Endemic Animals of Italy

The Marsican brown bear (Ursus arctos arctos, formerly Ursus arctos marsicanus ), also known as the "Apennine brown bear", and orso bruno marsicano in Italian, is a critically endangered population or subspecies of the Eurasian brown bear, with a range restricted to the Parco Nazionale d'Abruzzo, Lazio e Molise, and the surrounding region in Italy. The Marsican brown bear differs slightly from other brown bears in its appearance and hibernation ...
techniques. The bear’s popular name is derived from Marsica, a historic area of the modern-day region of Abruzzo where the bear has long had a significant presence.With their existence dwindling, the Italian government has recently begun to stress their conservation. The park has become a sanctuary dedicated to animals such as the Marsican brown bear, with hopes of rekindling the large, yet isolative bears’ once-thriving existence. In recent years, more conservation groups have tried to help this bear. Debate exists as to whether it should be considered a subspecies or a taxon of its own. Less

Pecten jacobaeus, the Mediterranean scallop, is a species of scallop, an edible saltwater scallop, a marine bivalve mollusc in the family Pectinidae, the scallops. Less

The Sicilian wolf (Canis lupus cristaldii ) (Sicilian: lupu sicilianu) is an extinct subspecies of the gray wolf that was endemic to Sicily. It was paler than the mainland Italian wolf and comparable in size to the extant Arabian wolf and extinct Japanese wolf. The subspecies reportedly went extinct due to human persecution in the 1920s, though there were several possible sightings up to the 1970s. It was identified as a distinct subspecies in ...
2018 through morphological examinations of the few remaining mounted specimens and skulls, as well as mtDNA analyses. Less

The Apennine yellow-bellied toad (Bombina pachypus ) is a species of toad in the family Bombinatoridae endemic to Italy. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, temperate grassland, swamps, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, arable land, pastureland, ponds, open excavations, irrigated land, and seasonally flooded agricultural land. It is threatened by habitat loss. Less

The spectacled salamander (Salamandrina terdigitata ) is a species of salamander in the family Salamandridae.This species is found only in the southern Apennine Range in Italy in humid valleys and shady, overgrown hillsides at altitudes between 200 and 1,200 m; to the north it borders the range of its sister species S. perspicillata. It is considered an important indicator species of environmental health. It has four toes on the hind feet rather ...
than the five normally found in other salamanders and newts. It has a warty, brownish-black back, and a rather ribbed appearance on its flanks, with a creamy white, V-shaped mark between the eyes. The underside is covered in black and white markings, with pinkish-red underside to legs and tail.The spectacled salamander is most often found near streams, in dense vegetation, under leaf litter, dead wood, or stones. It is nocturnal and terrestrial. When threatened, it raises its tail and legs (unkenreflex), displaying its red underside as a deterrent. Similar warning displays (aposematism) are shown by newts, the Apennine yellow-bellied toad and the spotted salamander. Mating takes place on land in spring. Clutches contain about 30-50 eggs and the larvae take 2-3 mo to develop. The spectacled salamander female enters water only to lay eggs, while the male, once metamorphosis has taken place, avoids water altogether.The IUCN Red List follows Mattoccia et al. (2005) and Canestrelli et al. (2006) in separating Salamandrina perspicillata from S. terdigitata. Less

The Italian tree frog (Hyla intermedia ) is a species of frog in the family Hylidae, found in Italy, Slovenia, Switzerland, and possibly San Marino. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, rivers, intermittent rivers, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, arable land, and urban areas. It is threatened by habitat loss. Less

The Italian newt (Lissotriton italicus ) is a species of salamander in the family Salamandridae found only in Italy. The species can be found in temperate forests, temperate shrubland, Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, freshwater lakes, intermittent freshwater lakes, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, arable land, pastureland, rural gardens, water storage areas, ponds, and canals and ditches. It is threatened by habitat ...
loss, natural land conversion and invasive species.It was formerly known as Triturus italicus, but was relocated to the genus Lissotriton after Triturus was split. Less

The Sardinian brook salamander or Sardinian mountain newt (Euproctus platycephalus ) is a species of salamander in the family Salamandridae found only in Sardinia, Italy. Less

