Endemic Animals of Zambia

The black-cheeked lovebird (Agapornis nigrigenis ) is a small parrot species of the lovebird genus. It is mainly green and has a brown head, red beak, and white eyerings. It is endemic to a relatively small range in southwest Zambia, where it is vulnerable to habitat loss. Less

Chaplin's barbet (Lybius chaplini ) or the Zambian barbet, is a bird species in the family Lybiidae, which was until recently united with the other barbets in the Capitonidae. This bird was named in honor of Sir Francis Drummond Percy Chaplin, a former colonial governor. The species was renamed to emphasize its status as Zambia's only true endemic bird species. It is endemic to South Central Zambia and is restricted to the area between the Upper ...
Kafue River to Kabanga in the Kalomo District. Its natural habitats are moist savanna and arable land. It is threatened by habitat loss. It was formerly classified as a Near Threatened species by the IUCN. But new research has shown it to be rarer than it was believed. Consequently, it is uplisted to Vulnerable status in 2008. Less

The white-chested tinkerbird (Pogoniulus makawai ) is a species of bird in the Lybiidae family (African barbets).It is endemic to the Zambezian Cryptosepalum dry forests of Zambia. It is only known from the single type specimen, collected in 1964 by Jali Makawa, the field assistant and collector for Constantine Benson. Genetic evidence suggests that it may not a separate species, but instead be a population embedded within the yellow-rumped ...
tinkerbird if it is not an aberrant individual. Less

Hyperolius pyrrhodictyon is a species of frog in the family Hyperoliidae.It is endemic to Zambia.Its natural habitats are dry savanna, moist savanna, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, subtropical or tropical moist shrubland, subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland, subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, rivers, swamps, freshwater lakes, intermittent freshwater lakes, freshwater marshes, intermittent ...
freshwater marshes, arable land, pastureland, urban areas, heavily degraded former forest, water storage areas, ponds, open excavations, irrigated land, seasonally flooded agricultural land, and canals and ditches. Less

Zygaspis kafuensis is a worm lizard species in the family Amphisbaenidae. It is endemic to Zambia. Its type locality is located in the Kafue National Park. Less

The Bangweulu tsessebe (Damaliscus lunatus superstes ) is a population and possible taxon of Damaliscus lunatus] (topi or sassaby), which are large African antelopes of the grasslands. This population is presently restricted to northern Zambia in the wild, although it was recorded as occurring in neighbouring southernmost Democratic Republic of the Congo in the 1940s. Also seen as the northernmost population belonging to the nominate southern ...
sassaby subspecies, in 2003 it was described as a new species, only to be downgraded to a subspecies a few years later. Its taxonomic status is unclear as of 2021. As an individual sassaby of this taxon cannot be clearly distinguished from populations to the south, the taxon was defined using an experimental suite of statistical techniques applied to a sample set, based on multivariate analysis, and recognised under an experimental new taxonomy. Nominate sassaby antelopes become progressively darker on average in the northern populations, and on average have a slightly thicker horns at the base of the skull, but those of northern Zambia are the darkest and with the most robust horns on average (a mean 4.3% thicker than the Botswana average, compared to 1.2% mean size difference between Botswana and Zimbabwe). Less

The Kafue lechwe (Kobus leche kafuensis ) is a subspecies of the southern lechwe. It is endemic to the Kafue Flats, Zambia. It is listed on the IUCN Red List as vulnerable. Less

Ansell's mole-rat (Fukomys anselli ) is a species of rodent in the family Bathyergidae. It is endemic to Zambia. Its natural habitats are moist savanna and miombo forests. It is noted for its very long tunnels, up to 2.8 km (1.7 mi) for a single colony of only ten individuals. The colonies are made of an eusocial system. They include a main reproductive king and queen that are thought to be faithful to one another. Less

Ansell's shrew (Crocidura ansellorum ) is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is endemic to Zambia. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is threatened by habitat loss. Less

The Zambian mole-rat (Fukomys amatus ) is a species of rodent in the family Bathyergidae. It is found in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was formerly considered a subspecies of Cryptomys hottentotus. Less

Rosevear's lemniscomys or Rosevear's striped grass mouse (Lemniscomys roseveari ) is a species of rodent in the family Muridae.It is found in Zambia and possibly Angola, where its natural habitat is cryptosephalum dry forest.The species is threatened by habitat loss. Less

Neave's mouse (Mus neavei ) is a species of rodent in the family Muridae.It is found in Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.Its natural habitat is dry savanna. Less

Pitman's shrew (Crocidura pitmani ) is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is endemic to Zambia. Less

The Sakeji horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus sakejiensis ) is a species of bat in the family Rhinolophidae. It is endemic to Zambia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, and moist savanna, especially Zambia, Mwinilunga District, Ikelenge Pedicle between the Sakeji and Zambezi rivers, approximately 11 km NNE of source of Zambezi River, Kavunda, 11°17'S, 24°21'E, 1,388 m. It is th ...
reatened by habitat loss. It was discovered in 2000. Less

The Kafue mole-rat (Fukomys kafuensis ) is a species of rodent in the family Bathyergidae. It is endemic to Zambia. Its natural habitat is moist savanna. Less

The Micklem's mole-rat (Fukomys micklemi ) is a species of rodent in the family Bathyergidae. It is found in Zambia. It is a subterranean species of chisel tooth diggers.It is a social species, and this has been suggested to account for its more diverse and extensive vocal repertoire than has been observed in eusocial species of Bathyergidae. As a result of DNA analysis it has been suggested that the species may need to be subdivided. Less