Smilodon Populator - Argentina

The South American pampa stretches from the Andean foothills to the Atlantic coast. Once an ancient seabed, it is about 750,000 square kilometers in size. The western pampa is covered in shingle and sand, and the eastern half, by deposits of estuary silt washed down from the highlands during periods of massive floods.

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Smilodon populator - Having evolved in North America, Smilodon populator migrated to South America during the late Pleistocene epoch. This was the largest cat of the sabertooth species and weighed an average of 250 kilos, making it one of the largest felids; the tiger, at 300 kilos, currently ranks as the biggest cat. High shoulders and a sloped back gave it the appearance of a modern hyena. These cats became extinct about 10,000 years ago, a time period coinciding with the decline of the large herbivores throughout the Americas.

Cockspur Coral Tree - Argentina

Erythrina crista-galli - The cockspur coral tree is native to Argentina, Southern Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay, but can be found world wide. Its bright red flowers make it a desirable ornamental plant. The cockspur is known as “ceibo” in Spanish and “corticeira” in Portuguese. The tree is small, growing 5 to 8 meters in height and having a gnarled trunk with a diameter of 50 centimeters. In natural settings, it is often found along the banks of rivers and streams. The seeds are poisonous if ingested.

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Argentina, being a large country, had many indigenous people prior to the arrival of Europeans. The Diaguita, Guaraní, Kolla, Mapuche, Mocoví, Toba, and Wichí peoples are the more well-known of a list recognizing 35 individual groups. These groups consisted of basic and advanced hunter-gathers, successful farmers leading sedentary lives, or those flourishing by establishing thriving trading centers. Currently, only 1.5% of Argentina’s population ascribes themselves as Native American.

Llama - Bolivia

At 3,810 meters above sea level, Lake Titicaca is the world’s highest navigable lake. Venezuela’s Lake Maracaibo is the largest lake in South America, but Lake Titicaca, with a surface area of 8,300 square kilometers ranks as the second largest lake. More than 25 rivers and streams feed the cold waters of Lake Titicaca.

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Lama glama - The llama, pronounced "yama," the alpaca, the vicuña, and the guañaco are members of the camel family. The llama's agility and coarse coat make it well suited for the mountains of South America. Llamas have been used as a pack animal in South America since pre-Columbian times. Llamas originated in North America and migrated into South America three million years ago. The Camelidae family became extinct throughout North America during the last ice age, approximately 11,000 years ago.

Daceton Armigerum - Bolivia

Daceton armigerum - Daceton armigerum is a widely distributed arboreal ant species endemic to South America. The colonies are polygynic, containing multiple queens and are polydomous, consisting of several nests within one colony. An average colony contains as many as one million individuals. Bore holes created by beetles or other insects along the trunk or branches of a tree become ideal nesting sites. Forging for food is usually limited to capturing insects venturing onto the host tree.

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The Aymara people had established Tiwanaku, a thriving civilization centered in the area of Lake Titicaca; the Spanish called it Tiahuanaco. This state flourished for 500 years and extended its influence into Southern Peru, Northern Chile, and Argentina. Tiwanaku grew into a powerful state through the use of diplomatic and trade agreements as opposed to brute force. Tiwanaku was replaced as a regional power beginning in 1438, through the rapid ascent of the Kingdom of Cusco; the Incas.

Red-eye Piranha - Brazil

The Amazon River is fed by the largest drainage basin in the world, over 7 million square kilometers. The discharge rate averages over 200,000 cubic meters per second. The volume of the discharge alters the salt content and color of the Atlantic Ocean for a distance of 320 kilometers from the mouth of the Amazon River.

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Serrasalmus rhombeus - Of the several species of piranha, or caribe as they are known in Venezuela, only four are considered dangerous. The carnivorous species have wedge shaped teeth to allow them to cut flesh from their prey, consisting primarily of smaller fish. The red-eye piranha ranges in length from 25 to 41 centimeters and is found throughout Amazonia. Although there have been incidents of piranha attacking people, reports of frenzied attacks on humans, cattle or small mammals are widely exaggerated..

Christmas Cactus - Brazil

Schlumbergera truncata - When cultivated as a house plant, it is referred to as a “Christmas cactus.” Schlumbergera consists of six species of plants endemic to Southeastern Brazil. These plants are leafless; the green stems serve as the source of the photosynthesis process. Schlumbergeras are either epiphytic, living with a tree in a nonparasitic relationship or epilithic, living in a rocky crevice. In both cases it derives its nutrients from the air or decaying matter falling within its space.

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The Treaty of Tordesillas was signed in June of 1494 and divided the newly discovered lands of the Americas between Portugal and Spain. The dividing line fell 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands. This was the halfway point between the Cape Verde Islands, already belonged to Portugal, and the territory Cristóbal Colón had claimed for Spain on his first voyage. The dividing line was not clearly defined nor strictly enforced; the current border of Brazil exceeds the limits of the treaty considerably.

Andean Condor - Chile

The Atacama Desert is a coastal desert covering almost 140,000 square kilometers of territory in Northern Chile. Located between two rain shadows makes the Atacama the driest desert in the world. Some municipalities, such as Iquique and Antofagasta, have reported rain, on average, only three times per century.

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Vultur gryhus - From the humid slopes of Central Columbia to the frigid waters of Chile’s Tierra Del Fuego, the Andean condor reigns supreme over the mountains of South America. The immense wing span of 3 meters helps the condor to soar effortlessly over a wide territory in search of food. The sexual dimorphism between male and female is noticeable; males are larger and sport combs and wattles, features missing in the females. Andean condors are monogamous and mate for life. The average life span is estimated to reach 50 years.

