Fauna of Venezuela

The fauna of Venezuela consists of a huge variety of animals. Venezuela's diverse wildlife includes manatees, Amazon river dolphins, and Orinoco crocodiles, which have been reported to reach up to 6.6 metres (22 ft) in length. Some 23% of reptilian and 50% of amphibian species that inhabit the country are endemic to Venezuela. Overall, around 8,000 species (the world's 5th highest total) are endemic to the country.

Venezuela hosts a total of 1,417 bird species, more than 351 mammals, 341 reptiles, 315 amphibians and more than 2000 freshwater and marine fishes.[1] Invertebrates groups have not been inventoried exhaustively, but among the well known groups there are around 900 species of marine molluscs, 1600 butterfly and over 120 dung beetles species.[2][3]

Birds

48 of which are endemic.[4] Important birds include ibises, ospreys, kingfishers,[5][6] and the yellow-orange Venezuelan troupial, the national bird.

Mammals

Notable mammals include the giant anteater, jaguar, howler monkey, and the capybara, the world's largest rodent. More than half of Venezuelan avian and mammalian species are found in the Amazonian forests south of the Orinoco.[7]

Importance

The use of wildlife products is widespread in Venezuela, and more than 400 species are known to be used as a source of protein (subsistence hunting) or for trade in domestic and international markets.[8]

Conservation

Habitat destruction, pollution, introduction of exotic species and overexploitation are the main threats to Venezuelan wildlife.[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Rodríguez, J.P.; Rojas-Suárez, F. (2008). Libro Rojo de la Fauna Venezolana (3 ed.). Caracas, Venezuela: Provita y Shell Venezuela, S.A. p. 364.
  2. ↑ Ferrer-Paris, José Rafael; Rodríguez, Jon Paul; Good, Tatjana C.; Sánchez-Mercado, Ada; Rodríguez-Clark, Kathryn M.; Rodríguez, Gustavo A.; Solís, Ángel (2013). "Systematic, large‐scale national biodiversity surveys: NeoMaps as a model for tropical regions" (PDF). Diversity and Distributions. 19: 215–231. doi:10.1111/ddi.12012.
  3. ↑ Capelo, Juan C., Buitrago, Joaquín. 1998: Distribución geográfica de los moluscos marinos en el oriente de Venezuela. Memoria de la Sociedad de Ciencias Naturales La Salle, LXIII(150):109-160
  4. ↑ Lepage, Denis. "Checklist of birds of Venezuela". Bird Checklists of the World. Avibase. Retrieved 4 May 2007.
  5. ↑ Dydynski, K; Beech, C (2004). Venezuela. Lonely Planet. ISBN 978-1-74104-197-2. Retrieved 10 March 2007. p42
  6. ↑ Rodríguez, Gustavo A.; Rodríguez, Jon Paul; Ferrer-Paris, José Rafael; Sánchez-Mercado, Ada (2012). "A Nation-Wide Standardized Bird Survey Scheme for Venezuela". The Wilson Journal of Ornithology. 124 (2): 230–244. doi:10.1676/11-057.1. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
  7. ↑ Bevilacqua, M; Cardenas, L; Flores, AL; et al. (2002). "State of Venezuela's forests: A case study of the Guayana Region". World Resources Institute. Retrieved 10 March 2007.
  8. ↑ Sánchez-Mercado, Ada; Asmüssen, Marianne; Rodríguez-Clark, Kathryn M.; Rodríguez, Jon Paul; Jedrzejewski, Wlodzimierz (2016). "Using spatial patterns in illegal wildlife uses to reveal connections between subsistence hunting and trade". Conservation Biology. doi:10.1111/cobi.12744.

External links


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