|
 Wildlife
of Costa Rica
Costa
Rica's climate and geography is great for supporting a wide
variety of wildlife. Sometimes known as the "biological
crossroads" of the world, Costa Rica's inhabitants are
made up of more than 500,000 species of animal. There
are about 1,250 species of butterflies and at least 8,000
species of moths. Butterflies and moths are common year
round but are more present during invierno, the rainy
season.
Costa
Rican butterflies and moths have made amazing adaptations to
the environment. Some examples of these are the
following:
Swallowtail
caterpillars imitate bird droppings and many others have
bright colors to warn predators of bodily toxins. What
someone would easily identify as a butterfly or a wasp, in
Costa Rica could well be a moth in camouflage. Ecotourism is
one of Costa Rica’s main economic resources, and the
countries butterflies add a lot to that. They bring life to
rainforests, not only with the diversity in color, but also
with the magnificence of the flowers that they help
pollinate.
Some
common butterflies and moths in Costa Rica include:
-
Thoas
Swallowtail
-
Marpesia
berania
-
Dotocopa
laure
-
Banded
Peacock
-
Zebra
longwing
-
Morpho
butterfly
-
Green
Page Moth
Invertebrate
species make up most of Costa Rica’s wildlife. Of the
estimated 505,000 species, about 493,000 are invertebrates
(including spiders and crabs). It is known that there are
tens of thousands if insects and microscopic invertebrates
in every land type and elevation level. However, they are
largely unnoticed or unidentified.
Some
notable insects in Costa Rica are stingless bees, ants such
as leaf-cutter ants and army ants, Hercules beetle, and many
katydids.
Frogs
Costa
Rica is home to around 175 amphibians, which includes frogs.
Frogs in Costa Rica have interesting ways of finding
fishless water to raise their young in. Fish, of course,
will eat tadpoles and eggs. Poison Dart Frogs put their eggs
in water pools in bromeliads. Other methods include
searching ponds before laying eggs, and laying eggs in wet
soil.
There
are 35 species of Elutherodoctylus frogs, 26 species of Hyla
Frogs, & 13 species of Glass Frogs.
Notable
frog species in Costa Rica include Red-eyed Tree Frog, a few
species of Poison Dart Frogs, the semitransparent Glass
Frogs, and the large Smokey Jungle Frog
Some
notable toad species in Costa Rica include the ten species
of Bufo toads, and the Giant toad a huge toad known for its
wide appetite. It has been documented eating almost
anything, including vegetables, ants, spiders, any toad
smaller than itself, mice, and other small mammals.
Birds
of Costa Rica
Although
Costa Rica is a small country, it is in the bird rich
neo-tropical region, and has a huge number of species for
its area. 894 bird species have been recorded in the on the
country (including Cocos Island), with seven endemics. 19
species are globally threatened.
|
