Puerto Rico

Birds found nowhere else include the Puerto Rican Amazon (eBird), the Puerto Rican Screech Owl (eBird), the Puerto Rican Woodpecker (Alfredo Colón), the Puerto Rican Tody (eBird), the Green Mango (birdfinding.info), the Puerto Rican Emerald (eBird), the Puerto Rican Lizard Cuckoo (eBird), the Puerto Rican Nightjar (eBird), the Elfin Woods Warbler (birdfinding.info), Adelaide's Warbler (eBird), the Yellow-shouldered Blackbird (eBird), the Puerto Rican Spindalis (puertoricobirds.com WM), the Puerto Rican Vireo (eBird), the Puerto Rican Euphonia (birdfinding.info), the Puerto Rican Oriole (eBird), and the Puerto Rican Bullfinch (eBird). The Puerto Rican Loggerhead Kingbird (birdfinding.info) is sometimes considered distinct from the more widespread Loggerhead Kingbird. The Puerto Rican Tanager (eBird) is the sole member of an endemic family, the Nesospingidae.

Reptiles unique to Puerto Rico include the Puerto Rican Boa (iNaturalist), the Mona Boa (flickr), the Puerto Rican Racerlet (Alfredo Colon), the Caja de Muertos Racer (iNaturalist), the Puerto Rican Coastal Blindsnake (iNaturalist), the Mona Rhinoceros Iguana (IUCN) (iNaturalist), the Puerto Rican Common Worm Lizard (liNaturalist), the Puerto Rican Galliwasp (El Yunque WM), the Mona Dwarf Gecko (iNaturalist), the Isla Vieques Dwarf Gecko Sphaerodactylus inigoi (Species New to Science), the Puerto Rican Blue-tailed Ameiva (iNaturalist), the Puerto Rican Skink (IUCN), the Puerto Rican Giant Anole (iNaturalist), the Emerald Anole (iNaturalist), the Guanica Pallid Anole (iNaturalist), the Puerto Rican Twig Anole (El Yunque WM), the Desecheo Anole (Anole Annals), and the Yellow-chinned Anole (Ediciones Digitales WM).

Amphibians restricted to Puerto Rico include the Puerto Rican Crested Toad (Crested Toad SSP WM), the Common Coqui (iNaturalist), the Locust Coqui (iNaturalist), the Melodius Coqui (AmphibiaWeb), the Forest Coqui (iNaturalist), the Elfin Coqui (iNaturalist), the Bronze Coqui (IUCN), the cave-dwelling Guajon Coqui (IUCN), the Shrub Coqui (El Yunque WM), the Mona Coqui (iNaturalist), and the Plains Coqui (ARKive WM). Several frogs may now be extinct including the Golden Coqui (Wikipedia), the Web-footed Coqui (El Yunque WM), and the Mottled Coqui (BHL) (El Yunque WM).

Marine fish known solely from Puerto Rico include the Euripos Jewelfish Odontanthias (or Anthias) hensleyi (STRI WM), the Opalescent Grunt Rhonciscus pauco (PeerJ), the Puerto Rican Snake Eel Bascanichthys inopinatus (STRI WM), the Akarnax Slopefish Symphysanodon mona (STRI WM), and a barbeled dragonfish Eustomias precarius (p. 53 of Smithsonian pdf).

The Puerto Rican Common Mustached Bat (Ciencia PR) (Armando Rodríguez WM) is an endemic mammal. The Red Fig-eating Bat (Univ. Connecticut WM) (ASM WM) is the sole member of a genus shared only with the U.S. Virgin Islands. Extinct mammals include the Puerto Rican Plate-toothed Giant Hutia Elasmodontomys obliquus (AMNH WM) (ResearchGate), the Puerto Rican Cave Rat Heteropsomys insulans (PubMed Central) (Caribbean Paleobiology), and the Antillean Cave Rat Heteropsomys antillensis (p. 5 of AMNH WM pdf).

Butterflies exclusive to Puerto Rico include the Puerto Rican Harlequin (iNaturalist), the Puerto Rican Calisto (iNaturalist), the Puerto Rican Sister Adelpha arecosa (iNaturalist), the Puerto Rican Yellow (iNaturalist), and the Puerto Rican Skipper (iNaturalist). Endemic moths include a flannel moth Megalopyge krugii (iNaturalist) and a crambid moth Diathrausta yunquealis (GBIF).

Other endemic insects include the longhorn beetles Solenoptera michelii (iNaturalist) and Elateropsis julio (Smithsonian WM), a firefly Rufolychnia borencona (iNaturalist), a ground beetle Antilliscaris megacephalus (iNaturalist), a lady beetle Coleomegilla innotata (iNaturalist), a flea beetle Normaltica obrieni (iNaturalist), a weevil Exophthalmus quindecimpunctatus (iNaturalist), a katydid Borinquenula minor (Alfredo Colón), a grasshopper Tergoceracris luquillensis (iNaturalist), a cricket Amphiacusta tijicohniae (iNaturalist), a cicada Borencona aguadilla (flickr), a treehopper Antillotolania myricae (iNaturalist), a genus of planthoppers Abbrosoga (GBIF), the Tuna Cave Cockroach Aspiduchus cavernicola (flickr), the stick insects Diapherodes achalus (GBIF) and Lamponius nebulosus (iNaturalist), a thread-legged bug Emesa tenerrima (Alfredo Colón), the bees Lasioglossum eickwortellum (Alfredo Colón) and Coelioxys spinosa (p. 9 of Florida OJ WM pdf), and the ants Temnothorax isabellae (Alfredo Colón) and Camponotus taino (iNaturalist).

