Okefenokee Swamp Vertebrates 
71 
A total of 419 vertebrate species or subspecies occurs in Okefenokee 
Swamp and surrounding uplands. These include 36 fish, 37 amphibians, 
66 reptiles, 232 birds, and 48 mammals. The vertebrates represent a fairly 
typical southeastern Atlantic Coastal Plain fauna. There are no species 
endemic to the swamp. In general vertebrate diversity in the swamp is 
greater than in any area of similar size in the adjacent Southeast. This is 
due primarily to the swamp’s habitat diversity, but another factor is the 
prevalence of heavily managed pine forests throughout much of the adja- 
cent southeastern region. 
The role of ONWR in the preservation of the swamp as an 
ecosystem is crucial, particularly insofar as threatened or endangered 
wildlife is concerned. Eleven species or subspecies are considered either 
threatened or endangered under the guidelines of federal and/or state 
agencies (Table 6). The status of populations of these species in 
Okefenokee Swamp has not yet been determined. 
Table 6. List of Threatened or Endangered species in Okefenokee Swamp. Legal 
status as of 15 February 1980, defined by United States Fish and Wild- 
life Service (USFWS), Florida Game and Freshwater Fish Commission 
(GFWFC), and Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR). 
E = Endangered; T = Threatened. 
SPECIES 
Alligator mississippiensis, American Alligator 
Drymarchon corais couperi, Eastern Indigo Snake 
Mycteria americana, Woodstork 
Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Bald Eagle 
Falco peregrinus, Peregrine Falcon 
Grus canadensis pratensis, Florida Sandhill Crane 
Campephilus principalis, Ivory-billed Woodpecker 
Picoides borealis, Red-cockaded Woodpecker 
Vermivora bachmanii, Bachman’s Warbler 
IJrsus americanus floridanus, Florida Black Bear 
Felis concolor coryi, Florida Panther 
STATUS 
USFWS GFWFC DNR 
T T E 
T T T 
E 
E T E 
E EE 
T 
E EE 
E T E 
E EE 
T 
E EE 
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .— acknowledge our indebtedness to 
the many persons involved in collections and observations of the ver- 
tebrates of the Okefenokee Swamp throughout this century. While in- 
dividual efforts might have been small, their total contribution has been 
great. We are especially grateful to those persons mentioned in the 
