SOME REPTILES OF SOUTH AMERICA

GREEN ANACONDA

Eunectes murinus (derived from the Greek Ευνήκτης meaning "good swimmer" and the Latin murinus, "of mice" for supposedly preying on mice, not for being "gray mouse-colored") is a nonvenomous boa species found in South America. It is the heaviest known snake species. The term anaconda (without further qualification) often refers to this species, though the term could also apply to other members of the genus Eunectes.

ORICONO COCODRILE

The Orinoco crocodile (Crocodylus intermedius), is a critically endangered crocodile. Its population is very small, estimated at only 547 in the wild and it can only be found in freshwater environments in Colombia and Venezuela of northern South America, in particular the Orinoco River and its tributaries. Extensively hunted for their skins in the 19th and 20th centuries, this species is one of the most critically endangered species of extant crocodiles. Males have been reported up to 6.6 m in the past but such sizes do not exist today, 5.2 m being a more widely accepted maximum size. Males average at 4.1 m in length weighing 380 kg, while females are slightly smaller averaging at 225 kg. Sexual dimorphism isn't as profound as in some other species. The coloration is light even in adults.

The biology of the Orinoco crocodile is poorly documented in the wild, mostly due its small population. It is thought to have a more piscivorous diet with an opportunistic nature resulting in a generalist predatory behavior. The Orinoco crocodile is and apex predator and will take the opportunity to prey on a variety of reptiles, birds and mammals, including caimans on occasion. The prey base is mostly made up of large predatory fish, challenging the general view by the locals complaining about the crocodile hunting local fish to very low numbers.

SPECTACLED CAIMAN

The spectacled caiman (Caiman crocodilus), also known as the white caiman or common caiman, is a crocodilian reptile found in much of Central and South America. It lives in a range of lowland wetland and riverine habitat types and can tolerate salt water as well as fresh; due in part to this adaptability it is the most common of all crocodilian species.

MARINE IGUANA

The marine iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus) is an iguana found only on the Galápagos Islands that has the ability, unique among modern lizards, to live and forage in the sea, making it a marine reptile. The iguana can dive over 9 m (30 ft) into the water. It has spread to all the islands in the archipelago, and is sometimes called the Galápagos marine iguana. It mainly lives on the rocky Galápagos shore, but can also be spotted in marshes and mangrove beaches.

 

GALAPAGOS TORTOISE

The Galápagos tortoise or Galápagos giant tortoise (Chelonoidis nigra) is the largest living species of tortoise, reaching weights of over 400 kg and lengths of over 1.8 meters. With life spans in the wild of over 100 years, it is one of the longest-lived vertebrates. A captive individual lived at least 170 years.

The tortoise is native to seven of the Galápagos Islands, a volcanic archipelago about 1,000 km west of the Ecuadorian mainland. Spanish explorers, who discovered the islands in the 16th century, named them after the Spanish galápago, meaning tortoise.

Tortoise numbers declined from over 250,000 in the 16th century to a low of around 3,000 in the 1970s. This decline was caused by exploitation of the species for meat and oil, habitat clearance for agriculture, and introduction of non-native animals to the islands, such as rats, goats, and pigs. Ten subspecies of the original fifteen survive in the wild; an eleventh subspecies (C. n. abingdoni) had only a single known living individual, kept in captivity and nicknamed Lonesome George until his death in June 2012.

SOME LATIN AMERICA BIRDS

ANDEAN CONDOR

The Andean Condor (Vultur gryphus) is a species of South American bird in the New World vulture family Cathartidae and is the only member of the genus Vultur. Found in the Andes mountains and adjacent Pacific coasts of western South America, the Andean Condor has a wingspan of up to 3.2 m.

It is a large black vulture with a ruff of white feathers surrounding the base of the neck and, especially in the male, large white patches on the wings. The head and neck are nearly featherless, and are a dull red color, which may flush and therefore change color in response to the bird's emotional state. In the male, there is a wattle on the neck and a large, dark red comb or caruncle on the crown of the head. Unlike most birds of prey, the male is larger than the female.

The condor is primarily a scavenger, feeding on carrion. It prefers large carcasses, such as those of deer or cattle. It reaches sexual maturity at five or six years of age and nests at elevations of up to 5,000 m, generally on inaccessible rock ledges. One or two eggs are usually laid. It is one of the world's longest-living birds, with a lifespan of up to 100 years old in captivity.

CRIMSON-BELLIED WOODPECKER

The Crimson-bellied Woodpecker (Campephilus haematogaster) is a species of bird in the Picidae family. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, and Peru. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.

Grey-breasted Mountain Toucan

The Grey-breasted Mountain Toucan (Andigena hypoglauca) is a species of bird in the Ramphastidae family. It is found in humid highland forest, often at the tops of the trees, in the Andes of southern Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. It remains locally fairly common, but has declined due to habitat loss.

This species is distinguished from other mountain-toucans by its colorful bill: red and black at the tip and yellow-green at the base, where there is a black, thumbprint-shaped mark. The black head is set off from the chestnut-brown back by a pale gray collar. Total length in this species is 46–48 cm (18–19 in) long and weight is 244-370 grams (8.6-13.1 oz).

