Special Report

Endemic species refers to a species whose distribution is confined to a specific geographic area for historical， ecological or physiological factors and other reasons. It is in terms of the wide spread phenomenon in the world. All genus and species do not belong to international sphere can be called endemic genera or species in the distributed area. Thus we call species which only inhabit and reproduce in China Chinese endemic （alias： Chinese specialty species）.

The endemic of a species is one of the major criteria to determine the protection priority of species diversity. Research on endemic genera and species plays a great significance in understanding the loss speed of biodiversity in specific areas and features and evolution of biota etc.

China is a very rich country in terms of endemic resources and many species live only in China. We cannot list every endemic genera and endemic species but take an example for several iconic Chinese endemic birds to give some inspiration.