Panama's Wildlife Photographic Guide

As many zoochatters do not know or have not seen most of the fauna found in tropical countries like Panama,I will make a photographic guide of all the wildlife you could see in Panama.
I will be using Zoochat photos and here I will have a little index:
We will start with mammals.

Mammalia

Afrotheria
Trichechidae- Manatees (1 specie)

Xenarthra
Chlamyphoridae-Neotropical Armadillos (1 specie)
Dasypodidae-Long Nosed Armadillos (1 specie)
Cyclopedidae- Silky Anteaters (1 specie)
Myrmecophagidae-Anteaters (2 species)
Megalonychidae-Two-Toed Sloths (1 specie)
Bradypodidae-Three-Toed Sloths (2 species)

Eurchontoglires
Cebidae-new world monkeys (4 species)
Aotidae-Night Monkeys (1 specie)
Atelidae-Spider and howler Monkeys (4 species)

Lagomorphs
Leporidae-rabbits and hares (3 species)

Rodents
Cricetidae-Hamsters,voles,new world rats and mice(32 species)
Erenthizontidae-New World Porcupines (2 species)
Caviidae-Guinea Pigs (7 species)
Sciuridae-Squirrels (5 species)
Geomyidae-Gophers (2 species)
Heteromyidae-Kangaroo mice,Kangaroo Rats,Pocket Mice and Spiny Pocket Mice (3 species)

Eulypotyphla
Soricidae-Shrews (4 species)

 

Trichechidae
This family comprises 3 living species of 1 genera. Of this just 1 occurs in Panama.

Trichechus-Manatees (3 species of which one occurs in Panama)

 

Trichechus


West Indian Manatee (Trichechus Manatus)

Within Panama,the range of this specie across all of the Caribbean coast.

2 subspecies are recognized:
T.m latirostris- It extends around Florida.
T.m manatus- Its range is in all of the Antilles and Caribbean Countries.

Photo taken by @Animal at Nurnberg Zoo

 

Xenarthra
This family comprises 31 living species of 13 genera. 9 species of 7 genera inhabit Panama.

Chlamyphoridae-Neotropical armadillos ( 14 species of which one inhabits Panama)
Dasypodidae- Long Nosed Armadillos (7 species of which one inhabits Panama)
Cyclopedidae- Silky Anteaters ( 7 species of which one inhabits Panama)
Myrmecophagidae- Anteaters ( 3 species of which 2 inhabit Panama)
Megalonychidae- Two-Toed Sloths ( 2 species of which one inhabits Panama)
Bradypodidae- Three-Toed Sloths ( 4 species of which 2 inhabit Panama)

 

Chlamyphoridae


Northern Naked-Tailed Armadillo (Cabassous Centralis)

This is one of the 2 armadillo species that live outside South America and both armadillo species can be found on Panama.
Monotypic

No photographs of this specie are present in the Zoochat Gallery.

 

Dasypodidae


Nine-Banded Armadillo ( Dasypus Novemcinctus)

Being the most widespread specie of Armadillo,it is found in North,Central and South America. Also,every year it expands its range through USA.

There are six subspecies:

D.novemcinctus mexicanus
D.novemcinctus fenestratus
D. novemcinctus hoplites
D.novemcinctus mexianae
D.novemcinctus aequatorialis
D. novemcinctus novemcinctus

Photo taken by @Ituri in the wild at Brevard Zoo.


Photo taken by @Giant Eland at Bioparque M'Bopicua.

 

Cyclopedidae

Silky Anteater ( Cyclopes didactilus)
This specie lives from Mexico through Central America and South America. Based on the morphological studies of 2017,the subspecies were considered species or synonyms so currently there are seven species of which 1 inhabits Panama.

C.D Dorsalis
This is the specie that inhabits Central America.

As there are no photos of the Central American specie here is a photo of unspecified specie:


Photo Taken by @Giant Eland at Parque Zoologico Huachipa

 

Myrmecophagidae

Giant Anteater (Myrmecophaga Tridactyla)

It is native to South and Central America and is considered Vulnerable by the IUCN.

Three subspecies have been proposed:

M.T tridactyla- Ranges from Venezuela and the Guianas to Northern Argentina.
M.T centralis- Native to Central America,Northwestern Colombia and Northern Ecuador.
M.T artata- It lives in Northeastern Colombia and Northwestern Venezuela.

Here are 2 photos of anteaters with no subspecific status:

Photo taken by @Bubalus at Chester Zoo.



Photo taken by @KevinB of a pup at Zoo Parc Overloon.




