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List of mammals of Costa Rica

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This is a list of the mammal species recorded in Costa Rica. Of the mammal species in Costa Rica,[1] one is critically endangered, four are endangered, six are vulnerable, and three are near threatened. One species is considered extinct.[2]

The following tags are used to highlight each species' conservation status as assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature:

EX Extinct No reasonable doubt that the last individual has died.
EW Extinct in the wild Known only to survive in captivity or as a naturalized populations well outside its previous range.
CR Critically endangered The species is in imminent risk of extinction in the wild.
EN Endangered The species is facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.
VU Vulnerable The species is facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.
NT Near threatened The species does not meet any of the criteria that would categorise it as risking extinction but it is likely to do so in the future.
LC Least concern There are no current identifiable risks to the species.
DD Data deficient There is inadequate information to make an assessment of the risks to this species.

Some species were assessed using an earlier set of criteria. Species assessed using this system have the following instead of near threatened and least concern categories:

LR/cd Lower risk/conservation dependent Species which were the focus of conservation programmes and may have moved into a higher risk category if that programme was discontinued.
LR/nt Lower risk/near threatened Species which are close to being classified as vulnerable but are not the subject of conservation programmes.
LR/lc Lower risk/least concern Species for which there are no identifiable risks.

Subclass: Theria

Infraclass: Metatheria

Order: Didelphimorphia (common opossums)

Common opossum

Didelphimorphia is the order of common opossums of the Western Hemisphere. Opossums probably diverged from the basic South American marsupials in the late Cretaceous or early Paleocene. They are small to medium-sized marsupials, about the size of a large house cat, with a long snout and prehensile tail.

Infraclass: Eutheria

Order: Sirenia (manatees and dugongs)

West Indian manatees

Sirenia is an order of fully aquatic, herbivorous mammals that inhabit rivers, estuaries, coastal marine waters, swamps, and marine wetlands. All four species are endangered.

Order: Cingulata (armadillos)

Nine-banded armadillo

The armadillos are small mammals with a bony armored shell. They are native to the Americas. There are around 20 extant species.

Order: Pilosa (anteaters, sloths and tamanduas)

Hoffmann's two-toed sloth

The order Pilosa is extant only in the Americas and includes the anteaters, sloths, and tamanduas.

Order: Primates

Main article: List of Costa Rican monkey species
Mantled howler
Geoffroy's spider monkey

The order Primates contains humans and their closest relatives: lemurs, lorisoids, tarsiers, monkeys, and apes. Four species of monkey are native to Costa Rica.

Order: Rodentia (rodents)

Bangs's mountain squirrel

Rodents make up the largest order of mammals, with over 40% of mammalian species. However, there are fewer than 50 rodent species in Costa Rica.[3] They have two incisors in the upper and lower jaw which grow continually and must be kept short by gnawing. Most rodents are small though the capybara can weigh up to 45 kg (99 lb).

Order: Lagomorpha (lagomorphs)

The lagomorphs comprise two families, Leporidae (hares and rabbits), and Ochotonidae (pikas). Though they can resemble rodents, and were classified as a superfamily in that order until the early 20th century, they have since been considered a separate order. They differ from rodents in a number of physical characteristics, such as having four incisors in the upper jaw rather than two.

Order: Eulipotyphla (shrews, hedgehogs, moles, and solenodons)

Eulipotyphlans are insectivorous mammals. Shrews and solenodons closely resemble mice, hedgehogs carry spines, while moles are stout-bodied burrowers.

Order: Chiroptera (bats)

Pale spear-nosed bat
Common vampire bat

The bats' most distinguishing feature is that their forelimbs are developed as wings, making them the only mammals capable of flight. Bat species account for about 20% of all mammals. 109 species of bats have been recorded in Costa Rica, accounting for half of the country's mammal species, and about 12% of all Chiroptera worldwide.[3]

Order: Cetacea (whales)

Pantropical spotted dolphin

The order Cetacea includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. They are the mammals most fully adapted to aquatic life with a spindle-shaped nearly hairless body, protected by a thick layer of blubber, and forelimbs and tail modified to provide propulsion underwater.

Order: Carnivora (carnivorans)

Margay
Coyote
Common raccoon
White-nosed coati

There are over 260 species of carnivores, the majority of which feed primarily on meat. They have a characteristic skull shape and dentition.

Order: Perissodactyla (odd-toed ungulates)

Baird's tapir

The odd-toed ungulates are browsing and grazing mammals. They are usually large to very large, and have relatively simple stomachs and a large middle toe.

Order: Artiodactyla (even-toed ungulates)

Collared peccary

The even-toed ungulates are ungulates whose weight is borne about equally by the third and fourth toes, rather than mostly or entirely by the third as in perissodactyls. There are about 220 artiodactyl species, including many that are of great economic importance to humans.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Wainwright, M. (2007), The Mammals of Costa Rica - A natural history and field guide. Cornell University Press, Ithaca and London. Pp. xix.
  2. ^ This list is derived from the IUCN Red List which lists species of mammals and includes those mammals that have recently been classified as extinct (since 1500 AD). The taxonomy and naming of the individual species is based on those used in existing Wikipedia articles as of 21 May 2007 and supplemented by the common names and taxonomy from the IUCN, Smithsonian Institution, or University of Michigan where no Wikipedia article was available.
  3. ^ a b Wainwright 2007, p. 77
  4. ^ Aurioles-Gamboa, D.; Hernández-Camacho, J. (2015). "Zalophus californianus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015: e.T41666A45230310. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T41666A45230310.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  5. ^ Trillmich, F. (2015). "Zalophus wollebaeki". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015: e.T41668A45230540. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-2.RLTS.T41668A45230540.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.

References

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