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Despite its diminutive size (284,000 km2), Ecuador is one of only seventeen countries in the world which are classified as megadiverse by the group Conservation International. Below, ten important reasons why Ecuador makes this exclusive list:
1. Ecuador is home to around 1,600 bird species on the mainland, with 38 more which are endemic to the Galapagos Islands. This makes it home to fully 15% of the worlds’ known species of birds, and double the number found in the all of Europe (source: http://www.ecuador-travel.net/information.biodiversity.htm).
2. Ecuador possesses around 15901 species of plants, around 4173 of which are endemic to the country. By way of comparison, this is six times what is present in the far larger country of Germany (http://www.mobot.org/mobot/research/ecuador/introduction.shtml).
3. Ecuador is home to a total of 350 species of reptiles and 400 species of amphibians.There are 210 species of snakes alone, ranging in size from itty-bitty (16cm) to the gigantic anaconda (up to 6m in length). It is estimated that in the fresh waters of the Amazon Basin region there are over 800 species of fish, including electric eels and piranhas (http://www.ecuador-travel.net/biodiversity.reptiles.htm).
4. It’s estimated that in the most biodiverse areas of the Ecuadorean jungle, one acre may contain up to 70,000 species of insects. The number of butterfly species alone is estimated to be around 6000 – this considering that the worldwide total of butterfly species is thought to be only about 20,000 (http://safaris-jungle-travel.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_biodiversity_of_ecuadors_oriente).
Ecuador is one of only seventeen countries in the world which are classified as megadiverse...
5. The Galapagos Islands are an international ecological treasure and a UNESCO World Heritage Site , and the birthplace of Darwin's Theory of Evolution.
6. There are an estimated 324 species of mammals known to live in Ecuador, including jaguars, pumas, ocelots, wild boars, tapirs, spectacled bears, peccaries, deer, fresh water dolphins, manatees, armadillos, and 16 species of new world monkeys. About 40% of the mammal species in Ecuador are bats (http://www.touchthejungle.org/EcuadorBiodiversity.cfm?project=pdo).
7. A single hectare in Yasuni National Park is projected to contain approximately 100000 insect species, the highest estimated diversity per unit area in the world for any plant or animal group. An average hectare in Yasuní contains more tree species (655) than are native to the continental United States and Canada combined. The same can be said for the 150 total species of amphibians found in the park (http://www.elmercurio.com.ec/228837-parque-nacional-de-yasuni-de-ecuador-uno-de-los-lugares-mas-biodiversos-del-planeta.html).
8. A large number of the species found in Ecuador are listed as threatened or endangered, including 20 species of mammals, 50 species of birds, 12 species of reptiles, and 375 species of plants (http://www.ecuadorexplorer.com/html/vital_stats.html).
9. Even though Ecuadorian Amazon represents just two percent of the whole Amazon basin, it contains fully one-third of all the bird species in the entire Amazon region, and 10 percent of all plant species on earth (http://www.ecuador-travel.net/information.biodiversity.htm).
10. According to the Holdridge Life Zone system over 24 tropical life zones are found in Ecuador. These zones include dry tropical forests, tropical cloud forests, mangrove swamps, paramos, and tropical lowland rainforests. It is this range that allows for Ecuador’s stunning levels of biodiversity: one hectare of the tropical rainforest can contain as many frog species as are present in all of North America, and one tree can contain more species of ant than are found in the entire British Isles combined (http://www.ecuadorexplorer.com/html/vital_stats.html).
