Suriname

América del Sur

233

Documented species

Parks and reserves

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Suriname is the country with the highest proportion of forest cover in the world: around ninety per cent of its territory is still covered by tropical rainforest, largely because almost all its population is concentrated in a narrow coastal strip. The interior, on the Guiana Shield, consists of continuous rainforest, granite inselbergs that rise from the canopy like bare domes, and rivers with rapids. The Central Suriname Nature Reserve protects an enormous block of forest virtually free of human alteration and is a World Heritage Site. On the coast, the mangroves and beaches of Galibi receive one of the greatest concentrations of leatherback turtle nesting in the western Atlantic, and the coastal plains host scarlet ibises and migratory waders.

The nature of Suriname

National animal: No official national animal

Did you know?

The Surinam toad has one of the strangest reproductive strategies in the animal kingdom: after mating, the eggs stay stuck to the female's back and the skin grows around them until they are enclosed in small individual chambers. There they develop for months, with no free-swimming tadpole stage, until one day the mother's back opens and dozens of fully formed little toads emerge.

Biodiversity profile

Escudo Guayanes (Guayanas)Dato no disponible con precision en fuentes verificadas consultadas

Climate

•Ecuatorial humedo (Af), temperatura media anual costera entre 26 y 28°C

Main biomes

•Llanura costera joven (manglares, playas de arena, lagunas)
•Llanura costera antigua
•Cinturon de sabana (Zanderij)
•Tierras altas residuales del interior (selva tropical densa, muy poco perturbada por la baja densidad poblacional del pais, 2,7 hab/km2)
•Selva tropical del Escudo Guayanés
•Inselberg de granito
•Manglar costero
•Sabana de arena blanca
•Río de rápidos
•Playa de puesta de tortugas
•Bosque pantanoso

Marine and coastal ecosystems

•Costa con manglares, bancos de lodo y playas de arena
•Corriente de Guyana (rama de la Corriente Norbrasileña) a lo largo de la costa

Flagship wildlife

•Oso hormiguero gigante
•Saki de cara blanca
•Jaguar
•Delfin de rio
•Tapir
•Aguila harpia
•Rana de Surinam
•Tortuga laúd
•Ibis escarlata
•Nutria gigante
•Delfín rosado del Amazonas
•Mono aullador rojo
•Águila arpía
•Perezoso de tres dedos
•Caimán negro

Notable endemic species

•Saki de cara blanca (endemico de las Guayanas)
•Carpinterito guayanes, probablemente endemico de Surinam (no confirmado para paises vecinos)
•Montañas Bakhuys y Van Asch Van Wijck (parte del Escudo Guayanes) con endemismo notable

Notable threatened species

•Dato no disponible con precision agregada en fuentes verificadas consultadas para el conjunto del pais

Notable protected areas

•Reserva Natural Central de Surinam (Patrimonio Mundial UNESCO, selva casi virgen)
•Reserva Natural de Surinam Central
•Reserva de Galibi
•Reserva Natural de Brownsberg
•Reserva de Coppename
•Inselberg de Voltzberg
•Reserva de Wia Wia

Main conservation threats

•Mineria de oro en el interior selvatico
•Tala selectiva
•La baja densidad poblacional del pais ha mantenido la mayoria de sus bosques sin perturbar hasta la fecha, situacion que podria cambiar con la presion extractiva

Notable natural phenomena

•El Escudo Guayanes, del que Surinam forma parte, es una de las regiones de mayor biodiversidad y endemismo del planeta

Conservation

Galibi is one of the most important sites in the Atlantic for the leatherback turtle, and its protection is carried out together with the Kalinya communities. Scientific expeditions of recent decades have described dozens of new species in the interior, a sign of how little explored it still is.

Where and when to watch wildlife

Galibi between February and August for turtle nesting. Brownsberg year-round for primates and birds. The Coppename in the dry season for scarlet ibises and waders.

Sources: Wikipedia - Biodiversity of Suriname

Savanna Rainforest Ocean