Northern Tamandua (Tamandua Mexicana)

Their range is across Central America and Northern South America in the Andes Region.They are more familiar with the Silky Anteater than with the Giant Anteater.

There are four recognised subspecies:

T.M mexicana- Mexico,Guatemala,Belize,Honduras and El Salvador.
T.M instabilis- Venezuela and Northern Colombia.
T.M opistholeuca- Nicaragua,Costa Rica,Panama and most of Colombia.
T.M punensis- Ecuador and Peru.

This is a photo of T.M mexicana taken by @ralph at VallaZoo.

 

Just a note, I believe the species name is in lower case, i.e. Tamandua mexicana rather than T.Mexicana.

 

Yes sorry for the mistake. Thanks for telling me @Junklekitteb .

 

Megalonychidae


Hoffman's Two-Toed Sloth ( Choloepus hoffmani)
It is a solitary,largely nocturnal and arboreal animal found in South America and Central America.

There are five recognized subspecies of Hoffman's Two-Toed Sloth:

C.h.hoffmani- Honduras,Nicaragua,Costa Rica and Panama.
C.h.agustinus- Northern Ecuador,Western Colombia and Venezuela.
C.h.capitalis- Western Ecuador.
C.h.juruanus- Extreme eastern Peru,Bolivia and Brazil.
C.h.pallescens- Peru.

Her is a photo of the subspecie that inhabits Panama:

Photo taken by @savethelephant at Manuel Antonio National Park in Costa Rica.



This is a photo of an individual with no subspecific status:

Photo taken by @geomorph at Como Park Zoo.

 

Bradypodidae

Brown-Throated Three-Toed Sloth (Bradypus Variegatus)
It is found on Central and South America,when its territory overlaps the one of the Hoffman's Two-Toed Sloths,they tend to be smaller,in higher numbers and diurnal.

There are Seven subspecies:

Bradypus.variegatus.boliviensis
Bradypus.variegatus.brasiliensis
Bradypus.variegatus.ephippiger
Bradypus.variegatus.variegatus
Bradypus.variegatus.gorgon
Bradypus.variegatus.infuscatus
Bradypus.variegatus.trivittatus

This is a photo taken by @Vision at Metopolitan National Park in Panama.



This is another photo taken by @devilfish at Amazonas Sueños del Momon Rescue Center in Peru.





Pygmy Three-Toed Sloth (Bradypus Pygmaeus)
This is an endemic specie of Panama,only found in the tiny Escudo de Veraguas Island.There are only 79 individuals in the island and is considered Critically Endangered.

No photos of this specie are present in the Zoochat Gallery.

 

Primates
It contains 448 species of 16 families. Of this just 9 species of 6 genera inhabit Panama.

Cebidae- New world monkeys ( 14 species of which 4 species inhabit Panama)
Aotidae- Night Monkeys (11 species of which one inhabits Panama.)
Atelidae- Spider and Howler monkeys ( 29 species of which 4 inhabits Panama)

 

Cebidae

Geoffroy's Tamarin (Saguinus Geoffroyi)
They are found in Colombia and Panama, are mostly diurnal and have a gestation period of 145 days.

Monotypic. Before it was considered a subspecies of the Cotton-Top Tamarin until the specie was splited.

Photo taken by @devilfish at Parque Jaime Duque in Colombia.





Colombian White-Faced Capuchin (Cebus Capucinus)
It is native to the extreme northwestern portion of Panama (Darien region), Western Colombia and Northwestern Ecuador. It is listed as least concern.

There are 2 subspecies:
C. c. capucinus- from mainland South America and Panama
C. c. curtus- from the Pacific island of Gorgona, sometimes referred to as the Gorgona white-faced capuchin.

This is a photo taken by @Giant Eland at Zoologico de Cali in Colombia. This is the subspecie that inhabits Panama.




Panamanian White-Faced Capuchin (Cebus Imitator)
They are found in Central America from Central Panama through Honduras. They are more common than the Colombian White-Faced Capuchins and in the past, were considered subspecies of the Colombian Capuchin,
Monotypic.
Photo taken by @AWP at Parque Municipal Summit in Panama (probably these are Panamanian capuchins)



Central American Squirrel Monkey (Saimiri Oerstedii)
They are restricted to the northwestern tip of Panama and the southern Pacific coast of Costa Rica. They are considered vulnerable due to habitat loss.

There are 2 subspecies:
Saimiri oerstedii oerstedii- Lives in the western portion of Panama and the Osa peninsula of Costa Rica.
Saimiri oerstedii citrinellus- Lives in the central Pacific portion of Costa Rica.

