costa rica Naturaleza
Few countries on earth can rival Costa Rica for diversity of flora and fauna. Despite its tiny size, the nation is home to almost 5 percent of the world’s identified living species, including more types of butterflies than the whole of Africa. This astonishing wealth of wildlife is due to the country’s great variety in relief and climate, from lowland wetlands to cloud-draped mountaintops. As a result, Costa Rica boasts 12 distinct “life zones,” each with a unique combination of climate, terrain, flora and fauna. Brimming with natural wonders, Costa Rica’s incredibly diverse terrain offers lush rain- and cloud forests that host an array of colorful fauna, craggy mountains, smoke spewing volcanoes, and stunning beaches in every shade from gold to taupe to black. Wildlife and adventure activities abound, ranging from canopy tours and turtle-watching to scuba diving and whitewater rafting. It is best to concentrate on the national parks and other natural attractions; very few towns are of interest. Minisi. Do odoluptat. Del ut ullandrem dolenim iustio coreet, sum digna feumsan ulla feuiscing esto eugue dolor susci tin et vel iusci. It nulla faccumIlit acip exer am vulla conulput lutpat.
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Selva Tropical Lowland Rainforest
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Bosque de la Niebla Montane Cloud Forest
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Bosque Seco Dry Forest
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Humedales Wetlands
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Costas Coasts
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Volcanes Volcanoes
Animals of the Lowland Rainforest
rainforests cloak many of the plains and lower mountain slopes of the caribbean lowlands and Pacific southwest. These complex ecosystems harbor a large proportion of the country’s wildlife. Tapirs and jaguars inhabit the understory, while birds and monkeys cavort in the treetops.
MACAW is a small to large, often colourful New World Parrot. Most species are associated with rainforest, woodland of savannah-like habitats.
RED EYE TREE FROG
as their name states, have bold red eyes ith vertically narrowed noses, a vibrant green body with yellow and blue striped sides, and orange toes. There is a great deal of regional variation in flank and thigh coloration.
TAPIR
is a large browsing mammal, roughly piglike in shape, with a short, prehensile snout. Tapirs inhabit jungle and forest regions of South America. Tapirs are endagered and vulnerable species.
Lowland Rainforest 4
SLOTH
are aboreal residents of the rainforests of South America. The name means “leaf eater.� Sloths are omnivores, they eat insects, small reptiles, birds and buds, tender shoots and leaves of mainly cecriopia trees.
5 Selva Tropical
JAGUAR
is a big cat, and is the only Panthera genus found in the Americas. The Jaguar is the thirdlargest feline after the tiger and the lion. Dense Rainforest is its preferred habitat. The jaguar enjoys swimming and is largely solitary.
LEAFCUTTER ANTS
are social incets found in warmer regions of the Americas. These unique ants have evolved an advanced agricultural system based on ant-fungus mutalism. They feed on special structures and fungus that grows in the underground chambers of the ants nest.
Animals of the Montane Cloud Forest
More than half of Costa Rica is over 1,000 meters above sea level. Much of the higher elevation terrain is swathed in cloud forest where mists sift trough the treetops and branches are festooned with bromeliads and dripping mosses. Bird and animal life is profuse.
BELLBIRD
is a name given to several kinds of birds, noted for their far carrying bell-like call.
TARANTULA
is a large and hairy spider, there are approximately 900 species. They hunt for prey primarily in trees; others hunt on and near the ground. They mainly eat insects, using ambush methods of capture. Bigger tarantulas can eat lizards mice and birds.
KINKAJOU
also known as the “honey bear� is a rainforest mammal. This animal is an endangered species, it is seldom seen by people because its strict nocturnal habits.
Lowland Rainforest 8
ANOLE
lizards are frequently and incorrectly called chameleons or geckos, although they are not closely related to these groups. In fact they are more like iguanas. They have the ability to alter their skin color and run up walls, respectively.
9 Selva Tropical
QUETZAL
are strikingly colored birds found in the tropical regions of the Americas. The name is means “large brilliant tail feather” or “tail coverts of the quetzal.”
SPIDER MONKEY
The disproportionaly long limbs and prehensile tail makes them one of the largest new world monkeys. They primarily eat fruits, and will also consume leaves, flowers and insects.
Animals of the Dry Forest
Once covering most of Guanacaste and Nicoya, dry forests today cover only about 520 square kilometers of Costa Rica. The mostly deciduous flora sheds its leaves during the seasonal drought, making wildlife easier to spot. Conservationists are trying to revive dry forest ecosystems.
