Species Database

Species Diversity of Bhutan

Currently, Bhutan is home to 11,248 known species from the following kingdoms: Animalia,Plantae, Chromista, Eubacteria, Fungi, and Protista. The two largest known kingdoms are Plantae and Animalia, which together account for 93% of all species. The smallest kingdom is Protista, which accounts for only two species (less than 1% of all species). However, the kingdoms Chromista, Eubacteria, and Protista are severely underexplored and much research is required in order to gain a better understanding of the number and diversity of species within these groups.
Currently, there is no record of even a single species in the kingdom Archaebacteria.

Number of species
 

Kingdom Number Percentage
Animalia 5114 45.47
Plantae 5369 47.73
Chromista 55 0.49
Eubacteria 18 0.16
Fungi 690 6.13
Protista 2 6.13
Archaebacteria 0 0
Total 11248 100


(Unit: Species, %)

Number of Species by Taxanomic classification

484

 

485

Kingdom Animalia

  1. Vertibrates
    Classification Number Percentage
    Mammals 129 11.24
    Birds 736 64.11
    Amphibians and Reptiles 158 13.76
    Fishes 125 10.89
    Total 1148 100

 

489

 

490

 

495

 

496

 

497

 

508

 

509

 

510

 

512

 

513

 

514

New Species Discoveries and New Records to Bhutan (2009 - 2017)
New species discoveries and records

The number of new species records and discoveries is expected to increase, as many of the less accessible areas in the country, which are suspected to have high levels of biodiversity, are yet to be researched. This assumption is further substantiated by the fact that a number of new species have been described and new records have been found in Bhutan over the years, despite very limited taxonomic works.

Between 2009 and 2017, at least 33 species new to science were discovered from Bhutan. The new discoveries include: 16 species of plants; four moths; four molluscs; one dragonfly; three fishes; one stonefly; and two beetle species. The new species discoveries have occurred at a rate of three species per year (3.6%). A total of 566 species of flora and fauna, new to Bhutan, were recorded from 2009 to 2017 (Gyeltshen et. al., 2018). Checklists of new discoveries and new records of species from 2009-2017 is provided (Table 1 & Annex. 1), based on information available to authors. Not all new records and discoveries may have been presented due to lack of access to
scientific publications.

518

 

519

 

Species Diversity of the World and Bhutan


The number of species recorded in Bhutan is compared with the number of species catalogued in the world, which includes species recorded on earth and in the ocean. This global account of species is based on Mora et al. (2011). Around 8.7 million species are predicted to occur in the world. Bhutan comprises 0.78 % of the total number of catalogued species in the world: 1,438,769 species.

521

 

Source and Credit @Biodiversity Statistics of Bhutan 2017