The fauna of Puerto Rico is similar to other island archipelago
faunas, exhibiting high levels of endemism and low, skewed taxonomic
diversity. Bats are the only extant native terrestrial mammals in
Puerto Rico. Other terrestrial mammals are introduced species such as
cats, goats, sheep, the Indian Mongoose, and escaped monkeys. Marine
mammals include dolphins, manatees and whales. Of the 349 bird
species, about 120 breed in the archipelago and 47.5% are accidental
or rare. The most recognizable and famous animal of Puerto Rico is
probably the coquí, a small endemic frog and one of the 85 species
that comprise Puerto Rico's herpetofauna. No native freshwater fish
occur in Puerto Rico, but some species, introduced by humans, have
established populations in reservoirs and rivers. The low
richness-high diversity pattern is also apparent among invertebrates,
which constitute most of the archipelago's fauna. The arrival of
indigenous people about 4,000 years ago and, to a larger extent, of
Europeans more than 500 years ago had a significant impact on Puerto
Rico's fauna. Hunting, habitat destruction, and the introduction of
non-native species led to extinctions and extirpations. Conservation
efforts, the most notable for the Puerto Rican Parrot, began in the
second half of the 20th century.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fauna_of_Puerto_Rico
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1475:
In the Battle of Vaslui, Stephen the Great and his Moldavian forces
successfully repelled an Ottoman attack led by Hadân Suleiman Pasha,
the Beylerbeyi of Rumelia.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Vaslui)
1810:
Napoleon, childless after 14 years of marriage, divorced his first
wife Empress Joséphine.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joséphine_de_Beauharnais)
1776:
Thomas Paine published Common Sense, which galvanized the American
Revolution among the populace.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Sense_(pamphlet))
1927:
The film Metropolis was released. It was the most expensive silent
film of the time, costing approximately 7 million Reichsmark to make.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolis_(film))
1946:
The first General Assembly of the United Nations opened in London's
Westminster Central Hall. Fifty-one member states were represented.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_General_Assembly)
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Wikiquote of the day:
Science and mathematics
Run parallel to reality, they symbolize it, they squint at it,
They never touch it: consider what an explosion
Would rock the bones of men into little white fragments and unsky the\
world
If any mind for a moment touch truth. -- Robinson Jeffers
(
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robinson_Jeffers)