Valencia Region | Biodiversity

The Valencia region in Spain, which includes the Costa Blanca and the Costa Azahar , has one of the highest levels of biodiversity in Europe, more than the UK , Germany or Sweden.There are more than 18,487 species known in the region.The regional government has stated that this is 21.7% of the national total in Spain.All of the species have now been catalogued into the biodiversity databank ,so says the Director General of the environment.

There are just over 8000 species of invertebrates , 906 species of vertebrate , 6,425 of plants and 300 fungi and licken.They are of course also plants.

Of the vertebrates there are 300 species of birds, 66 of mammals , 496 of fish 29 reptiles and 8 amphibians.

According to the database the Valencia region has 75% of the bird species found in the whole of Spain , 60% of those found in Europe and also 80% of the mammals found in Spain.

The number of species identified is naturally much lower than the actual number.There are still species to find.The biodiversity database is open to and contributed to by the public and it is built on day by day.It received over 100,000 visits in 2010 , compared with just 13,000 in 2006.It has become a very useful tool for students , researchers and the general public.