Endemic Animals of France

The Corsican wildcat is an isolated feral cat (Felis catus) population that used to be considered a subspecies of the African wildcat (Felis lybica). Now it is thought to have been introduced to Corsica around the beginning of the first millennium. In 2019, several newspapers reported on the supposed discovery of the Corsican wildcat as a previously unknown cat species, calling it "cat-fox" (Corsican: ghjattu-volpe). As of 2021, a description of ...
this animal as a supposed species is being drafted. Less

The Corsican nuthatch (Sitta whiteheadi ) is a species of bird in the nuthatch family Sittidae. It is a relatively small nuthatch, measuring about 12 cm (4.7 in) in overall length. The upperparts are bluish gray, the underparts grayish white. The male is distinguished from the female by its entirely black crown. The species is sedentary, territorial and not very shy. It often feeds high in Corsican pines, consuming mainly pine nuts, but also c ...
atching some flying insects. The breeding season takes place between April and May; the nest is placed in the trunk of an old pine, and the clutch has five to six eggs. The young fledge 22 to 24 days after hatching.The Corsican nuthatch is found only on the island of Corsica, where it populates the old forests of high altitude laricio pines, descending lower in winter. Its scientific name comes from John Whitehead, the ornithologist who brought the bird to the attention of the scientific community in 1883. The Corsican nuthatch is closely related to the Chinese nuthatch (S. villosa ) and the red-breasted nuthatch (S. canadensis ). It is threatened by loss of nesting sites and habitat fragmentation, with an estimated population size of about 2,000 individuals, possibly in moderate decline. Due to the small population size and the limited range, the conservation status of the Corsican nuthatch is classed as "vulnerable" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Less

Ludiortyx is a bird genus from the Late Eocene. Its remains have been found in the Montmartre Formation at the Montmartre (Paris, France). A single species is accepted, Ludiortyx hoffmanni.This bird is of uncertain relationships; it has been variously considered to be an ancestral rail or to belong to the Quercymegapodiidae, a prehistoric group of Galliformes (landfowl). The material assigned to it were initially considered to be of 2 species, ...
one that was at first believed to be a Tringa wader, the other assigned to the galliform genus Palaeortyx. Even the latter assignment was probably much in error as though its relationships are not known, Palaeortyx was probably not a quercymegapodiid. Less

The Corsican fire salamander (Salamandra corsica ) is a species of salamander in the family Salamandridae found only on the island of Corsica as an endemic species. In former times, this species was known as a subspecies of the widespread but continental-distributed fire salamander, which may appear quite similar. Less

The Corsican brook salamander or Corsican mountain newt (Euproctus montanus ) is a species of salamander in the family Salamandridae. It is endemic to Corsica, an island in the Mediterranean Sea.The Corsican brook salamander is found primarily in rocky streams, springs, and rivers in forest and maquis at altitudes of over 600 m. Less

The Corsican painted frog (Discoglossus montalentii ) is a species of frogs in the family Alytidae (formerly Discoglossidae).It is endemic to the French island of Corsica. Its natural habitats are temperate forests and rivers. Less

Herpestes lemanensis is an extinct mongoose species that was excavated in Tertiary depositions in France and described by Auguste Pomel in 1853. Its body size equals a large Indian civet, but its dentition resembles that of the Indian grey mongoose. Less

Scrobicularia plana, the peppery furrow shell, is a bivalve mollusc belonging to the family Semelidae. Less

Unio turtoni is a species of medium-sized freshwater mussel, an aquatic bivalve mollusk in the family Unionidae, the river mussels.This species is endemic to France and eastern Spain and is rarely found. Less

Chiroteuthis veranii, commonly known as the long-armed squid, is a species of chiroteuthid squid. It grows to a mantle length of 12.5 cm and a total length of 130 cm.The type specimen was collected in the Mediterranean Sea by Jean Baptiste Vérany and is deposited at the Muséum d'histoire naturelle de Nice in Nice, France.To wield its exceptionally long arms, this squid species builds up internal fluid pressure by contracting its muscles, which all ...
ows it to expel two long tentacles at a high speed in order to catch prey. Less

Tritonia hombergii is a species of dendronotid nudibranch. It is a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Tritoniidae.Tritonia hombergii is the type species of the genus Tritonia. Less

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

Crassispira passaloides is an extinct species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Pseudomelatomidae, the turrids and allies. Less

