Species lists
Wildlife and nature of Somalia: species, endemics, threats and records
Somalia lies in the Horn of Africa biodiversity hotspot, one of only two fully dry hotspots on Earth. GBIF, the global open database of species records, holds 102,145 records of 9,869 species from Somalia. Somalia's 2016 national biodiversity plan lists 24 bird species and 93 reptile species found only there or in the Horn, and records large losses of wildlife since the 1980s.
In short
Somalia sits where two global centres of endemism meet: the Horn of Africa biodiversity hotspot and the Coastal Forests of Eastern Africa hotspot. The Horn of Africa hotspot is one of only two hotspots in the world that are entirely dry; the other is the Succulent Karoo of southwestern Africa (Federal Republic of Somalia, National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP), Ullah and Gadain, FAO SWALIM, 2016, pp. 17 and 26).
On 12 November 2026 the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) held 102,145 records from Somalia, covering 9,869 species: 5,661 animals, 3,898 plants, 161 chromists (such as diatoms and brown algae), 130 fungi, 15 bacteria and 4 viruses (GBIF occurrence search, Somalia).
Species found only here
The national plan gives these counts of species present in Somalia and of endemic species, meaning found nowhere else, based on Conservation International's figures (NBSAP 2016, p. 26):
- Plants: 3,165 species, 800 endemic (25%)
- Mammals: 220 species, 20 endemic (9.1%)
- Birds: 697 species, 24 endemic (3.4%)
- Reptiles: 285 species, 93 endemic (32.6%)
- Amphibians: 30 species, 6 endemic (20%)
- Freshwater fish: 100 species, 10 endemic (10%)
BirdLife International gives a different bird count, 566 species with 9 endemic. The plan notes that figures from different sources often do not match; elephant figures for southern Somalia, for example, range from a high of 6,000 down to 70 (NBSAP 2016, pp. 26 to 27).
The plan names the beira, the dibatag (Clarke's gazelle), Speke's gazelle and the silver dik-dik as the most notable endemic mammals, and notes the Somali wild ass and the desert warthog. A cheetah was seen in Sool region during the plan's preparation. Seven of the hotspot's 24 endemic bird species are found only in Somalia, among them the Warsangli linnet of the northern mountains (NBSAP 2016, p. 18).
Five ecoregions
The plan divides Somalia's land into five ecoregions, following White (1983), Leslie (1990) and WWF (2014) (NBSAP 2016, p. 29):
- Acacia–Commiphora bushland, the main vegetation of the country
- Juniperus forest of the northern Golis mountains: see Somali montane xeric woodlands
- Evergreen and semi-evergreen bushland
- Semi-desert grassland and bushland, including the Hobyo grasslands and the Ethiopian xeric grasslands
- Zanzibar–Inhambane coastal forest in the far south
The coast and the sea
The plan describes Somalia's coastline as the longest and least spoiled in Africa, with coral reefs, seabird colonies and turtle nesting beaches that are not protected. Seabird nesting sites include Mait Island, Zeila Island and islets off Mogadishu. Citing IUCN (1999), it records 87 coral species, 140 reef fish species, and dolphins including the common, spinner and spotted dolphin (NBSAP 2016, p. 27).
Losses recorded
Colonial officials such as R. E. Drake-Brockman (1910) described great abundance and variety of wildlife, and Somalia was then known as one of the best wildlife areas in Africa. By the mid-1980s, IUCN and UNEP (1986) described wildlife as sparse and scattered because of livestock grazing and illegal hunting. The plan records grazing pressure, tree cutting for charcoal and firewood, soil erosion and droughts as causes of damage to vegetation and soils (NBSAP 2016, p. 27).
The plan's IUCN Red List tables count 166 threatened species in Somalia: 15 mammals, 17 birds, 4 reptiles, 26 fish, 2 molluscs, 60 other invertebrates and 42 plants (NBSAP 2016, p. 28).
How the record grew
Most of the species record comes from museum and herbarium specimens: 71,519 of GBIF's 102,145 records from Somalia. Sightings by people make up 20,965, most of them birds shared through eBird. The largest holders are the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (26,124 records), the Cornell Lab of Ornithology (13,570) and Uppsala University (4,562) (GBIF occurrence search, Somalia).
By decade, dated records rose from 602 in the 1870s to 20,509 in the 1980s, fell to 5,304 in the 1990s and 3,067 in the 2000s, and rose again to 11,983 in the 2020s so far (same source).
Every species list
- Animals: mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, perch-like fish, sharks, rays and other fish, butterflies and moths, beetles, other insects, snails A to L, snails M to Z, clams, octopus and other molluscs, crabs, spiders and other arthropods, corals, sea urchins, worms and others
- Plants: Plants of Somalia, with every plant list
- Others: fungi, algae and microbes
- All 9,869 species in one open data file: species-recorded-in-somalia.csv
Sources
Sources
Toosoo!
Calankii is made by Toosoo, which works for one united, prosperous Somalia.
Can you help with Wildlife and nature of Somalia: species, endemics, threats and records? Tell us what you can give.
I want to help with this
Related
- Mammals of Somalia: all 191 species on record (part 2 of 2)Part 2 of 2 of Mammals of Somalia: all 191 species on record, from Wahlberg's epauletted fruit bat.
- Birds of Somalia: all 709 species on record (part 2 of 5)Part 2 of 5 of Birds of Somalia: all 709 species on record, from Sombre Nightjar.
- Birds of Somalia: all 709 species on record (part 3 of 5)Part 3 of 5 of Birds of Somalia: all 709 species on record, from Barn Swallow.
- Reptiles of Somalia: all 224 species on record (part 2 of 2)Part 2 of 2 of Reptiles of Somalia: all 224 species on record, from [Western Jackson's Wolf Snake [occidentale]](https://www.gbif.org/species/2457787).
- Birds of Somalia: all 709 species on record (part 4 of 5)Part 4 of 5 of Birds of Somalia: all 709 species on record, from African Black-headed Oriole.
- Birds of Somalia: all 709 species on record (part 5 of 5)Part 5 of 5 of Birds of Somalia: all 709 species on record, from Common Redshank.
Keep reading
- Mammals of Somalia: all 191 species on recordEvery mammal species with a record from Somalia in GBIF: 191 species, each with its family, IUCN Red List category and number of records, plus summaries by group and threat level.
- Birds of Somalia: all 709 species on recordEvery bird species with a record from Somalia in GBIF: 709 species with family, IUCN Red List category and number of records, plus the threatened species and the birds found only in Somalia.
- Reptiles of Somalia: all 224 species on recordEvery reptile species with a record from Somalia in GBIF: 224 lizards, snakes, turtles, tortoises and crocodiles, with family, Red List category and number of records.
- Amphibians of Somalia: all 46 species on recordEvery frog and toad species with a record from Somalia in GBIF: 46 species with family, Red List category and number of records.
- Fish of Somalia: 296 perch-like species on recordEvery perch-like fish species (Perciformes) with a record from Somalia in GBIF: 296 species of groupers, snappers, tunas, jacks, reef fish and more, with family, Red List category and number of records.
- Fish of Somalia: sharks, rays and 30 other ordersEvery shark, ray and non-perch-like fish species with a record from Somalia in GBIF, with order, family, Red List category and number of records.