Although megadiversity is not a word found in the dictionaries, that's how most biologists would describe Ecuador. It is a relatively small country but is blessed with one of the highest biological diversity (or biodiversity in short) in the world. The main reasons for that are its tropical location on the equator, the high Andes mountain range and two major ocean currents along its coast. Furthermore it is home to the remote Pacific islands of Galapagos, a very special place for evolutionary biology.

Tropics (regions around the equator) are known as the nature region with the highest biodiversity, probably due to the fact that in times of Ice Ages, these zones serve as safe havens for all living organisms. Ecuador boasts of the eastern Amazon and western coastal basin of the tropical regions. The Andes which reach up to 6000m provide ideal conditions for different habitats due its altitudinal ranges. It also serves as a geographical barrier between the coastal tropics and subtropics to the west and the Amazonian eastern ones with many isolated areas. That lends itself to speciation and therefore to an increase of distinct species of plants and animals over time with a high rate of endemic species. This in particular is true for the Galapagos islands which has relatively few animals and plants but many of them are endemic, only found there and nowhere else in the world. Another important fact are the ocean currents along the coast and Galapagos islands which influences greatly the climatic conditions of the land. On the one hand you have the cold Humboldt current, which comes up north along the South American coast from Antarctica and on the other hand the warm El Niño, which flows along the equator. Both have great influence on the weather patterns of the country and the great variety of marine life found in Ecuadorian waters.

There is an estimate of some 25 000 species of plants alone in Ecuador (compare that to 17000 species in the whole of North America).

There are 1600 birds found in the country (more than half of the 3000 species in whole South America and more than double the species in Europe).

Known species of 369 mammals (most mammals per square meter worldwide)

350 species of reptiles call Ecuador its home  (with over 200 species of snakes alone and many endemic species in Galapagos).

There exist around 400 amphibians in the country (with the most species of frogs in the world)

Estimate of 800 species of fish in the Amazon waters and 450 different fish in the Pacific ocean surrounding mainland Ecuador and Galapagos.

The number of invertebrates, especially the insects are unknown but they are the most numerous of any living creatures, reaching into the hundred of thousands.

The last section called Others includes everything else which cannot be put in the other categories like fungi, echinoderms, etc...

Having all that said and given you the impressive numbers, it has to be noted, that much of the fauna and flora is under siege by human intervention and seriously endangered. Western Ecuador is a case study for the loss of endemic plants through habitat destructions, which never can be recuperated. But boasting still of many distinct ecosystems with numerous habitats, it is important to recognize their value and try to protect them for future generations. Although quite a few national and private parks and reserves exist in the country, they are often protected only on paper with very little actual conservation and preservation done in the fields.