Crassispira hypermeces is an extinct species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Pseudomelatomidae, the turrids and allies. Less

Crassispira oxyacrum is an extinct species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Pseudomelatomidae, the turrids and allies. Less

Crassispira degrangei is an extinct species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Pseudomelatomidae, the turrids and allies. Fossils have been found in Oligocene strata of Aquitaine, France. Less

Mastigoteuthis iselini is a species of whip-lash squid. Some authors treat it as a junior synonym of Mastigoteuthis atlantica. It was first identified by R. MacDonald and William J. Clench in 1934 and presented to the Boston Society of Natural History. The type locality was identified as the northwestern Atlantic Ocean. Less

Crassispira plateaui is an extinct species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Pseudomelatomidae, the turrids and allies. Less

Crassispira daguini is an extinct species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Pseudomelatomidae, the turrids and allies. Less

Crassispira sanctistephani is an extinct species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Pseudomelatomidae, the turrids and allies. Less

Crassispira inflexa is an extinct species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Pseudomelatomidae, the turrids and allies. Less

Jujubinus striatus, common name the grooved top shell, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Trochidae, the top snails.Jujubinus striatus delpreteanus Sulliotti, 1889Jujubinus striatus striatus (Linnaeus, 1758) Less

Crassispira angulosa is an extinct species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Pseudomelatomidae, the turrids and allies.Subspecies: † Crassispira angulosa acyensis (A.E.M. Cossmann, 1889) (synonym: Drillia (Crassispira) angulosa acyensis Cossmann, 1889) Less

Crassispira quoniamensis is an extinct species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Pseudomelatomidae, the turrids and allies.This species, as † Drillia quoniamensis Boussac in Périer, 1941, has also been considered a synonym of Crassispira (Tripia) sulcata adriani (Dollfus, 1899) Less

Echinoteuthis atlantica is a species of whip-lash squid from the family Mastigoteuthidae. It occurs in the eastern North and South Atlantic Ocean. This squid is red in colour and similar to Echinoteuthis famelica of the Pacific but differs in having a well developed protective membrane on the tentacular club which is absent on E. famelica. The presence on this membrane on Echinoteuthis glaukopis from the Indian Ocean suggests that this may be a ...
synonym of E. atlantica, in which case glaukopis has priority. Less

Crassispira terebra is an extinct species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Pseudomelatomidae, the turrids and allies. Less

Crassispira girgillus is an extinct species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Pseudomelatomidae, the turrids and allies. Less

Knefastia rouaulti is an extinct species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Pseudomelatomidae, the turrids and allies. Less

Crassispira furcata is an extinct species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Pseudomelatomidae, the turrids and allies. Fossils have been found in Eocene strata in the Paris Basin, France.Subspecies: Crassispira furcata septeuilensis (de Boury, 1899) (synonym: Drillia furcata septeuilensis (de Boury, 1899)) Less

Crassispira lavillei is an extinct species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Pseudomelatomidae, the turrids and allies. Fossils have been found in Eocene strata in the Paris Basin, France. Less

Crassispira glaphyrella is an extinct species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Pseudomelatomidae, the turrids and allies. Fossils have been found in Eocene strata in Lower Normandy, France. Less

Felimare gasconi is a species of colourful sea slug or dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Chromodorididae. Less

Crassispira sulcata is an extinct species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Pseudomelatomidae, the turrids and allies. Fossils have been found in Eocene strata in the Paris Basin, France.† Crassispira (Tripia) sulcata adriani (Dollfus, 1899) (synonyms:Pleurotoma dollfusi de Boury non Vincent, 1878, Pleurotoma adriani Dollfus, 1899; Drillia (Tripia) adriani (Dollfus, 1899), Crassispira (Tripia) quoniamensis (Boussac in P ...
érier, 1995) † Crassispira (Tripia) sulcata costaria (G.P. Deshayes, 1834) (synonyms: Drillia (Crassispira) costaria (Lamarck, 1804); Drillia (Tripia) costaria (Lamarck, 1804)) Less

Baeolidia cryoporos is a deep-water species of sea slug, an aeolid nudibranch. It is a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Aeolidiidae. Less

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

Crassispira lesbarritzensis is an extinct species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Pseudomelatomidae, the turrids and allies. Less

Crassispira armoricensis is an extinct species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Pseudomelatomidae, the turrids and allies. Less