Animals of Central America
The narrow land bridge between the two American continents is mostly rainforest, and it shows: sloths, howler and spider monkeys, toucans, poison dart frogs, jaguars and tapirs.
Many of these also live further south, so most of them turn up on the South America list too.
38 animals, A to Z.
- AgoutiCentral America, northern and central South America and the southern Lesser Antilles; introduced elsewhere in the Caribbean and to Benin in West Africa.
- AnteaterCentral and South America.
- Basilisk lizardSouthern Mexico to Ecuador and Venezuela; the brown basilisk has been introduced to Florida.
- BassNative to the eastern and central US, south-eastern Canada and northern Mexico. Introduced widely, including Japan, Namibia, Cuba, Guatemala and the Iberian Peninsula.
- Black pantherMostly tropical forests: black leopards in Africa and Asia, black jaguars in Central and South America.
- Boa constrictorTropical South America.
- BullfrogNative to eastern North America; introduced to the western US, Mexico, the Caribbean, South America, Europe and Asia.
- CaecilianWet tropics of South and Central America, East and West Africa, India, Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia.
- CaimanCentral and South America; the spectacled caiman has been introduced to Florida, Cuba and Puerto Rico.
- Capuchin monkeyTropical forests of Central America and South America as far south as northern Argentina; Brazil has the most.
- CoatiSouth America, Central America, Mexico and the southwestern United States.
- CoyoteNorth America, south into Central America as far as Panama.
- CrocodileTropical rivers, lakes and swamps, and for the saltwater crocodile the coast, in Africa, Asia, Australia and the Americas. Unlike alligators, all crocodiles are sensitive to cold.
- GopherNorth and Central America, from Canada through the US and Mexico to Panama and Colombia.
- Howler monkeyForests of Central and South America.
- HummingbirdThe Americas, from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego.
- IguanaTropical Mexico, Central America, South America and the Caribbean; introduced to Florida, Hawaii and parts of Asia.
- JaguarFrom Mexico through Central America to northern Argentina, with strongholds in the Amazon basin and the Pantanal wetlands.
- KinkajouTropical rainforests of Mexico, Central America and South America.
- MacawMexico, Central America and South America; formerly the Caribbean.
- MonkeyCentral and South America (New World monkeys), and Africa and Asia (Old World monkeys). Most live in trees; some, like baboons, live on the ground.
- OcelotFrom the southwestern United States (Texas and Arizona) through Mexico and Central America to northern Argentina.
- OpossumThe Americas, from Canada to South America.
- Poison dart frogTropical Central and South America, from Nicaragua to Bolivia and Brazil; introduced to Hawaii.
- RattlesnakeThe Americas, from southern Canada to central Argentina.
- SalamanderMostly the Northern Hemisphere, richest in eastern North America; some in Central and South America.
- ScorpionEvery continent except Antarctica.
- SkunkThe Americas: striped skunks across North America, spotted skunks south to Costa Rica, and hog-nosed skunks in North and South America.
- SlothTropical rainforests of Central and South America.
- Spider monkeyTropical forests from southern Mexico to Brazil.
- Squirrel monkeyTropical forests of the Amazon, with one species in Costa Rica and Panama.
- TamarinFrom southern Central America to central South America: northwestern Colombia, the Amazon basin and the Guianas.
- TapirCentral and South America, and Southeast Asia.
- ToucanCentral and South America.
- Vampire batCentral and South America.
- ViperThe Americas, Africa, Europe and Asia. The adder ranges from Britain across Eurasia to the Pacific, north of the Arctic Circle.
- VultureOld World vultures: Europe, Africa and Asia. New World vultures and condors: North and South America.
- WrenThe Americas, plus the Eurasian wren across Europe, Asia and North Africa.
How each answer is decided: How we answer. Every animal, in one list: All animals.