Here is a photo of the Panamanian subspecie taken by @AWP at Parque Municipal Summit.

 

Aotidae

Panamanian Night Monkey ( Aotus Zonalis)
This specie lives on Panama and the Choco region of Colombia. In the past, it was considered a subspecie of the Gray-Bellied Night Monkey. They are some of the only monogamous monkey species of the world.

Monotypic.
No photos of this specie have been uploaded to Zoochat.

 

Atelidae

Mantled Howler (Alouatta Palliatta)
Its range extends from Southern Mexico through Central America and ending in Northern South America. They normally live in groups of 40 or less monkeys and this specie is considered of Least Concern.

There are three subspecies of Mantled Howler (Although, there are 2 more recognized subspecies that are of the Coiba Island Howler but sometimes are considered of the Mantled Howler) :

Alouatta Palliata aequatorialis- Inhabits Colombia, Panama, Ecuador, Costa Rica and Peru.
Alouatta Palliata Palliata- Inhabits Guatemala, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Honduras.
Alouatta Palliata Mexicana- Inhabits Mexico and Guatemala.

Photo taken by @Newzooboy of Alouatta Palliata Palliata at Tortuguero National Park.



Coiba Island Howler (Alouatta Coibensis)
It is endemic of Panama and lives in the biggest island of Panama, Coiba. It is also found in the mainland In the Azuero Peninsula. It is one of the smallest species of howler monkeys and is considered vulnerable because of its limited range.

There are 2 subspecies:
Alouatta.c.Coibensis- Found on the island of Coiba and the extreme West Point of Panama, the island of Jicaron.
Alouatta.c. Trabeata- Endemic to the Azuero Peninsula.

This is a photo taken by @Vision of the subspecie Trabeata in the Azuero Peninsula.



Black-Headed Spider Monkey (Ateles Fusciceps)
It lives in Ecuador, Colombia and Panama. In Panama, they inhabit the Darien region and it is considered Critically Endangered.
* They were considered a subspecie of the Geoffroy's Spider Monkey.
It has two subspecies:
Ateles Fusciceps Fusciceps- it lives in Northwestern Ecuador.
Ateles Fusciceps Rufiventris- It is found from Eastern Panama to Southwest Colombia.

This is a photo taken by @Giant Eland at the Zoologico De Barranquilla, Colombia of the Colombian-Panamanian subspecie.


Geoffroy's Spider Monkey (Ateles Geoffroyi)
It lives in Central America from Mexico to Panama. They are considered endangered and is found in rainforests.

There are 5 subspecies (although by many Ateles Fusciceps is a subspecie of Ateles Geoffroyi):

Ateles geoffroyi geoffroyi- inhabits Nicaragua and Costa Rica, but the Guanacaste peninsula population is sometimes considered of a different subspecie.
A. g. grisescens- inhabits Panama in the area near the Black Headed Spider Monkey range.
A. g. ornatus- inhabits Costa Rica and the Panama's frontier with Costa Rica.
A. g. vellerosus- inhabits Nicaragua, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras.
A. g. yucatanensis- inhabits the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. Also, Guatemala and Belize.

This is a photo taken by @Maguari at Tortuguero National Park, Costa Rica and of the subspecies Ornatus.

 

Lagomorphs
Contains 91 extant species of 12 genera. Of all of them, just 3 species of 1 genera inhabit Panama.

Tapeti (Sylviagus Brasiliensis)
It is a specie of cottontail rabbit that inhabits all Central America and South America. It have been considered to split the specie into two, the true tapeti and the tapeti. The true tapeti only lives in Brazil and it is considered endangered. More than 37 subspecies have been described but, with the current divisions, several species have been named. The specie that inhabits Panama is S.gabbi.

No photos of this specie have been uploaded to the Zoochat gallery.


Dice's Cottontail ( Sylviagus Dicei)
They inhabit Costa Rica and the frontier with Panama and they are considered endangered.

Monotypic.
No photos of this specie have been uploaded to the Zoochat gallery.

Eastern Cottontail (Sylviagus Floridianus)
They are distributed from Canada to Colombia and Venezuela. They are considered of least concern and it is the most common specie of rabbit in North America.
There are 18 subspecies.

Photo taken by @Giant Eland at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo, USA.

 

For the record, it is Sylvilagus. I have photos of Sylvilagus "brasiliensis" from the Ecuadorian Andes, although I guess it's now considered to be a separate species.

 

Thanks for correcting me and yes, I could use that photo.