1. Both explanations account for the strict endemism across present continental lines. 2. Physical, climatic, and biological factors can contribute to endemism . 3. The lowland forests represent a great reservoir of diversity and endemism . 4. Seram is remarkable for its high degree of localised bird endemism . 5. These regions of endemism have been interpreted as possible coastal refugia. 6. However, biological endemism relates to biogeographical rather than political entities. 7. The Atlantic Forest is characterized by a high species diversity and endemism . 8. There are two subcategories of endemism : paleoendemism and neoendemism. 9. The Sambirano region in the northwest is a particular centre of endemism . 10. The index of freshwater gastropod endemism is 0.478.