Chile has a great variety of vertebrate and invertebrate animals, both marine and land. However, compared with other regions of the world our fauna doesn’t have a high numeric diversity.
Chile does have a high degree of endemism (that is, species that originate from and are exclusive of a determined geographic zone and that are not found in any other part of the world), making it an important contributor to biological diversity around the world.
Currently, in our country there are 783 species of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish, and an undetermined number of invertebrates (insects, arachnids and others).
The extension of Chilean territory and the climatic variety are two factors that determine the existence of a very diverse fauna. For example, animals can live in the mountain range, in the dryness of the desert, in the forests, in Patagonia, in Antarctica and on the coast. In this last zone there is a rich variety of species, including sea lions, Amazon river dolphins, otters and whales.
In this way, we can see that the north of the country has a climate that has desert characteristics or is arid, with scarce precipitation and with an annual temperature average of 20ºC.
In this zone there are two ecosystems that are highly differentiated: the Atacama desert (the driest in the world) and the high plains. In the first ecosystem, due to its aridity, the quantity and the variety of species that live in it are limited. In the high plains (more than 3,500 meters above sea level) the influence of the tropical Bolivian climate produces strong rains in summer, allowing the existence of numerous animal species. Among the characteristic mammals of the zone are the Puma or Cougar (Puma concolor) the Guanaco (Lama guanicoe) and the Vizcacha (Lagidium viscacia). In terms of birds, take for example that in the Lauca National Park (situated in the region of Arica and Partinacota), there live almost a third of all the existing bird species in Chile. Especially notable are the Andean flamingos.
In the following geographic zone, which extends from the Aconcagua valley (the Region of Valparaíso) to the south (the Region of Aysen), the dominate climate is Mediterranean, with the exception of the high peaks in the Andean mountain range, where the climate is colder. In general, the four seasons are very marked, with a dry and hot summer and a cold and rainy winter. However, precipitation increases considerably from the Region of la Araucania to the Taitao peninsula (Region of Aysen).
Schlerophyll forests extend from the Region of Valparaiso to the the Region of Maule. There live some mammal species such as the Coipo (Myocastor coypus) the Brush-tailed Rat (Octodon degus) and the Patagonian Fox (Pseudalopex culpaeus). There are also birds such as the Black-faced Ibis (Theristicus melanopsis), the Austral Thrush (Turdus falklandii magellanicus) and the Burrowing Parakeet (Cyanoliseus patagonus). To the south of the Biobio River, where Valdivian forest can be found, some characteristic animal species are the Helmeted Water Toad (Caudiverbera caudiverbera), the White-faced Ibis (Plegadis chihi), the Pudu (pudu pudu) and the Monito del Monte (Dromiciops gliroides).
In the extreme south of Chile, we find a steppe-cold climate characterized by low temperatures year round and rainfall generally in the form of snow, while in Antarctic Territory the polar climate predominates.
In the southern zone live Huemuel, Marine Otter (Lontra felina), Southern River Otter (Lontra provocax), Darwin’s Leaf-eared Mouse (Phyllotis darwini), Darwin’s Rhea (Rhea pennata pennata), and others.
Antarctic fauna is represented by the Southern Rockhopper Penguin (Eudyptes crestatus), King Penguin (Aptenodytes patagonica), Macaroni Penguin (Eudyptes chrysolophus), Gentoo Penguin (Pygoscelis papua), Emperor Penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) and Chinstrap Penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri). Other species also inhabit the zone, such as seals, elephant seals and sea lions.
