Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 5.8 Collared peccaries travel in small and large groups in the forest, as shown
here in Guanacaste, Costa Rica.
(Photo by author.)
and flowers in the dry forests. The brown or gray brocket deer is a small solitary
deer restricted to South America. White-tailed deer are common in North and Cen-
tral America and south into Bolivia.
Rodents are abundant in Neotropical forests. Based on geographic location,
squirrels are highly variable in coat color and pattern. All squirrels in these seasonal
forests are diurnal and arboreal. They feed on fruits, flowers, nuts, bark, fungi, and
some insects (see Plate XV). Other rodents such as pocket gophers and spiny
pocket mice are found in the dry forests of Mexico and Central America. Tuco-
tucos are found in South America. Mexican deer mice, rice rats, white-footed mice,
pygmy mice, cane mice, and climbing rats that nest in trees can be found in parts of
the Neotropical seasonal forests. They occupy a variety of niches, feeding on fruits,
plants, fungi, and invertebrates. Some mice and rats will cache their food, allowing
them to survive in the forest during the dry season. Prehensile-tailed porcupines
and the cavy-like rodents, such as agoutis, pacas, and maras, can be seen in these
dry forests. Maras are restricted to the South American dry forests, while agoutis
can be found throughout the region.
Four of the five carnivore families are found the Neotropics. They include the
dog, raccoon, mustelid, and cat families. Tropical carnivores tend to be omnivo-
rous, feeding on insects, fruits, and leaves in addition to vertebrates. The South
American fox and maned wolf are found in the southern subregion of the biome.
Raccoons, coatis, and ringtails are medium-size carnivore found in the dry forests;
