Animal Info - Ecuador


Contents

Threatened Species, Environmental and Social Data (Mammals, Biodiversity/Ecosystems, Population, Area/Land Use, Protected Lands, Economy, Education), References and Links

Threatened Species

Threatened Species: The following list includes all mammals which occur in Ecuador and are rated as Critically Endangered (CR), Endangered (EN) or Vulnerable (VU) in the 2004 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. 

  • Critically Endangered:
    • Galapagos Rice Rat (Oryzomys galapagoensis). (Endemic to Ecuador.)
    • Spiny Rat Species (Makalata occasius). 
  • Endangered:
    • Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus).
    • Colombian Weasel (Mustela felipei).
    • Ecuador Fish-eating Rat (Anotomys leander). (Endemic to Ecuador.)
    • Ecuadorian Sac-winged Bat (Balantiopteryx infusca). (Endemic to Ecuador.)
    • Fin Whale (Balaenoptera physalus).
    • Giant Armadillo (Priodontes maximus).
    • Giant Otter (Pteronura brasiliensis). 
    • Mountain Tapir (Tapirus pinchaque).
    • Pacarana (Dinomys branickii).
    • South American Spiny Mouse (Scolomys melanops). (Endemic to Ecuador.)
  • Vulnerable:
    • Amazonian Manatee (Trichechus inunguis).
    • Boto (Amazon River Dolphin) (Inia geoffrensis).
    • Bush Dog (Speothos venaticus).
    • Bushy-tailed Opossum (Glironia venusta).
    • Central American Woolly Opossum (Caluromys derbianus).
    • Equatorial Dog-faced Bat (Molossops aequatorianus). (Endemic to Ecuador.)
    • Fernandina Galapagos Mouse (Nesoryzomys fernandinae). 
    • Fraternal Fruit-eating Bat (Artibeus fraterculus).
    • Galapagos Fur Seal (Arctocephalus galapagoensis). (Endemic to Ecuador.)
    • Giant Anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla).
    • Goeldi's Marmoset (Callimico goeldii). 
    • Greater Long-tailed Bat (Choeroniscus periosus).
    • Handley's Nectar Bat (Lonchophylla handleyi).
    • Harmless Serotine ( Bat) (Eptesicus innoxius).
    • Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae).
    • Long-haired Spider Monkey (Ateles belzebuth).
    • Lowland Woolly Monkey (Lagothrix poeppigii). (Recognized as a subspecies, Lagothrix lagotricha poeppigii, in 1996, rather than as a species as in 2000.)
    • Santiago Galapagos Mouse (Nesoryzomys swarthi). 
    • Smoky Bat (Amorphochilus schnablii). 
    • Spectacled Bear (Tremarctos ornatus).
    • Western Nectar Bat (Lonchophylla hesperia).

Environmental and Social Data

Mammals

Total number of species: 302 (Groombridge & Jenkins 1994)
Number of endemic species: 23 (Groombridge & Jenkins 1994)
Number of threatened species: 1996: 28 (9 % of total species) (IUCN 1996); 2000: 33 (11 % of total species) (IUCN 2000) 

Biodiversity/Ecosystems

Ecuador contains the Galapagos Islands Scrubs and Galapagos Islands Marine Ecosystems Global 200 Ecoregions as well as portions of the Northern Andean Montane Forests, Andean Yungas, Choco-Darien Moist Forests, Napo Moist Forests, Tumbesian & North Inter-Andean Valleys Dry Forests, North Andean Paramo, Upper Amazon & Orinoco Rivers & Streams, Panama Bight Mangroves and Panama Bight Marine Ecosystems Global 200 Ecoregions (Olson & Dinerstein 1998, Olson & Dinerstein 1999)
Ecuador contains portions of the Tropical Andes, and Darien and Choco Global Biodiversity Hotspots (Cons. Intl. 1999a)
Ecuador is a Megadiversity Country (Cons. Intl. 1999b)

Population

Population in 1995: 11,460,000 (Natl. Geog. Soc. 1995)
Population density in 1995: 40.4 people/sq km (104.7 people/sq mi) (Natl. Geog. Soc. 1995)
Population in 1998: 12,336,572 (World Almanac 1999)
Average population growth rate, 1980 - 1990: 2.4 % (World Bank 1992)

Area/Land Use

Area: 283,562 sq km (109,484 sq mi) (Natl. Geog. Soc. 1995)
Percentages of primary world ecosystem types:

  • Other Coastal Aquatic: 5 %
  • Polar and Alpine: 2 %
  • Grass and Shrub: 16 %
  • Crop and Settlements: 7 %
  • Interrupted Woods: 16 %
  • Major Forests: 53 %

(Groombridge 1992)

Percent of land area classified as the following degree of human disturbance: Low: 47 %; Medium: 12 %; High: 41 % (WRI 1994)

Protected Lands

Area: 107,480 sq km (41,487 sq mi) (Groombridge 1992)
Percent of land protected: 5.62 % totally protected; 0.35 % partially protected; 5.97 % totally or partially protected (Groombridge 1992)

Economy

Per capita GNP ($ U.S.) (1991): $1,010 (WRI 1994)
Per capita GDP ($ U.S.) (1996): $4,100 (World Almanac 1999)

Education

Percent of females in secondary education (1989): 57 % (World Bank 1992)
Percent adult literacy: Female: 84 % (1990), 68 % (1970); Male: 88 % (1990), 75 % (1970) (WRI 1994)

References and Links

References: Cons. Intl. 1999a, Cons. Intl. 1999b, Groombridge 1992, Groombridge & Jenkins 1994, IUCN 1994, IUCN 1996, IUCN 2000, IUCN 2004, Natl. Geog. Soc. 1995, Olson & Dinerstein 1998, Olson & Dinerstein 1999, World Almanac 1999, World Bank 1992, WRI 1994

General Links (After you get to one of these sites, click on the link for Ecuador): CIA World Factbook, Foreign Embassies of Washington, D.C., Library of Congress - Country Studies, University of Texas - Country Maps, Washington Post - Countries, World Resources Institute - Country Profiles; Links for Ecuador: The Nature Conservancy - Ecuador, WWF - Northern Andes

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Last modified: November 5, 2005;

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