Number of Species on the Galapagos Islands

by Joe Smith
(New York City, NY USA)

I had one heard a crazy fact that the Galapagos Islands hold a really high percentage of the worlds total species population.

I can't remember if it was marine or wildlife or both. Is this true? If so about how much in terms of percent?

Your Answer
The Galapagos Islands have a huge variety of exotic species (birds, land animals, plants) not seen anywhere else on Earth.

The majority of Galapagos Animals are unique in the world and can only be seen in this group of beautiful Islands. But the Islands do not have the world's highest percentage of total species population.

Also the marine highlights of the Galapagos Islands hold a unique feature: it is the only place on Earth that compacts tropical water fish, subtropical water fish, sea lions and even penguins.

On the other hand, Ecuador has an amazing biodiversity with 1,600 species of birds, 1,000 species of fish, 680 of reptiles and amphibians, 230 of mammals, and more than 20,000 species of plants.

This country has the biggest bio-diversity per area in the world.

In a recent study by "Conservation International", Ecuador ranked among the 17 Mega Diverse countries, alongside the United States, China, Australia, Brazil and Mexico.

With 9.2 species per km2, it occupies the first place in the world with regards to species per area.

Consider also that Ecuador which only covers 0.02% of the Earth's land surface, holds about 10% of all bird species found on the planet.

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