Page Three

George And Audrey DeLange

This page will feature some of the plant and animal life that we viewed on our tour. The climate conditions in the region are warm and humid, with mean an annual precipitation of 2000mm. The rainy season lasts from May to December and it usually rains for approximately 150 days of the year. During the rainy season the winds are from the north, north-east, south and south-east, and blow in a north to south direction during the dry season. The mean annual temperature is 24° c. Tikal protects some 22,100 ha of rain forest. The rich vegetation includes; species of savanna such as nance Byrsonima crassifolia; high altitude forest with chicle Manilkara zapota, 'ramon' or bread-nut tree Brosimum alicastrum, West Indian mahogany Swietenia macrophylla, cedar Cedrela odorata, palma de botan (palm) Sabal morrisiana and palma de escobo Chrysophyllum argentearum, 'tinto' lowland forest with Hematoxylum campechianum; wetlands with tule Typha sp. around water bodies. Other common tree species include cedar Cedrela angustifolia, Vitex guameri, Aspidosperma megalocarpon, Guarea exelsa, Calophyllum brasiliense, the palm Sabal mayarum, Bursera simaruba, Protium copal and Acacia farnesiana. The botanist L. Lundell identified over 2,000 plant species in the park area. According to Lehnhoff Temme, local people use forests species such as chicle Marilkara achrag, pepper Pimenta dioica, cedar, mahogany Swietenia humilis and 'ramon' Brosimum alicastrum and the use of leaves and flowers from Chamaedorea and Araceae spp. are used for ornamental purposes. Fifty-four species of mammal occur, including mantled howler monkey Alouatta palliata nigra, spider monkey Ateles geoffroy, giant anteater Myrmecophaga tridactyla, lesser anteater Tamandua tetradactyla, dwarf anteater Cyclopes didactylus, three-toed sloth Bradypus tridactylus, nine-banded armadillo Dasypus novemcinctus, squirrel Sciurus yucatanensis, pocket gopher Heterogeomys hispidus, raccoon Procyon sp., brown coati Nasua narica, kinkajou Potos flavus, tayra Eira barbara, paca Agouti paca, long-tailed weasel Mustela frenata, hooded skunk Mephitis macroura, otter Lutra annectens, puma Felis concolor, margay F. wiedii, ocelot F. pardalis, jaguarundi F. yaguarundi, jaguar Panthera onca, Baird's tapir Tapirus bairdii which is limited by water availability, collared and white-lipped peccaries Tayassu tajacu and T. albirostris, white-tailed deer Odocoileus virginianus and red brocket deer Mazama americana sarterii. There are about 333 species of birds, representing 63 of the 74 families in Guatemala, and includes ocellated turkey Agriocharis ocellata, Sarcorhamphus papa, Crax rubra, Penelope purpurascens, red macaw Ara macao, jaribu stork Jaribu mycteria and many others, including crested eagle Spizaetus ornatus. Reptiles and amphibians include Morelet's crocodile Crocodylus moreletii, the central American river turtle Dermatemys mawii, Claudius angustatus, nine families of amphibian and six genera of turtles, as well as 38 species of non-poisonous and poisonous snakes including coral snake Micrurus diastema sapperi, four species of Bothrops and two sub-species of rattlesnake Crotalus. Fishes include Petenia splendida, the cichlids Cichlasoma melanorum, C. bifasciatum, C. heterospilum, C. lentiginosum, C. margaritiferum, C. champotonis, C. affine, C. hyorhynchum and C. pasionis. A rich invertebrate fauna, especially arthropods, also occurs.