Other endemic invertebrates include the Puerto Rican Brown Tarantula (iNaturalist), a pirate spider Mimetus portoricensis (Alfredo Colón), the jumping spiders Corythalia gloriae (Alfredo Colón) and Petemathis portoricensis (iNaturalist), the harvestmen Yunquenus portoricanus (iNaturalist) and Vampyrostenus kratochvili (Harvard), the scorpions Heteronebo portoricensis (iNaturalist) and Tityus juliorum (Alfredo Colón), a solifuge Ammotrechella pallida (Alfredo Colón), the millipedes Rhinocricus parcus (iNaturalist) and Spirobolellus richmondi (ResearchGate), a centipede Newportia stoevi (ResearchGate), an earthworm Estherella montana (p. 88 of CORE WM pdf), a velvet worm Peripatus juanensis (Ediciones Digitales WM) (iNaturalist), a freshwater shrimp Micratya cooki (GBIF), and a black coral Aphanipathes puertoricoensis (ZooKeys).

Molluscs found only in Puerto Rico include a marine cone snail Jaspidiconus boriqua (figs. A & B at BHL) and several land snails including Caracolus caracolla (iNaturalist), Parthena acutangula (iNaturalist), Granodomus lima (iNaturalist), Alcadia alta (flickr), Gaeotis nigrolineata (iNaturalist), Nenia tridens (iNaturalist), Mcleania darlingtoni (iNaturalist), Vagavarix portoricensis (iNaturalist), Hemitrochus riveroi (flickr), Swiftella boriqueni (Mel J. Rivera WM), and Cerion striatellum (iNaturalist).

The 240 endemic vascular plant species (p. 5 of Google Books) include the Native Begonia (FVEB WM), a cycad Zamia portoricensis (Cycad Pages WM), a tree fern Alsophila bryophila (FVEB WM), the Puerto Rico Purslane (ResearchGate), the Sebucan (Wikipedia), the Puerto Rico Applecactus (Enciclopedia PR WM), the Luquillo Mountain Babyboot Orchid (El Yunque WM), Krug's Peacock Orchid (IOSPE), Epidendrum ackermanii (iNaturalist), the Mountain Love-in-the-mist (iNaturalist), the Campanilla Amarilla (FVEB WM), a bromeliad Hohenbergia portoricensis (FVEB WM), Maxwell's Girdlepod (Wikipedia), Chase's Threeawn (Wikipedia), Wheeler's Peperomia (CPC), the Yerba Parrera (Gesneriad Soc.), Wagner's Cordia (iNaturalist), the Tibey Tupa (iNaturalist), and Procter's Ironweed (Wikipedia). The Bejuco de Alambre Neorudolphia (FVEB WM) is an endemic genus.

Trees known only from Puerto Rico include the national flower the Maga (iNaturalist), the Palo de Jazmin (El Yunque WM), the Cedro Macho (Plantas de Puerto Rico), the Puerto Rico Raintree (El Yunque WM), the Tortugo Prieto (FVEB WM), the Bariaco (Wikipedia), the Ortegon (ARKive WM), Miconia sintenisii (iNaturalist), the Aceitillo Falso (FVEB WM), the Llume Palm (IUCN), the Roble Cimarron (iNaturalist), the Almendrillo (FVEB WM), the Violet Tree (iNaturalist), the Matabuey (iNaturalist), the Guayabota de Fajardo (ResearchGate), the Laurel Sabino (FVEB WM), the Palo de Nigua (CPC), the Ausu (iNaturalist), the Chupacallo (iNaturalist), Plumeria krugii (iNaturalist), the Caracol Illo (iNaturalist), Pisonia horneae (PhytoKeys), the Arana (iNaturalist), and the Hicaquillo (iNaturalist).

Endemic fungi include Hygrocybe miniatofirma (IUCN), Agaricus ciferrianus (p. 25 of fs.fed.us WM pdf), and Sarcodon portoricensis (ResearchGate). Endemic lichens include Pyrenula sanguineomeandrata (figs. C-F at ResearchGate) and Borinquenotrema soredicarpum (fig. E at ResearchGate). Endemic non-vascular plants include a liverwort Prionolejeunea cordiflora (GBIF). Marine algae known only from Puerto Rico include Peyssonnelia iridescens (fig. C at ResearchGate), Hydrolithon abyssophila (fig. I at ResearchGate), and Botryocladia iridescens (fig. G at ResearchGate).

Puerto Rico is a self-governing territory of the United States of America and includes the Puerto Rican Moist Forests (Wikipedia) and the Puerto Rican Dry Forests (Wikipedia) and is part of the Caribbean Islands biodiversity hotspot (Biodiversity Hotspots WM).