The biodiversity

The Guinean forests contain an exceptional biodiversity, being both rich and unique (what scientists call ‘endemism’, i.e. species that are not found anywhere else in the world).

We know that the Guinean forests have more than 9 000 vascular plants (trees, shrubs and flowers). But apart from a few well-known species groups, such as birds, it is difficult to give an exact number of species that the forests support, as new ones are being discovered every year. However, it is known that the Guinean forests contain at least 320 species of mammals, 785 birds, 210 reptiles, 221 amphibians and 512 freshwater fish. It is virtually impossible to count insects but, for example, there are more than 180 species of dragonfly and more than 800 species of butterfly in Liberia alone.