Red Eyed Fern (RedEyedFern) Picture of the day: unusually blue animals. Electric blue gecko from Tanzania. Photos by Rhett Butler. Following up on yesterday's post on the spectacular blue anole from the Colombian island of Gorgona, here is a small collection of pure blue animals I've photographed. Birds and fish are excluded from the list since there are many blue species. First up: the electric blue gecko from Tanzania. Also known as Williams blue day gecko, Lygodactylus williamsi is increasingly popular in the pet trade, putting it as greater risk of over collection. Dendrobates azureus from Suriname. Another unusually blue herp is Dendrobates azureus is a type of poison dart frog in the rainforests of Suriname, a country located in the northeastern part of South America.
Blueberry poison dart frog. Another blue frog is the the "blueberry" color form of Dendrobates pumilio, better known as the blue-jeans poison dart frog of Panama and Costa Rica. Eupholus schoenherri weevil in West Papua, Indonesian New Guinea Blue morpho butterfly. Blue morpho butterfly. Contact Mongabay.com. To help us better serve you, please select your reason for contacting mongabay. GeneralGeneral commentsSubmissionsMedia InquiriesMedia / journalist inquiryContentAbout mongabayHelp mongabayRequestsAdvertising / partnerships Other informationCopyright & UseMission of the SiteFAQs/Interview with RhettSite CredibilityAdvertising on Mongabay. Rainforest Information for Kids.
Colombia: Environmental Profile. Despite its relatively small size, Colombia is the second most biologically diverse country on Earth, home to about 10 percent of the world's species. This biodiversity results from Colombia's varied ecosystems—from the rich tropical rainforest to the coastal cloud forests to the open savannas. More than 1,821 species of birds, 623 species of amphibians, 467 species of mammals, 518 species of reptiles, and 3,200 species of fish reside in Colombia.
About 18 percent of these are endemic to the country. Colombia has a mind-boggling 51,220 species of plants, of which nearly 30 percent are endemic. While on paper nearly 10 percent of Colombia is under some form of protection, its rich biodiversity is increasingly threatened. Each year Colombia loses nearly 200,000 hectares of natural forest, according to figures released by the United Nations in 2003—though the true figure may be higher since an estimated 100,000 hectares of native forest are illegally cleared every year.
The coca trade. BBC - Wild South America