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La Amistad International Park
La Amistad International Park, or in Spanish , formerly La Amistad National Park, is a transboundary protected area in Latin America, management of which is shared between Costa Rica ( Caribbean La Amistad and Pacific La Amistad Conservation Areas) and Panama, following a recommendation by UNESCO after the park's inclusion in the World Heritage Site list in 1983. The park and surrounding biosphere reserve is one of the most outstanding conservation areas in Central America, preserving a major tract of tropical forest wilderness. It is known for its extraordinary biodiversity and endemism. Geography La Amistad International Park is equally split between Costa Rica and Panama, as part of the former ''La Amistad Reserves''. The park protects a large part of the Cordillera de Talamanca mountain range, including the highest point in Costa Rica, Cerro Chirripó. It covers 401,000 ha of tropical forest and is the largest nature reserve in Central America; together with a 15 km buff ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Panama
Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the south. Its capital and largest city is Panama City, whose metropolitan area is home to nearly half of the country's over million inhabitants. Before the arrival of Spanish Empire, Spanish colonists in the 16th century, Panama was inhabited by a number of different Indigenous peoples of Panama, indigenous tribes. It Independence Act of Panama, broke away from Spain in 1821 and joined the Republic of Gran Colombia, a union of Viceroyalty of New Granada, Nueva Granada, Ecuador, and Venezuela. After Gran Colombia dissolved in 1831, Panama and Nueva Granada eventually became the Republic of Colombia. With the backing of the United States, Panama seceded from Colombia in 1903, allowing the construction of the Panama Ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bribri
The Bribri (also Abicetava) are an Indigenous people in eastern Costa Rica and northern Panama. Today, most Bribri people speak the Bribri language or Spanish. There are varying estimates from government officials of the group's population. Estimates of the total Bribri population range as high as 35,000 people, although official estimates assert there are about 11,500 Bribri people in Costa Rica, and about 1000 Bribri people in Panama. According to a census by the Ministerio de Salud of Costa Rica however, there are 11,500 Bribri living within service range of the Hone Creek Clinic alone, suggesting the total Costa Rican Bribri population is larger. They are also a voting majority in the Puerto Viejo de Talamanca area. The Bribri historically struggled to remain on their land and preserve their culture, though the Costa Rican government currently recognizes their use of designated Indigenous Territories, and they are one of the formally recognized Indigenous peoples of Pana ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chiriquí Fire Salamander
The Chiriquí fire salamander (''Bolitoglossa cathyledecae''), known as "Salamandra de fuego chiricana" in native Spanish, is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is found exclusively in Panama and is endemic to the western highlands of Chiriquí Province. Like many Central American endemic species, it is threatened by habitat loss. Discovery During expeditions through La Amistad International Park, investigators discovered a salamander that was very distinct from other species in the region. Notably the Chiriqui fire salamander has different coloration, foot webbing, and upper maxillary tooth numbers than other known salamanders. The species was formally described to science in 2022 with a specific epithet chosen by the discoverers to honor Cathy Ledec, a conservationist and supporter of Neotropical salamanders. Description The holotype specimen of Chiriquí fire salamander had a head-to-torso length of 46 mm and a tail length of 68.8 mm. The s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Splendid Poison Frog
The splendid poison frog (''Oophaga speciosa'') is an extinct species of poison dart frog that was endemic to the eastern end of Cordillera de Talamanca, western Panama. Its natural habitats were humid lowland and montane forests. Appearance Male and female adult frogs measured 28-31 mm in snout-vent length. This frog was bright red in color. Habitat This frog inhabited in cloud forests in the western Panama's Cordillera de Talamanca. It was diurnal and terrestrial. This frog was observed between 1140 and 1410 meters above sea level. Life cycle The male frogs fought each other for good foraging and egg deposition sites. The female frog cared for the eggs and tadpoles. She layed eggs on leaf litter Plant litter (also leaf litter, tree litter, soil litter, litterfall, or duff) is dead plant material (such as leaves, bark, needles, twigs, and cladodes) that has fallen to the ground. This detritus or dead organic material and its constituen .... After they hatched, she ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Central American Tapir
The Baird's tapir (''Tapirus bairdii''), also known as the Central American tapir, is a species of tapir native to Mexico, Central America, and northwestern South America. It is the largest of the three species of tapir native to the Americas, as well as the largest native land mammal in both Central and South America. Names The Baird's tapir is named after the American naturalist Spencer Fullerton Baird, who traveled to Mexico in 1843 and observed the animals. However, the species was first documented by another American naturalist, W. T. White. Like the other American tapirs (the mountain tapir and the South American tapir), the Baird's tapir is commonly called ''danta'' by people in all areas. In the regions around Oaxaca and Veracruz, it is referred to as the . Panamanians, and Colombians call it , and in Belize, where the Baird's tapir is the national animal, it is known as the mountain cow. In Mexico, it is called in Tzeltal; in Lacandon, it is called , meaning "jungle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jaguarundis