A wide variety of fruits and berries are eaten and this species is often more willing than most largish toucans to leave the canopy to eat raspberries near the base of the trees. They tend to remain quiet while flying and are known to mix often with other birds while foraging, including larger species of tanagers, thrushes and icterids, both behavior unusual in toucans. Very little is known about the life history details for this species.

MACAW

Macaws are long-tailed, often colourful New World parrots. Of the many different Psittacidae (true parrots) genera, six are classified as macaws: Ara, Anodorhynchus, Cyanopsitta, Primolius, Orthopsittaca, and Diopsittaca. Macaws are native to Mexico, Central America, South America, and formerly the Caribbean. Most species are associated with forests, especially rainforests, but others prefer woodland or savannah-like habitats.

Proportionately larger beaks, long tails, and relatively bare, light-coloured, medial (facial patch) areas distinguish macaws. Sometimes the facial patch is smaller in some species, and limited to a yellow patch around the eyes and a second patch near the base of the beak in the members of the genus Anodorhynchus. A macaw's facial feather pattern is as unique as a fingerprint.

LITTLE WOODSTAR

The Little Woodstar, Colibri Bourdon, ColibrÍ Abejorro, or Estrellita Chica (Chaetocercus bombus) is a species of hummingbird in the Trochilidae family. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.

Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. It is vulnerable to habitat loss. Reportedly, at 7.8 cm, it measures 8 mm longer than the closely related Gorgeted Woodstar and the Short-tailed Woodstar. However, other sources list this species as the world's smallest bird at 1.6 grams, a title normally held by the Bee Hummingbird (normally reported as 25 mm smaller than the Little Woodstar). 

 

 

SOME MAMMALS

The llama (Lama glama) 

Is a domesticated South American camelid, widely used as a meat and pack animal by Andean cultures since pre-Hispanic times.

The height of a full-grown, full-size llama is 1.7 to 1.8 m tall at the top of the head, and can weigh between 130 to 200 kilograms (280 to 450 lb). At birth, a baby llama can weigh between 9 and 14 kilograms. Llamas can live for a period of about 20–30 years depending on how well they are taken care of. Llamas are very social animals and live with other llamas as a herd. The wool produced by a llama is very soft and lanolin-free. Llamas are intelligent and can learn simple tasks after a few repetitions. When using a pack, llamas can carry about 25% to 30% of their body weight for 8–13 km.

COUGAR 

The cougar, also known as the puma, mountain lion, panther, or catamount, is a large cat of the family Felidae native to the Americas. Its range, from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes of South America, is the greatest of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere. An adaptable, generalist species, the cougar is found in most American habitat types. It is the second heaviest cat in the Western Hemisphere, after the jaguar. Solitary by nature and nocturnal, the cougar is most closely related to smaller felines and is nearer genetically to the domestic cat than true lions.
An excellent stalk-and-ambush predator, the cougar pursues a wide variety of prey. Primary food sources include ungulates such as deer, elk, moose, and bighorn sheep, as well as domestic cattle, horses and sheep, particularly in the northern part of its range. It will also hunt species as small as insects and rodents. This cat prefers habitats with dense underbrush and rocky areas for stalking, but can also live in open areas. The cougar is territorial and survives at low population densities. Individual territory sizes depend on terrain, vegetation, and abundance of prey.

SLOTH

Sloths are medium-sized mammals belonging to the families Megalonychidae (two-toed sloth) and Bradypodidae (three-toed sloth), classified into six species. They are part of the order Pilosa and are therefore related to anteaters, which sport a similar set of specialized claws. Extant sloths are arboreal (tree dwelling) residents of the jungles of Central and South America, and are known for being slow-moving, and hence named "sloths". Extinct sloth species include many ground sloths.

Sloths make a good habitat for other organisms, and a single sloth may be home to moths, beetles, cockroaches, ciliates, fungi, and algae.

ANTEATER

Anteater is a common name for the four mammal species of the suborder Vermilingua (meaning "worm tongue") commonly known for eating ants and termites. The individual species have other names in English and other languages. Together with the sloths, they compose the order Pilosa. The name "anteater" is also colloquially applied to the unrelated aardvark, numbat, echidnas, pangolins and some members of the Oecobiidae.

TAPIR

A tapir is a large browsing mammal, similar in shape to a pig, with a short, prehensile snout. Tapirs inhabit jungle and forest regions of South America, Central America, and Southeast Asia. The four species of tapirs are: the Brazilian tapir, the Malayan tapir, Baird's tapir and the mountain tapir. All four are classified as endangered or vulnerable.

SPECTACLED BEAR 

The spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus), 

Also known as the Andean bear and locally as ukuko, jukumari, or ucumari, is the last remaining short-faced bear (subfamily Tremarctinae) and the closest living relative to the Florida spectacled bear and short-faced bears of the Middle Pleistocene to Late Pleistocene age. Spectacled bears are the only surviving species of bear native to South America, and the only surviving member of the subfamily Tremarctinae. The spectacled bear is the only bear native to South America and is technically the largest land carnivore on that continent, although as little as 5% of its diet is composed of meat. The spectacled bear is a mid-sized species of bear. Overall, its fur is blackish in color, though bears may vary from jet black to dark brown and to even a reddish hue. The species typically has distinctive beige-coloured markings across its face and upper chest, though not all spectacled bears have "spectacle" markings.

In Latin America we can find some amazing and interesting types of animals.