The southern hemisphere is full of birds found nowhere else on Earth. Their importance has been overlooked

The snow petrel, a strikingly white bird with black eyes and a black bill, is one of only three bird species ever observed at the South Pole. In fact, the Antarctic is the only place on Earth where this bird lives.

It isn’t alone in this. Antarctica and the sub-Antarctic harbour a large number of endemic species, which means these species are only found in one or a few locations in the world.

In other words, these regions have a high degree of “endemism” – an important metric that tells us…

© La Conversation - lundi 14 juillet 2025