Guinean Forests of West Africa - Species
The Guinean Forests of West Africa Hotspot supports impressive levels of biodiversity, including numerous endemic species, making it a conservation priority at the global scale. The hotspot is ranked among the world’s foremost regions for mammalian diversity.
Plants
The Guinean Forests is estimated to contain more than 9,000 vascular plant species, of which around 20 percent are thought to be endemic. Within the hotspot, high levels of local endemism at the species level can be found: Nearly 2,500 plant species have been recorded on Mount Cameroon alone. Because of their relative isolation from the rest of the hotspot, the Gulf of Guinea Islands also support a highly endemic flora; approximately 185 species are endemic to these islands.
Butterflies
Throughout the hotspot, information on the status of butterflies is still quite limited, with only 141 species currently assessed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The Oban Division of Cross River National Park in Nigeria is thought to support more than 1,000 species of butterfly. Similarly, Gola Rainforest National Park is estimated to contain in excess of 600 species.
Mammals
The Guinean Forests is among the world’s foremost hotspots for mammalian diversity. An estimated 390 terrestrial species are found in the hotspot, representing more than one-quarter of the roughly 1,100 total mammal species found on the continent of Africa. More than 60 mammals are endemic to the hotspot, and noteworthy endemic species include two of the rarest antelopes in the world: the Endangered Jentink’s duiker (Cephalophus jentinki) and Vulnerable zebra duiker (Cephalophus zebra). Other globally threatened species include the Endangered pygmy hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensis) and Vulnerable Liberian mongoose (Liberiictis kuhnii).
The hotspot is renowned for its primate diversity, as it contains 30 species, six of which are endemic to the Upper Guinean Forests subregion, and nine to the Lower Guinean Forests subregion. There are also four endemic primate subspecies on Bioko Island.
Taxonomic work continues to identify new species in the region – for example, a new species of endemic tree hyrax was described in 2022.
Birds
At least 949 birds have been recorded in the hotspot of which just under six percent are globally threatened, and at least 49 are endemic. For example, two Critically Endangered species, the São Tomé grosbeak (Neospiza concolor) and São Tomé fiscal (Lanius newtoni) both appear to have highly restricted ranges within small remaining forest fragments.
Reptiles
The diversity of reptile species is poorly documented in western Africa, although 308 species have been assessed for the ISUN Red List. Eighteen of the 24 reptiles found on the islands of São Tomé, Príncipe and Annobón are endemic, while all three species of African crocodiles are found within the hotspot.
Amphibians
Amphibians are also relatively poorly documented in the hotspot but there are 284 recorded species and more likely to be discovered in the future. Of these species more than 118 are endemic, with particularly large numbers of endemics in the Cameroon Highlands. Over one-quarter of the hotspot’s amphibian species are considered globally threatened.
Freshwater fishes
The hotspot supports a remarkable diversity of bony fishes: at least 1,452 species. More than half of the freshwater fishes are endemic to the western Africa region, but only a few are thought to be endemic to the hotspot itself. About one-quarter of the world’s 350 species of killifish are found in the hotspot, around half of which are endemic. Cichlids are also prominent, with more than half of the 60-plus species present endemic to the hotspot.
Read more about the hotspot's species in chapter three of our ecosystem profile (PDF - 5.4 MB).