The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone.
Characiformes is an order of ray-finned fish, comprising the characins and their allies. Grouped in 18 recognized families, more than 2000 different species are described, including the well-known piranha and tetras.
The tanagers comprise the bird family Thraupidae, in the order Passeriformes. The family has a Neotropical distribution. The Thraupidae are the second-largest family of birds and represent about 4% of all avian species and 12% of the Neotropical birds.
The Nymphalidae are the largest family of butterflies, with more than 6,000 species distributed throughout most of the world. Belonging to the superfamily Papilionoidea, they are usually medium-sized to large butterflies. Most species have a reduced pair of forelegs and many hold their colourful wings flat when resting. They are also called brush-footed butterflies or four-footed butterflies, because they are known to stand on only four legs while the other two are curled up; in some species, these forelegs have a brush-like set of hairs, which gives this family its other common name. Many species are brightly coloured and include popular species such as the emperors, monarch butterfly, admirals, tortoiseshells, and fritillaries. However, the under wings are, in contrast, often dull and in some species look remarkably like dead leaves, or are much paler, producing a cryptic effect that helps the butterflies blend into their surroundings.
Callichthyidae is a family of catfishes, called armored catfishes due to the two rows of bony plates along the lengths of their bodies. It contains some of the most popular freshwater aquarium fish, such as many species in the genus Corydoras.
Sicariidae is a family of six-eyed venomous spiders known for their potentially necrotic bites. The family consists of three genera and about 160 species. Well known spiders in this family include the brown recluse spider and the six-eyed sand spider.
The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about 6,300,000 km2 (2,400,000 sq mi), or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana (France), Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.
The neotropic cormorant or olivaceous cormorant is a medium-sized cormorant found throughout the American tropics and subtropics, from the middle Rio Grande and the Gulf and Californian coasts of the United States south through Mexico and Central America to southern South America, where it is called by the Indian name of biguá. It also breeds on the Bahamas, Cuba and Trinidad. It can be found both at coasts and on inland waters. There are at least two subspecies: N. b. mexicanum from Nicaragua northwards and N. b. brasilianum further south. In Peru the neotropic cormorant is used by the Uru people for fishing.
The genus Sciurus contains most of the common, bushy-tailed squirrels in North America, Europe, temperate Asia, Central America and South America.
Trichomycteridae is a family of catfishes commonly known as pencil catfishes or parasitic catfishes. This family includes the candiru fish, feared by some people for its alleged habit of entering into the urethra of humans. They are one of the few parasitic chordates. Another species is the life monsefuano which was important to the Moche culture and still an important part of Peruvian cuisine.
River stingrays or freshwater stingrays are Neotropical freshwater fishes of the family Potamotrygonidae in the order Myliobatiformes, one of the four orders of batoids, cartilaginous fishes related to sharks. They are found in rivers in tropical and subtropical South America. A single marine genus, Styracura, of the tropical West Atlantic and East Pacific are also part of Potamotrygonidae. They are generally brownish, greyish or black, often with a mottled, speckled or spotted pattern, have disc widths ranging from 31 to 200 centimetres (1.0–6.6 ft) and venomous tail stingers. River stingrays feed on a wide range of smaller animals and the females give birth to live young. There are more than 35 species in five genera.
The neotropical otter or neotropical river otter is an otter species found in Middle America, South America, and the island of Trinidad. It is physically similar to the northern and southern river otter, which occur directly north and south of this species' range. The length of the neotropical otter can range from 36–66 centimetres (14–26 in), plus a tail of 37–84 centimetres (15–33 in). Body weight ranges from 5–15 kilograms (11–33 lb). Otters are members of the family Mustelidae, the most species-rich family in the order Carnivora.
Schefflera is a genus of flowering plants in the family Araliaceae. With an estimated 600–900 species, the genus represents about half of its family. The plants are trees, shrubs or lianas, growing 4–20 metres (13–66 ft) tall, with woody stems, the absence of articulated pedicels and armaments, and palmately compound leaves.
Sloths are a group of arboreal Neotropical xenarthran mammals, constituting the suborder Folivora. Noted for their slowness of movement, they spend most of their lives hanging upside down in the trees of the tropical rainforests of South America and Central America. They are considered to be most closely related to anteaters, together making up the xenarthran order Pilosa.
The neotropical parrots or New World parrots comprise about 150 species in 32 genera found throughout South and Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean islands. They are also present on a few Pacific islands such as the Galápagos. Among them are some of the most familiar and iconic parrots, including the blue and gold macaw, sun conure, and yellow-headed amazon.
The Pergidae are a moderate-sized family of sawflies occurring in the Western Hemisphere and the Australasian Region. The Pergidae are, with almost 450 described species, the third-largest family of Symphyta after the Tenthredinidae and the Argidae. Morphologically, most pergids are typically sawfly-like, but the form of the antennae varies considerably in number of segments and from simple to serrate and pectinate or even bipectinate. Sexual dimorphism is common and reflected in differences in type of antennae, colour, and size. Included are some of the few known apterous sawflies, those of the genus Cladomacra occurring in Papua New Guinea and Indonesia, and a species with brachypterous females, Clarissa tasbates, in Tasmania.
Toucans are members of the Neotropical near passerine bird family Ramphastidae. The Ramphastidae are most closely related to the American barbets. They are brightly marked and have large, often colorful bills. The family includes five genera and over forty different species.
The Solanaceae, or nightshades, are a family of flowering plants that ranges from annual and perennial herbs to vines, lianas, epiphytes, shrubs, and trees, and includes a number of agricultural crops, medicinal plants, spices, weeds, and ornamentals. Many members of the family contain potent alkaloids, and some are highly toxic, but many—including tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, bell and chili peppers—are used as food. The family belongs to the order Solanales, in the asterid group and class Magnoliopsida (dicotyledons). The Solanaceae consists of about 98 genera and some 2,700 species, with a great diversity of habitats, morphology and ecology.
Catenulidae is a family of freshwater catenulid flatworms.
Pelodryadidae, also known as Australian treefrogs are a family of frogs found in the region of Australia and New Guinea, and have also been introduced to New Caledonia, Guam, New Zealand, and Vanuatu. Some authorities group them within the Hylidae as family Pelodryadinae.