IGUANA
have dewlap, a row of spines running down their back tot heir tail and a third eye on their head. This eye is known as the parietal eye. Their scales are a variety of colors and are not always visible from close distances.
BATS
are flying mammels. The forelimbs of bats are webbed and developed as wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammels said to fly, glide rather than fly.
Dry Forest 12
PIZOTE
inhabits wooded areas (dry and moist forests) of the Americas. They are generally dark brown, reddish, or yellow. Pizotes are omnivores preferring small vertebrates, fruits, insects and eggs.
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WORM SNAKE
are small, primarily subterranean habitat, non-functioning eyes and resemble earth worms. They are also known as blind snakes.
BUTTERFLY
is an insect, its life consists of four life cycles. The egg, the larva, the pupa and the adult, the butterfly. The diverse patterns formed by their brightly coloured wings and erratic fight have made butterfly watching a hobby.
CROCODILE
are large aquatic animals that live troughout the tropics of Africa, Asia and the Americas. crocodiles tend to congregate in the freshwater habitats like rivers, lakes, wetlands and sometims brackish water.
GREAT EGRET
is a large bird with allwhite plumage that can reach one meter in height. It has a slow flight, with its neck retracted. The great eget is normally not a vocal bird, at breeding colonies, however, it often gives a loud croaking cuk cuk cuk.
MANGROVE HUMMINGBIRD SPOONBILL are among the smallest of birds, and include the smallest extant bird species, the Bee Hummingbirds. They can hover in mid-air by rapidly flapping their wings 12-90 times per second. They can also fly backwards, and are the only group of birds able to do so.
are a group of large, longlegged wading birds. they have large, flat, spatulate bills and feed by wading trough shallow water, sweeping the partlyopened bill from side to side. The moment any small aquatic creature touches the inside of the bill, it is snapped shut.
Mangrove Wetlands 16
Animals of the Mangrove Wetlands
Wetlands range from coastal mangroves such as the Terraba-Sierpe delta in the Pacific southwest, to inland lagoons such as Cano Negro in the north. Many habitats are seasonal, flooding in the wet season from May to November; wildlife gathers by waterholes in December-April dry season.
proboscis monkey
is also known as the Long-Nosed Monkey. A distinctive trait of this monkey is the male’s large protruding nose. The big nose is thought to attract females and can be up to 7 inches in length. It can also be used to amplify their warning calls.
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TURTLE
are primarily freshwater species, though some species inhabit brackish waters, or are terrestrial. Some turtles are herbivorous and others are strictly carnivorous. The carnivores feed on annelids, crustaceans and fish.
Spectacled Caiman
can tolerate fresh and salt water due to its adaptibility of all crocodilian species. They eat fish, amphibians, reptiles and water birds. Older animals can take on mammalian prey, like wild pigs.
Animals of the Coasts
The total length of costa rica’s coastline is over 1,290 kilometers. On the Pacific, promontories and scalloped bays are common, while the caribbean coast is almost ruler straight. Small patches of coral reef fringe the coast off the central Pacific and Southern caribbean shores. Many beaches provide nesting grounds for various species of marine turtles.
HAMMER HEAD SHARK
The hammer-like shape of the head was thought to help sharks finding food, aiding in close-quarters manueverability and allowing the shark to turn sharply without losing stability.
SEA TURTLE
inhabits all the worlds oceans except for the Arctic Ocean. They are almost always submerged in water, and have developed an anaerobic system of respiration. Their life span has been speculated at about 80 years.
SWORDFISH
also known as broadbill, are large, highly migratory, predatory fish characterized by a long, flat bill. They are a popular sport fish. Swordfish are elongated, roundbodied, and lose all teeth and scales by adulthood.
The Coasts 20
HORSESHOE CRAB
is closely related to spiders, ticks and scorpions than crabs. It is a living fossil, forms almost identical to this species were present during the Triassic period. It can grow up to 60 cm in length.
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TANNED CRAB
is an omnivore, feeding primarily on algae, and taking any other food, including molluscs, worms, other crustaceans, fungi, bacteria and detritus, depending on their availability and the crab species. For many crabs, a mixed diet of plant an animal matter results in the fastest growth.
LOBSTER
primarily eat prey live, like fish, mollusks, other crustaceans, worms and some plant life. They scavenge if necessary, and may resort to cannibalism in captivity. They are also revered for their flavor and texture. Lobsters are economically important as seafood.
The Volcanoes of Costa Rica
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OROSI
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RINCON DE LA VIEJA
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MIRAVALLES
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TENORIO
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The Volcanoes 24
ARENAL
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25 Volcanes
RIO TORO GRECIA
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BRAULIO CARRILLO
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IRAZU
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