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Species Lists from Florida
Species information such as rarity or legal protection status is conveyed through ranking or listing by various agencies and organizations.
Federal
The Federal list of endangered and threatened wildlife and plants maintained by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service determines whether a plant or animal species receives protection under the Endangered Species Act. An “endangered” species is one that is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range. A “threatened” species is one that is likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future. Florida has 114 federally endangered or threatened species.
State of Florida
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) administers and maintains the state list of animals designated as endangered, threatened, or species of special concern. Florida currently has 117 state listed animals.
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services administers and maintains the state lists of plants designated as endangered, threatened, and commercially exploited, known as the Regulated Plant Index.
Natural Heritage Program
The Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI) tracks over 1000 plants, animals and natural communities in Florida.
FNAI uses a ranking system developed by The Nature Conservancy and the Natural Heritage Program Network to assign two ranks to each element (species or natural community) it tracks. The global rank is based on an element's worldwide status; the state rank is based on the status of the element in Florida. Element ranks are based on many factors, the most important ones being estimated number of element occurrences, estimated abundance (number of individuals for species; area for natural communities), range, estimated adequately protected EOs, relative threat of destruction, and ecological fragility.
Exotic Pest Plant Council
The Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council compiles invasive species lists for Florida. Invasive plants listed as Category I are known to cause significant ecological damage. Invasive plants listed as Category II have increased in abundance or frequency in Florida but are not yet as damaging as Category I species.
Species Lists from Florida
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Endemic Plants List
The highest numbers of endemic plant species in the United States are found in Florida, Texas and California.
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Endemic Vertebrate Animals List
Florida supports an extraordinary diversity of animals with roughly 700 species of freshwater and land vertebrates. Several of these species are found nowhere else in the world.
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Endemic Invertebrate Animals List
The state's wealth of endemic invertebrates includes animals that occupy aquatic, terrestrial and subterranean habitats.
More Species List Information
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