Costa Rica: Fauna

Total Number of Known Living Species: Over 500,000 Flora and Fauna

(Numbers are approximate due to various reporting methods by varied qualified organizations.)

• Fauna: ~400,034 identified species – about 4.5% of the world’s ~8.7 million estimated animal species.
  (About an additional 80,000 species remain unclassified, per scientists’ estimates.)
  • ~300,000 insect species
  • ~1,800 arachnid species
  • ~96,000 marine/salt water and freshwater fish species (95,000* marine species)
    (* Special statistic from Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad via The Costa Rica News)
  • 894 bird species (including migratory birds)
  • 500 mollusk species
  • 280 reptile species (85% are frogs)
  • 250 mammal species
  • 200 amphibian species
  • 110 crustacean species
  • About 3,540 fauna wildlife are threatened or endangered. (IUCN)