Ecuador is
home to the Galapagos, the place that inspired Charles
Darwin´s theory of evolution and which he considered a
wonderful demonstration of natural selection due to its
high number of variations both within and across
species. The Galapagos Islands are home to many rare
species some of which cannot be found anywhere else in
the world.
Ecuador has
four regions: the Galapagos Islands located off the
coast; the coastal region with its beautiful beaches;
the Andean mountains with its high peaks and stunning
sights and “El Oriente”, Ecuador’s part of the Amazon.
Ecuador is considered one of the most diverse places on
earth because of its different regions and the many
different types of flora and fauna found here.
The Ecuadorian Amazon has the most bird species
diversity in Ecuador with over 690 species listed below
500 meters. There are approximately 2,000 species
of birds in the Amazon (including all 8 Amazonian
countries). Our own list is increasing and we have
18 species that are endemic to this region, 42 boreal
species (northern migrants) and 15 Austral species
(southern migrants). In the area of San Isla and
Pañacocha, there are 27 species that associate with ant
swarms at different levels of the forest and 9 of these
are professional ant followers.
Ecuador is also known for its high
species diversity in mammals, amphibians and reptiles,
fish, insects, etc. One may find over 10 species
of monkeys, 2 species of dolphins, 5 species of
wildcats, 89 species of frogs, 49 species of snakes,
over 500 species of fish and at least 100,000 species of
insects including 1,200 species of moths and butterflies
only in our Amazon region.
