Philippines

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Philippines

The Philippines is an island country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. It is an archipelago of more than 7000 islands and islets, located about 800 km off the coast of Vietnam. Its capital is Manila, but Quezon City nearby is the country's most populous city. Both are part of the National Capital Region, located on the largest island, Luzon. Mindanao in the southeast is the second largest island in the Philippines. The Philippines has a significant number of endemic plant and animal species. The waters surrounding the country are said to have the highest marine biodiversity in the world. The country is one of seventeen megadiverse countries and is a global biodiversity hotspot. Of the 52 177 species living on the islands, 700 are on the threatened species list. The Philippines has 714 bird species, of which 243 are endemic, 3 are introduced by humans and 52 are rare or accidental. The number of endemic birds in the Philippines is the third highest behind the much larger countries of Australia and Indonesia. The country is also home to more than 111 species of amphibians and 270 species of reptiles, of which 80% are endemic, and 70% of reptiles in the Philippines are also endemic. It is thought that of the 114 snake species in the country, including flying snakes, up to 14 are venomous. Meanwhile, many species of reptiles and amphibians remain undiscovered. The Philippine Crocodile is critically endangered and is considered the world's most threatened freshwater crocodile. Other threatened reptiles are the Grey Monitor and the Philippine Forest Turtle.