The Amazing Fauna Of Mexico Part 13

Think you've seen awesome animals at home? Unless
you live in a jungle yourself, your local fauna
is unlikely to hold a candle to the immense
variety of life in Mexico. Here's just a small
example of what's been found in the megadiverse
country.

Great Curassow

The Great Curassow weighs in at 7-11 pounds, and
measures between 31 and 39 inches; it's a large
bird, especially for one that's part of the
pheasant family. Males have white bellies and
sport a bright yellow knob on their bills, while
the rest of their bodies are almost entirely
black. Females have more variety; while most of
them have reddish-brown bodily plumage, their
tails and wings will vary in patterning and
color. The Great Curassow is monogamous and
mates for life; figs, fruits, and arthropods,
are something that they forage for together.
They inhabit the rainforest of Eastern Mexico
and can also be seen throughout Central America
and intro Columbia and Ecuador. Among the few
members of the Curassow family indigenous to
Mexico, these are the only members.

Roseate Spoonbill

You're used to pink flamingos; they're pretty
common. But the Roseate Spoonbill looks like a
weird hybrid of flamingo and heron! This wading
bird is a member of the ibis family, and breeds
in the coastal regions of Mexico. It's usually
about three feet long, weighs up to four pounds,
and has a 47-52 inch wingspan. Its beak can be up
to seven inches long, and widens out at the tip
to form a spoon-like shape--hence the
'spoonbill' name. The Roseate Spoonbill has
impressive pink plumage, which is derived from
its diet; it consumes crustaceans, insects,
newts, frogs, and small fish. Roseate Spoonbills
feed in shallow waters by swinging their bills
from side to side, as their unique bills sift
out the mud and sand and leave prey behind. The
birds nest in mangroves or shrubs, laying
between 2 and 5 eggs each year.

Brant Goose

The Brant is a small goose, measuring between 22
and 26 inches long with a 4-foot wingspan. It
weighs less than five pounds, and has dark black
or gray-brown plumage all over its body (except
for its white under-tail. The brant goose is
also known for its stubby beak. There are
subspecies in the Americas and Europe; brants
typically feed on eel-grass, seaweed, and sea
lettuce. While it used to be a strictly coastal
bird in the winter, brants have come inland
during the last few decades, possibly learning
the behavior from other geese. In Mexico,
they're often seen in the Sea of Cortez, which
separates Baja California from the rest of the
country.

Lollipop Catshark

This small bottom-dwelling shark is the only
member of its genus, and rarely seen; it
inhabits the Gulf of California, also known as
the Sea of Cortes, around the outer continental
shelf deep in the ocean. A narrow body and a
large, rounded head, are typical of the shark -
with similar characteristics of a tadpole's
body. The body of a Lollipop Catshark is
extremely soft and gelatinous; it is gray-brown
in color and has a fine skin that is covered in
small sharpish denticles. It has five pairs of
gill slits, and its gills are quite
large--likely to adapt to the lower oxygen
levels in the deep ocean. The Lollipop Catshark
feeds on fishes and small crustaceans. The very
best specimens available to scientists have been
found in fishing nets; these creatures are rarely
seen in the wild because they live so far below
the water surface.


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