Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 5.7 White-faced capuchin monkeys are common within the seasonal forests of
Central America, as shown here in Costa Rica.
(Photo courtesy of Thomas Phillips Jr., M.D.)
within the region (see Figure 5.7). Squirrel monkeys are also present, but popula-
tions in the dry forest are declining. Black-tailed silver marmosets and night mon-
keys inhabit the seasonal forests of South America. Monkeys in the seasonal
forests will often retreat to nearby riparian areas during the height of the dry season
when fruits and leaves are no longer plentiful.
Tapirs are the only odd-toed ungulates (order Perissodactyla) in the Neotropics.
With continued hunting and the rapid destruction of these forests, their popula-
tions are in steep decline. The even-toed ungulates (order Artiodactyla) are repre-
sented by two families: peccaries and deer. Peccaries are medium-size pig-like
animals. They are mostly diurnal and feed on fruit, nuts, leaves, snails, and other
small animals. Only three species of peccary exist in the world and all are found
in the seasonal forests of the Neotropics. The collared peccary and the white-lipped
peccary are distributed in Central and South America into Argentina (see
Figure 5.8). The third species is the rare Chacoan peccary, which lives in the Gran
Chaco in Bolivia and in western Paraguay. This animal was thought to be extinct
but was rediscovered in the 1970s. Gray or brown brocket deer and white-tailed
deer are present in the dry forests. They are browsers, feeding on new leaves, twigs,
