#870: Zacatuche

Zacatuche, the volcano rabbit, is a tiny bunny, found only in the mountains of Mexico, more specifically, four volcanoes south of Mexico City. She lives in small groups of 2-5 rabbits, digging burrows and creating runways through the low tussock grass. She lives at high altitude, and is greatly affected by human disturbance. This disturbance has also fragmented the population, pushing her close to the brink of extinction.

#869: Yucatan Jay

(This is a juvenile, still retaining his yellow bill but having his adult plumage.)

The Yucatan Jay is a Central America corvid, native to the Yucatan Peninsula. He inhabits tropical forest and subtropical dry forests, as well as colonising heavily degraded areas. Fledglings are white feathered. As they mature, they moult into their blue and black adult plumage, but retain their yellow beak, feet and eye rings for up to four years. Breeding is cooperative, with the juveniles helping raise their younger siblings.

#849: Xantus's Hummingbird

 

John Xantus was a Hungarian Zoologist who was exiled in 1851 and came to live in the United States. Here he went on to give his name to a number of animals, so many that I could probably fill a (relatively small) encyclopedia volume with his X's alone. Among these discoveries were this, the Xantus's Hummingbird. 

The Xantus's Hummingbird is endemic to Baja California, although he sometimes strays up the west coast to Canada during the summer months. Like most hummingbirds, his diet consists predominantly on nectar, supped in flight with his extendable tongue. He is also noted to take insects on the wing, especially when feeding offspring. The nest is cup-shaped and lined with feathers, spiderwebs and animal hair, with the outside including moss for camouflage. In this the female lays two eggs.

#833: White Bat

The Honduran White Bat is a teeny-tiny bat found in Central America. He measures less than 5 cm in length. To create shelters, he slices the side veins of Heliconia leaves, causing them to fold downwards like a tent. These can house up to half a dozen individuals: usually a male and his harem of females.

#800: Vesper Rat

The Vesper Rats are two species of New World Rat found in Central America. She leads an arboreal lifestyle, foraging through the branches for fruit and seeds. During the day, she sleeps in a nest constructed from twigs and leaves. She breeds throughout the year, constructing the nest with the assistance of her mate and birthing up to three offspring. Infants are born partially furred and blind; they remain attached to the mother's teats for the first two weeks, and are weaned at three weeks.

#788: Vaquita

The Vaquita is found in the Gulf of California, where less than 100 individuals remain.This diminutive dolphin is one of the smallest Cetacean species, growing about 140 cm long. She is generally solitary in nature and favours lagoons and shallow water. Here she preys on small fish, crustaceans and squid, which she locates using echolocation. Her greatest threat comes from illegal trawl-netting, especially around the critically endangered totoaba. This large fish is famed (and now farmed) for its swim bladder, a delicacy in Chinese cuisine. Sadly, demand for this has pushed not only the totoaba to the brink of extinction, but Vaquita also become entangled in the nets and drown.

#765: Tree Frog

There are numerous species of Tree Frog, a term given to any species that, as an adult frog, follows an aboreal lifestyle. Probably the most recognisable is this Red-eyed Tree Frog of Central America. These red eyes act as a deterrent to predation, for he opens them wide if danger nears, suprisingly any potential predator and giving the frog the opportunity to free.

#747: Tayra

The Tayra is a member of the mustelid Family. found in Central and South America. Her preferred habitat is forest, but she will cross grasslands at night as she moves from one forest patch to the next. She is solitary and arboreal in nature, and can traverse the forest with speed. Her long tail aids in balance and her claws are short, curved and strong. She feeds on fruit and small vertebrates, and also has a taste for honey. Tayra are easily tamed and sometimes kept as household pets to help rid a house of vermin. She does, however, pose a threat to chickens.

#621: Quarry Worm Salamander

The Quarry Worm Salamander is one of 29 species in the Oedipina Genus. They are lungless, elongated amphibians who use their skin and the inside of the mouth to breathe. The Quarry Worm Salamander is found in a restricted range in montane and semi-montane rainforests of Costa Rica. He makes his home in moss mats on the banks of streams and is semi-aquatic. Sometimes he can be found in road cuts and quarries as well. He is under threat from habitat destruction and classified as Endangered.

Creature Feature #533: Olingo

The Olingo are found in Central and South America and bear a striking resemblance to their cousin, the kinkajou. There are four species, including the newly discovered Olinguito. She is arboreal, roaming the canopy at night in search of her favourite food: figs. Her diet consists almost exclusively of fruit, but during the dry season - when fruit becomes  scarce - she drinks nectar and will ocasionally hunt small mammals. She can be distringuished from the kinkajou by her tail, which is not prehensile but used for balance.

The Olinguito is remarkedly similar - which is why she evaded identification until recent years (finally being identified as a distinct species in 2013). One female even lived for a year in Washington's National Zoo, where she showed no interest what-so-ever in breeding with her Olingo cage-mates. She is smaller in size with thicker fur, smaller ears and a shorter tail.

Like their relatives, the kinkajou and the racoon, Olingo are taxonomically classified as Carnivora but follow a largely vegetarian diet.

Creature Feature #518: Nunbird

The Nunbirds - of which there are four species - are members of the Puffbird Family. They are found in the tropical and subtropical forests of Central and South America. This is a White-fronted Nunbird. He favours an insectivorous diet of beetles, crickets and stick insects, and is occasionally seen foraging with flocks of passerine birds.