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.
