NATURAL AREAS AND REGIONS 



663 



small part, and offers much of interest 

 to the naturalist. 



II. BIOTA (h. e. a.) 



1. Luxuriant tropical rain-forest 

 (humid tropical zone) 



a. Esmeraldas district. This district 

 is typical of the coastal forest north of 

 Bahia de Caraques. It extends to 

 Panama. Plant life flourishes and luxu- 

 riant vegetation makes an impenetrable 

 canopy. The principal trees of the 

 forest are large and grow to great 

 heights, some of them branching out to 

 form vast canopies of leaves. The 

 names of these trees are legion, but 

 among the most conspicuous are the 

 varieties of wild fig and of the silk- 

 cotton or kapok. Others are the so- 

 called cedar, rubber trees, ivory-nut, 

 and many species of palms. 



The lower forms of life; countless 

 multitudes of ants work night and day, 

 the long clean-swept paths of the leaf- 

 cutting ants being seen everywhere, 

 while dense waves of carnivorous ants 

 periodically sweep over large areas. 

 Termites, the so-called white ants, 

 build huge nests on the limbs of trees 

 and riddle dead timber. Brightly col- 

 ored butterflies, of great size float 

 lazily through the upper regions by day, 

 while more somber-hued, but even more 

 marvelously colored, moths make their 

 appearance at sundown. Frogs fre- 

 quent every little brook course and damp 

 spot where fallen leaves give them cover, 

 vociferous at night or on overcast days 

 and beautiful in their colors of clear 

 green with markings of yellow or red. 



Lizards and snakes while not often, 

 nevertheless lurk in suitable localities 

 and the brilliant coral snake, with bands 

 as precise and conspicuous as if they 

 had been painted on with a brush dipped 

 successively in red, yellow, and black, 

 is a not uncommon sight. A rare snake 

 is the huge anaconda, which may reach 

 a length of as much as 15 to 20 ft. and a 

 girth of astonishing dimensions. 



Birds are present in great variety, 

 the number of distinct forms being more 



than 300. Many of them would occasion 

 little comment if seen in northern woods, 

 but there are hosts of others utterly 

 unlike anything in the north. Noisy 

 parrots, gaudy macaws, grotesque tou- 

 cans, showy hangnests or caciques, and 

 many others are found in the forests 

 of this zone, and are among the most 

 conspicuous denizens. Life and color 

 are added by the flashing plumage of 

 humming birds, trogons, tanagers, and 

 the cotingas. 



"The mammals are more secretive 

 and difficult to observe; nevertheless, 

 in time a great many species may be 

 noted. The most prominent mammals 

 are the monkeys, among which first 

 place is given to the large howler (Alou- 

 atta aequatorialis) , whose reverberating 

 roar is a voice worthy of the jungle, 

 and as characteristic as is the voice of 

 the coyote on our western plains. The 

 sonorous voice of the howling monkey 

 seems fairly to shake the air when 

 heard at close range." 



b. Trans Andine region. See Colom- 

 bia and the Amazon Valley. 



c. Mammals of the Tropical Rain- 

 forest. (E = eastern; W = western.) Ecua- 

 dorian black howling monkey [Alouatta 

 aequatorialis W), red howling monkey 

 (Alouatta seniculus E), night monkey 

 {Aotus gularis E), {Aotus vociferans E), 

 spider monkey (Ateles variegatus E), 

 titi monkey {Callicebus cupreus E), 

 marmoset (Callithrix melanura E), {Ce- 

 buella pygmaea E), capuchin monkey 

 {Ceb^is aequatorialis W), {Cebus albi- 

 frons E), woolly monkey (Lagothrix 

 infumata E) Humboldt's woolly monkey 

 {Lagothrix lagotricha E), Tamarin mon- 

 key {Leontocebus graellsi E), Saki mon- 

 key {Pithecia monachus E), squirrel 

 monkey (Saimiri sciureus E), brocket 

 deer {Mazama fuscata), (Mazama za- 

 mora), (Mazama gualea), {Mazama tema), 

 {Mazama americana), {Mazama rufina) 

 EW, tapir {Tapirus americanus), white- 

 lipped peccary {Tayassu albirostris) , 

 spectacled bear {Tremarctos ornatus 

 majori), black peccary {Pecari niger), 

 ocelot {Felis pardalis aequatorialis), 

 {Felis pardinoides andina), jaguar {Felis 



