By Lynn Farris
About the Wildlife in Costa Rica
Costa Rica is teaming with wildlife. According to Carrol L. Henderson, author of "Field Guide to the Wildlife of Costa Rica," there are more than 505,000 species of plants and animals in the country: 1,500 are vertebrates, 10,000 are plants and the remaining 493,500 are invertebrates.
Mammals
There are more than 200 mammals that reside in Costa Rica, including monkeys, jaguars, mountain lions, anteaters, armadillos, sloths and the white-nosed coatis. Approximately 100 of the mammals are bats, including the vampire bat.
Birds
Costa Rica is home to 850 species of birds of which 600 reside there year-round. These include the toucan, parrot, scarlet macaw, a wide variety of hummingbirds and many water birds.
Amphibians
There are 150 species of amphibians, 85% of which are frogs. These include the strawberry poison dart frog as well as the glass tree frog.
Reptiles
There are approximately 200 reptiles in Costa Rica and approximately 100 of them are snakes, including the deadly fer-de-lance. There are lizards, iguanas, crocodiles and caimans. Costa Rica is the home of six of the world's seven species of sea turtles. It also has freshwater turtles.
Insects
Costa Rica is the home of a vast number of fascinating insects, including 1,250 different species of butterflies. The morpho butterfly, which has iridescent blue wings on the inside, is the most famous.
About the Author:
Lynn Farris has been conducting management studies, writing technical articles and contributing to local newspapers since 1984. Having traveled throughout the world, Farris now lives in Costa Rica, teaches English and writes a column for the "National Examiner" on Costa Rica. Farris holds a Master of Business Administration and Bachelor of Arts in speech communications and psychology from Case Western Reserve University.
Photo Credits:
Photo by Donald Farris.
