Critically EndangeredGiant Clam
Tridacna gigas
Asia
Taiwan is a mountainous island formed by the collision of two plates, with more than two hundred summits above three thousand metres packed into a small area. That relief strings together, within a few kilometres, subtropical rainforest on the coast, laurel forest and conifers at altitude and alpine grassland on the peaks, which has generated an extremely high proportion of endemic species. Taroko Gorge, cut into marble by the Liwu River, is its most spectacular geological formation. In the high mountain rivers survives a relict salmon that was trapped after the last glaciation and is one of the southernmost salmonids on the planet. The coastal wetlands of the west host the black-faced spoonbill, and the south, at Kenting, contributes coral reefs.
National animal: The Formosan black bear, the island's emblematic animal
Every spring, millions of purple crow butterflies travel up the island from the southern valleys where they have spent the winter, in one of only two mass butterfly migrations known in the world alongside that of the American monarch. Their route crosses a national motorway, so the authorities close a lane, put up nets more than four metres high and install overpasses so the insects can cross without being run over.
The Formosan clouded leopard was declared extinct in 2013 after years of fruitless searching. The Formosan landlocked salmon, isolated in a few high streams, has recovered from barely a few hundred individuals through captive breeding and stream restoration.
The southern valleys between November and March for the winter butterfly gathering. Yushan and Shei-Pa in summer for high-altitude wildlife. Qigu between October and April for the black-faced spoonbill.
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Same region: East Asia
Same region: East Asia
Same region: East Asia
Same region: East Asia
266 species found
Based on what we already know about Taiwan.
