklist, updated on 17 October 2023, lists 195 bat species and explicitly marks 10 species as endemic. All 10 are included below, making this a complete source-defined endemic-bat subset rather than an arbitrary sample of Peru’s endemic fauna. ^[S7]

Range and rank rules behind Peru endemic counts

• Country endemism is a native-range statement. IUCN Table 8 defines a country endemic as a species known to occur naturally within one country only; the 2026 Peru bird checklist likewise uses its endemic code for species whose entire known range is within Peru. ^{[S3] [S4]}
• Introduced or cultivated records do not widen native endemic range. The WCVP-derived endemic-plant dataset filters out introduced and cultivated records, while IUCN’s definition is based on natural occurrence. ^{[S2] [S3]}
• Species and infraspecific taxa must remain separate. The 8,030 WCVP-derived plant records include ranks below species, while the IUCN Table 8 figures are species counts. The two cannot be added as if they were the same unit. ^{[S2] [S3]}
• Taxonomic revisions can change an endemic count without a biological range expansion. Splits, synonymization and revised distributions change which accepted species are counted. This is why the bird and mammal totals are tied to dated taxonomic treatments rather than presented as timeless constants. ^{[S4] [S5]}