The jaguarundi (''Herpailurus yagouaroundi''; or ) is a wild cat native to the Americas. Its range extends from central Argentina in the south to northern Mexico, through Central and South America east of the Andes. The jaguarundi is a medium-sized cat of slender build. Its coloration is uniform with two color morphs, gray and red. It has an elongated body, with relatively short legs, a small, narrow head, small, round ears, a short snout, and a long tail, resembling mustelids in these respects. It is about twice as large as a domestic cat (''Felis catus''), reaching nearly at the shoulder, and weighs . Secretive and alert, the jaguarundi is typically solitary or forms pairs in the wild, though captive individuals are more gregarious. Unlike other sympatric cats such as the ocelot, the jaguarundi is more active during the day and hunts mainly during daytime and evening hours. Individuals live in large home ranges, and are sparsely distributed within a region. The jaguarundi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jaguars
The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus ''Panthera'' that is native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the biggest cat species in the Americas and the third largest in the world. Its distinctively marked coat features pale yellow to tan colored fur covered by spots that transition to rosettes on the sides, although a melanistic black coat appears in some individuals. The jaguar's powerful bite allows it to pierce the carapaces of turtles and tortoises, and to employ an unusual killing method: it bites directly through the skull of mammalian prey between the ears to deliver a fatal blow to the brain. The modern jaguar's ancestors probably entered the Americas from Eurasia during the Early Pleistocene via the land bridge that once spanned the Bering Strait. Today, the jaguar's range extends from the Southwestern United States across Mexico and much of Central America, the Amazon r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Margay
The margay (''Leopardus wiedii'') is a small wild cat native to Mexico, Central and South America. A solitary and nocturnal felid, it lives mainly in primary evergreen and deciduous forest. Until the 1990s, margays were hunted for the wildlife trade, at which point the killing of the species was outlawed in most countries; however, years of persecution resulted in a notable population decrease. Since 2008, the margay has been listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, as the population is thought to be declining due to loss of habitat and deforestation. The scientific name ''Felis wiedii'' was used by Heinrich Rudolf Schinz in 1821 in his first scientific description of the margay, named in honour of Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied, who collected specimens in Brazil. Characteristics The margay is very similar to the larger ocelot (''Leopardus pardalis'') in appearance, although the head is a little shorter, the eyes larger, and the tail and legs longer. It weighs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ocelots
The ocelot (''Leopardus pardalis'') is a medium-sized spotted wild cat that reaches at the shoulders and weighs between on average. It is native to the southwestern United States, Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean islands of Trinidad and Margarita. Carl Linnaeus scientifically described it in 1758. Two subspecies are recognized. The ocelot is efficient at climbing, leaping and swimming. It prefers areas close to water sources with dense vegetation cover and high prey availability. It preys on small terrestrial mammals, such as armadillos, opossums, and lagomorphs. It is typically active during twilight and at night and tends to be solitary and territorial. Both sexes become sexually mature at around two years of age and can breed throughout the year; peak mating season varies geographically. After a gestation period of two to three months, the female gives birth to a litter of one to three kittens. They stay with their mother for up to two years, after w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Puma (animal)
The cougar (''Puma concolor'') (, '' KOO-gər''), also called puma, mountain lion, catamount and panther is a large small cat native to the Americas. It inhabits North, Central and South America, making it the most widely distributed wild, terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere, and one of the most widespread in the world. Its range spans the Yukon, British Columbia and Alberta provinces of Canada, the Rocky Mountains and areas in the western United States. Further south, its range extends through Mexico to the Amazon Rainforest and the southern Andes Mountains in Patagonia. It is an adaptable generalist species, occurring in most American habitat types. It prefers habitats with dense underbrush and rocky areas for stalking but also lives in open areas. The cougar is largely solitary. Its activity pattern varies from diurnality and cathemerality to crepuscularity and nocturnality between protected and non-protected areas, and is apparently correlated with the prese ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Speciation
Speciation is the evolutionary process by which populations evolve to become distinct species. The biologist Orator F. Cook coined the term in 1906 for cladogenesis, the splitting of lineages, as opposed to anagenesis, phyletic evolution within lineages. Charles Darwin was the first to describe the role of natural selection in speciation in his 1859 book ''On the Origin of Species''. He also identified sexual selection as a likely mechanism, but found it problematic. There are four geographic modes of speciation in nature, based on the extent to which speciating populations are isolated from one another: allopatric speciation, allopatric, peripatric speciation, peripatric, parapatric speciation, parapatric, and sympatric speciation, sympatric. Whether genetic drift is a minor or major contributor to speciation is the subject of much ongoing discussion. Rapid sympatric speciation can take place through polyploidy, such as by doubling of chromosome number; the result is progeny wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
