Eritrea
Vascular
plant
species known
only from Eritrea include Echidnopsis
uraiqatiana
(Stapeliads.info)
(ResearchGate),
Echidnopsis kohaitoensis
(Stapeliads.info),
Aloe montis-nabro
(Huntington), Aloe schoelleri (ResearchGate),
Aloe neosteudneri (aloes.wz.cz
WM),
Huernia engleri
(POWO),
a lavender Lavandula
erythraeae (JSTOR),
Gladiolus mensensis
(GBIF), the dayflowers Commelina trachysperma
(JSTOR)
and Commelina mensensis
(JSTOR),
a
spurflower Plectranthus
(or Coleus) de-gasperisianns (JSTOR), a woundwort Stachys
bizensis (GBIF),
Pavetta eritreensis
(JSTOR),
Kohautia gracillima
(JSTOR),
Kohautia pappii
(JSTOR)
(p. 104 of KNAW
WM
pdf),
Centaurea jeffreyana
(GBIF)
(ResearchGate),
Pavonia steudneri
(GBIF),
Pimpinella erythraeae
(GBIF),
and Cyphia eritreana
(GBIF).
Endemic snakes include the Cross-marked Egg-eater Dasypeltis crucifera
(Reptile
Database), the Eritrean Gracile Blind Snake Letheobia erythraea
(GBIF)
and two species unique to the Dahlak Islands:
the Big-headed Carpet Viper Echis
megalocephalus (Tomáš
Mazuch WM) and the Dahlak
Islands Racer Platyceps largeni (ResearchGate)
(Tomáš
Mazuch WM pdf). The Eritrean
Helmeted Turtle Pelomedusa
gehafie (GBIF)
is also known with certainty only from Eritrea.
The
Eritrean Pond Frog Pelophylax
demarchii
(Herpetology
of Ethiopia & Eritrea WM) (IUCN)
is known from a single specimen and may not be a
valid species.
The only endemic freshwater fish are a cyprinid Garra ethelwynnae (Internet
Archive) (GBIF)
and the Lake Abaeded Cichlid Danakilia
dinicolai (ResearchGate).
Marine fish described from
Eritrea and apparently known from nowhere else include a combtooth
blenny Omobranchus
steinitzi (WoRMS),
a
goby Gobius leucomelas
(Google
Books),
a snailfish Liparis
fishelsoni (GBIF) (IUCN), a sole Aseraggodes
steinitzi
(FishBase),
a rover Emmelichthys
marisrubri (Cybium),
a tonguesole Cynoglossa glotta (p. 12 of Cappadocia pdf), and
a stargazer
Uranoscopus dahlakensis (GBIF).
Insects found solely in Eritrea include a leaf beetle Apophylia
trapezicollis
(SysTax
WM),
a skin beetle Anthrenus
paraclaviger (dermestidae.com
WM),
a ground beetle Chlaenius
eritreaensis (fig. 2 on p. 13 of ZOBODAT
pdf),
a rove beetle Cliarthrinus
lanzai (p. 7 of Taylor
& Francis pdf), the longhorn beetles Exocentrus asmarensis
(Cerambycidae
Species WM) (BHL)
and Pterolophia
eritreensis (p. 16 of RBINS
pdf),
a
lady beetle Nephus
martellii (Taylor
& Francis pdf), a noctuid moth Porphyrinia vinosa (BHL),
a plant bug Orthotylus
massawanus (p. 34 of AMNH
pdf),
a
planthopper Derisa asper
(p. 7 of AMNH
pdf),
a grasshopper Stenoscepa
picta (OSF),
a termite Neotermes
erythraeus (BHL),
an ant Hypoponera orba
(Ants
of Africa), a potter wasp Afrepipona angusta (PLAZI), and the bees Patellapis
flavofasciata (Atlas
Hymenoptera WM) and Lasioglossum
(or Halictus)
simulator
(p. 4 of AMNH
WM
pdf).
Other endemic invertebrates include the land snails Sitala steudneri (fig. 6 at BHL) and Macroptychia dystherata (WMSDB) and Laemodonta oblonga (fig. 4 at BHL), the crab spiders Halodromus gershomi (GBIF) and Parabomis levanderi (GBIF), a jumping spider Heliophanus erythropleurus (GBIF), a wolf spider Hogna massauana (fig. 224 at naturalsciences.be pdf), a pseudoscorpion Nannowithius aethiopicus (p. 31 of Taylor & Francis pdf), and several scorpions: Hemiscorpius tellinii (figs. 15-18 at ResearchGate), Barbaracurus zambonellii (GBIF), Neobuthus eritreaensis (ResearchGate), Compsobuthus eritreaensis (ResearchGate), Pandiborellius insularis (p. 24 of Euscorpius pdf), and Pandinus eritreaensis (p. 3 of František KovaĆík WM pdf). Endemic marine invertebrates includes a pebble crab Nobiliella margaritata (GBIF) and the cone snails Conus nigromaculatus (Eddie Hardy) (IUCN) and Phasmoconus tenorioi (WMSDB).
Endemic non-vascular plants include a liverwort Plagiochila erythraeae
(p. 4 of ZOBODAT
pdf) and the mosses Fontinalis
fiorii (GBIF)
and Schwetschkea
capillifolia (GBIF).
Portions of Eritrea are included in the Eastern Afromontane (Biodiversity
Hotspots WM) and Horn of
Africa (Biodiversity
Hotspots WM) biodiversity
hotspots. Eritrea's marine
life is included in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden coral reef
hotspot (Columbia
Univ. WM pdf).