Country · CR

Animals in Costa Rica

19 animal species on file have openly licensed sighting records from Costa Rica, 6 of them threatened. Records include captive animals and introduced populations.

Tick-off checklist What did I see in Costa Rica?

Species recorded: 19
Threatened: 6
Groups represented: 8
Sighting records: 103,689

None on record
1–7
8–12
13–17
18+

species per country · small islands are not drawn at this scale

Which well-known animals are recorded in Costa Rica?

The most looked-up species with records here.

What kinds of animals are recorded in Costa Rica?

Mammals
grey wolf, jaguar, blue whale, common bottlenose dolphin …
5 species
Birds
mallard, peregrine falcon, western barn owl, scarlet macaw
4 species
Reptiles
green turtle
1 species
Amphibians
dyeing dart frog
1 species
Fish
great white shark, ocean sunfish, whale shark, giant oceanic manta ray
4 species
Insects
honey bee, monarch butterfly
2 species
Arachnids
black widow spider
1 species
Other invertebrates
staghorn coral
1 species

Which threatened animals are recorded in Costa Rica?

Species listed as Vulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. The category is global, not specific to Costa Rica.

Common name	Scientific name	Family	Status	Records here
Blue whale	Balaenoptera musculus	Balaenopteridae	Endangered	1
Great white shark	Carcharodon carcharias	Lamnidae	Vulnerable	1
Ocean sunfish	Mola mola	Molidae	Vulnerable	1
Whale shark	Rhincodon typus	Rhincodontidae	Endangered	155
Giant oceanic manta ray	Mobula birostris	Myliobatidae	Endangered	27
Staghorn coral	Acropora cervicornis	Acroporidae	Critically Endangered	74

All animals recorded in Costa Rica

Open this list in the browser to filter and sort it

Common name	Scientific name	Family	Status	Records here
Mallard	Anas platyrhynchos	Anatidae	Least Concern	108
Grey wolf	Canis lupus	Canidae	Least Concern	23
Peregrine falcon	Falco peregrinus	Falconidae	Least Concern	9,021
Jaguar	Panthera onca	Felidae	Near Threatened	5,970
Western barn owl	Tyto alba	Tytonidae	Least Concern	18
Honey bee	Apis mellifera	Apidae	Data Deficient	4,046
Blue whale	Balaenoptera musculus	Balaenopteridae	Endangered	1
Great white shark	Carcharodon carcharias	Lamnidae	Vulnerable	1
Green turtle	Chelonia mydas	Cheloniidae	Least Concern	703
Monarch butterfly	Danaus plexippus	Nymphalidae	Least Concern	415
Common bottlenose dolphin	Tursiops truncatus	Delphinidae	Least Concern	91
Ocean sunfish	Mola mola	Molidae	Vulnerable	1
Whale shark	Rhincodon typus	Rhincodontidae	Endangered	155
Scarlet macaw	Ara macao	Psittacidae	Least Concern	82,565
Common vampire bat	Desmodus rotundus	Phyllostomidae	Least Concern	464
Black widow spider	Latrodectus mactans	Theridiidae	Not recorded	2
Giant oceanic manta ray	Mobula birostris	Myliobatidae	Endangered	27
Dyeing dart frog	Dendrobates tinctorius	Dendrobatidae	Least Concern	4
Staghorn coral	Acropora cervicornis	Acroporidae	Critically Endangered	74

Method: a species is listed if GBIF holds at least one CC0 or CC BY occurrence record for it in Costa Rica. Zoo animals, escapes and introduced populations are included, and native species nobody has recorded are missing. See the methodology.