Abstract
The fauna and flora of Lake Biwa are characterized by its richness of genera and species and the presence of a large number of endemic species. Those endemic species are divided into two categories (KAWANABE 1978): One is that of the relict species which once widely spread over East Asia but disappeared from J apan except Lake Biwa. The other is that of those species differentiated in this lake from common !ittoral species adapting themselves to habitats peculiar to Lake Biwa, especially to deep and open water or rocky shore. I will show some of those species endemic to Lake Biwa.