The Sicilian wall lizard (Podarcis waglerianus ) is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. Endemic to Italy, it occurs in Sicily and the Aegadian Islands. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, temperate shrubland, Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, temperate grassland, arable land, pastureland, and rural gardens. The IUCN does not consider it to be a threatened species. Three subspecies are recognized: P. w. antoninoi, P. w. ...
marettimensis, and P. w. waglerianus. Less

The Italian Aesculapian snake (Zamenis lineatus ) is a species of snake in the Colubridae family. Less

The Aeolian wall lizard (Podarcis raffonei), also known commonly as Raffone's wall lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is endemic to Italy. Less

Vipera aspis hugyi is a venomous viper subspecies endemic to southern Italy. Less

The Santo Stefano lizard (Podarcis siculus sanctistephani ) lived on Santo Stefano Island, a small island near Ventotene in the Tyrrhenian sea off the west coast of Italy, and part of the Pontine Islands. It became extinct in 1965, probably caused by feral cats and a snake species. These animals destroyed almost the whole population and any survivors seem to have interbred with an introduced subspecies. An epidemic of an unknown pathogen that ...
followed wiped out the majority of the population and contributed to this subspecies' extinction. Less

Coronella austriaca fitzingeri is a subspecies of the snake Coronella austriaca (commonly known as the smooth snake). It lives in southern Italy and Sicily. Less

The Calabrian black squirrel (Sciurus meridionalis ) is a species of tree squirrel in the genus Sciurus, endemic to the forests of the regions of Calabria and Basilicata, in the south of the Italian Peninsula. Less

The Sardinian wildcat is an isolated population of feral cats (Felis catus) on the island of Sardinia, introduced during the Roman Empire. It has historically been misidentified as a Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) and an African wildcat (Felis lybica). Under the name Felis lybica sarda, it is locally protected as a rare species. Less

The Sardinian long-eared bat (Plecotus sardus ) is a species of bat endemic to Sardinia, Italy.This species was discovered in 2002 in the caves of central Sardinia, the type locality being a cave in Lanaitto's Valley in the Oliena District. It appears to be closely related to Plecotus auritus and Plecotus alpinus.It was identified as a new species by a study clearly showing divergence from other Plecotus species in its mitochondrial 16S rRNA ...
gene. Less

The Roman mole (Talpa romana ) is a species of mammal in the family Talpidae. It is found in southern Italy. It was last recorded on Sicily in 1885. There is also an unconfirmed report about an isolated subpopulation in the Var region of southern France. Less

The Maremman boar (Sus scrofa majori ) is a subspecies of wild boar native to Maremma in Central Italy. It is much smaller than the Central European boar and the two subspecies have been interbred on farms. Genetic studies (Larson et al. 2005) have confirmed that this taxon is a separate lineage from all other European wild boars. Less

The Apennine shrew (Sorex samniticus ) is a species of shrew in the family Soricidae. The mammal is endemic to Italy. Less

The Sicilian shrew (Crocidura sicula ) is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is found in Sicily (Italy) and Gozo (Malta). Its natural habitat is temperate shrubland. Less

The Calabria pine vole (Microtus brachycercus ) is a vole found in southern and central Italy initially described by Lehmann as a subspecies of M. savii. Genetic tests in the Calabrian region found, although similar, the X chromosome is larger than that of samples of M. savii found elsewhere in Italy and the Y chromosome is twice the size, leading Galleni in 1994 to designate M. brachycercus as a separate species. Less

Macaca majori, commonly known as the dwarf macaque, is a prehistoric macaque from the Early Pleistocene of Sardinia, Italy. Less

Globicephala etruriae is an extinct species of pilot whale from the Pliocene of Italy. The type specimen was found in the Piacenzian coastal claystone at Volterra. It was named in 1987 by G. Pilleri. Less

Chtenopteryx sicula, also known as the comb-finned squid or toothed-fin squid, is a species of squid native to at least the Mediterranean Sea. It is characterised by several distinct morphological features: ocular photophores are present but visceral photophores are absent, arm suckers are arranged in at least 4 series distally, and club suckers are borne in more than 8 series.The type specimen was collected off Messina, Italy; the specific name ...
sicula means "of Sicily". It is deposited at the Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle (Musée Barla) in Nice. Less

Granulina boucheti is a species of minute sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Granulinidae. Less

Bela plagisculpta is an extinct species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Mangeliidae. Less

Mangelia ossea is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Mangeliidae. Less

Trinchesia ilonae is a species of sea slug, an aeolid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Trinchesiidae. Less