Maldives

Among the marine fish known only from the Maldives are the Maldives Blenny Ecsenius minutus (Sous les Mers WM) (ResearchGate), the Maldives Dottyback Pseudoplesiops occidentalis (FishBase), the Maldives Sandperch Parapercis signata (iNaturalist), the righteye flounders Poecilopsetta albomaculata (GBIF) and Marleyella maldivensis (BHL), a sole Aseraggodes andersoni (ResearchGate), the Maldives Sweeper Pempheris hadra (FishBase), the Specklehead Cardinalfish Apogonichthyoides maculipinnis (ResearchGate), the Stout Jawfish Opistognathus crassus (FishBase), the Maldives Tonguefish Symphurus maldivensis (Bioline Int'l), the threefin blennies Helcogramma larvata (BHL) and Helcogramma maldivensis (iNaturalist), the Red Stareye Dwarfgoby Eviota marteynae (coralreeffish.com pdf), the Redlined Hogfish Terelabrus flavocephalus (Reef Builders), the Tiny Dragonet Callionymus tenuis (GBIF), and the Maldives Silverbiddy Gerres maldivensis (BioOne). Frontilabrus caeruleus (FishBase) (IUCN) is an endemic genus of wrasse.

Two subspecies of fruit bat are endemic: Pteropus giganteus ariel (flickr) and Pteropus hypomelanus maris (flickr).

Five subspecies of birds are sometimes considered endemic to the Maldives (see Box 1 at ResearchGate): the Maldivian White-breasted Waterhen , the Southern Maldivian Little Heron, the Northern Maldivian Little Heron, the Maldivian Pond Heron, and the Maldivian House Crow.

Land invertebrates unique to the Maldives include a flower moth Scythris atollicola (GBIF), a hawk moth Macroglossum svetlana (Atalanta pdf), a teak moth Hyblaea maldivesa (BOLD), an erebid moth Alloscotia ellipsomacula (Afromoths), a damselfly Enallagma maldivense (GBIF) (IUCN), a large carpenter bee Xylocopa esica (GBIF), a sand wasp Bembix maldivensis (BHL), a chalcidoid wasp Megastigmus irinae (MDPI), a leafhopper Coelidia maldivensis (Internet Archive), a coral bug Halovelia convexa (p. 10 of Raffles pdf), a huntsman spider Heteropoda atollicola (iNaturalist), a centipede Ballophilus maldivensis (Google Books), the pseudoscorpions Feaella obscura (Zoosystematics & Evolution) and Garypus maldivensis (ResearchGate), and the terrestrial isopods Eubelinum incertum and Styloniscus maldivensis (both at ResearchGate).

Endemic marine invertebrates include the nudibranchs Phyllidia koehleri (Sea Slug Forum WM) (iNaturalist) and Goniobranchus tritos (iNaturalist) and Limenandra evanescenti and Moridilla maldivensis (both at fig. 5 at MDPI), a chiton Ischnochiton feliduensis (fig. 12C at ResearchGate), a ribbed miter Thala maldivensis (WMSDB), the margin snails Demissa maldiviensis (GBIF) and Volvarina reeveana (figs. 10-13 at ResearchGate), a zebinid snail Zebina moolenbeeki (Eddie Hardy), a brachiopod Ospreyella maldiviana (Taylor & Francis), the shrimps Odontonia maldivensis (GBIF) and Periclimenaeus tchesunovi (p. 2 of AToL Decapoda pdf), a snapping shrimp Alpheus dingabadi (Species New to Science), a wormshrimp Ingolfiella maldivensis (ZooKeys), a squat lobster Galathea schnabelae (GBIF), a hermit crab Paguritta scottae (fig. 9 at AToL Decapoda pdf), a staghorn coral Acropora eibli (BHL), a stony coral Montipora maldivensis (p. 104 of CORE pdf), a bryozoan Exechonella maldiviensis (GBIF), and the sponges Cliona nodulosa (fig. 3 at ResearchGate pdf) and Clathrina repens (GBIF).

Five species of screw pine including Pandanus fosbergii, Pandanus adduensis, Pandanus hartmanii, Pandanus karikayo, and Pandanus maldivecus (all at UH - Manoa pdf) have been described from the Maldives but are currently considered synonyms of the widespread Pandanus odorifer (iNaturalist). There are no other endemic vascular plant species.

Marine algae known only from the Maldives include Dictyurus maldivensis (JSTOR).

The Maldives are part of the Maldives-Lakshadweep-Chagos Archipelago Tropical MoistForests terrestrial ecoregion (EoE) and part of the Northern Indian Ocean coral reef hotspot (Columbia Univ. WM pdf). An overview of the biodiversity of the Maldives can be found at (CBD pdf).