Monkey Puzzle Tree - Chile

Araucaria araucana - The monkey puzzle tree is native to the Andes Mountains of Central Chile and Argentina. It is distributed along the lower slopes of the Central Andes and is one of the hardier conifer trees. The trunk has a diameter of 2 meters and reaches heights of 40 meters. There are about twenty pine trees producing seeds large enough to warrant harvesting, the monkey puzzle being one. The indigenous Pehuenche people used these seeds as an important food source.

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Monte Verde is an archaeological site in Southern Chile. It has provided evidence of human arrival in the Americas much sooner than earlier calculations. The Clovis First Theory, named after a site in New Mexico, had placed the arrival of the first humans into the Americas, via the Bering Strait land bridge, at about 13,000 years ago. Artifacts from the Monte Verde site have been carbon dated to 14,000 years ago. This refreshes the debate of when and how the first humans arrived in the Americas.

Easter Island Moai - Easter Island

Jacob Roggeveen, sailing for the Dutch West India Company, set out on a voyage to find Terra Australis in August 1721. On April 5th, 1722, he made landfall on an isolated Pacific island populated by about 2,000 inhabitants of Polynesian descent. In honor of the day, Roggeveen named the island “Paasch-Eyland,” Easter Island.

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The Rapa Nui people on Isla de Pascua carved hundreds of human shaped monoliths and placed them, facing inland, along the island’s perimeter. With some exceptions, the moai were carved from tuff, a type of soft malleable rock created from compressed volcanic ash. Most of the moai were never completed and still lie unfinished on the slopes of Rano Raraku, an extinct volcano. The statues feature the complete human form, but the emphasis is directed onto the head; the ratio between head and torso is three to five.

Juan Fernández Firecrown - Juan Fernández Archipelago

Robinson Crusoe, Alejandro Selkirk, and Santa Clara Islands lie 670 kilometers off the Chilean coast and make up the archipelago of Juan Fernández. They were discovered by Juan Fernández, a Spanish explorer, in 1574. Pirates, taking advantage of the isolated location, used the islands as a refuge in the 16th and 17th century.

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Sephanoides fernandensis - The difference between the male and female Juan Fernández firecrown once had scientists thinking they were separate species. Female hummingbirds usually lack the colorful plumage found in males, but the coloration of a female firecrown is more prominent than the male’s. The male has an orange body, dark grey wings, and a small iridescent yellow crown. The female has a blueish-green upper body, a greyish-white lower body speckled with green and black, and a large iridescent crown of blue feathers.

Harlequin Poison Arrow Frog - Colombia

The Chibcha people of the Central Colombian Andeans built their civilization in the high valleys of Bolivia and Colombia. Their culture, in terms of achievements, stood equal with the Aztec, Inca, and Maya. The Chibcha coronation ceremony on Lake Siecha was performed with enough splendor to create the legend of El Dorado.

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Oophaga histrionica - The harlequin poison arrow frog is a small animal measuring 2.5 to 3.8 centimeters in length. It is primarily found along the leaf litter of the tropical rainforests of Western Ecuador and Southern Colombia. The colors tones vary slightly, with each valley having its own specific design, but the colors yellow, orange, red, white, and blue are seen most often. These colors, usually bright, are used as a signal to ward off any potential predators. The skin glands of the poison arrow frog produces a highly toxic substance.

King Vulture - Colombia

Sarcoramphus papa - The king vulture is a large bird with a wing span reaching 2 meters. It is the only large vulture hunting primarily over the jungles of Central and South America. It can locate carrion hidden beneath the forest canopy with its keen sense of smell. This has allowed it to fill a niche unavailable to most other vultures having to rely on sight to find food. The king vulture also has the most powerful beak of New World vultures and can easily rip open the carcass of any animal. 

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The Viceroyalty of New Granada was created in 1717 as a district within the Spanish possessions in the New World. The area included the northern tip of South America; from Panama to Northern Peru. When Spanish authority in the Americas was hampered by Napoleon’s invasion and conquest of Spain, New Granada used the opportunity to declare itself independent from Spain, referring to itself as Gran Colombia. The federation was formed in 1819 and was formally abolished in 1830.

Bufft-tailed Sicklebill Hummingbird - Ecuador

Ecuador is named for its location on the equator, an imaginary line separating the northern and southern hemispheres of the earth. Ecuador is the only country where temperature and latitude can reach zero. Cayambe, a volcano of 5,790 meters, is a mountain located on the equator featuring a permanent snow cover.

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Eutoxeres condamini - The buff-tailed sicklebill hummingbird measures 13 to 15 centimeters in length; males being slightly larger than females. It is one of the largest hummingbirds and is endemic to Southern Colombia and Northern Ecuador. The sharp downward curvature of its bill is an adaptation allowing it to feed primarily on flowers of the centropogon and heliconia genera. The buff-tailed sicklebill is a trap-line feeder. This term describes birds feeding on the same plant on a regular and timely schedule.

Walking Palm Tree - Ecuador

Socratea exorrhiza - The walking palm is a tall tree native to the rainforests of Central and South America; it can grow to heights of 25 meters. The function of the stilts growing from the bottom of the narrow trunk has been the topic of debate. One claim suggests the palm could spend out stilts, acting as levers, to right itself if the fall of a nearby tree causes it to topple over. The stilts might also keep the base of the trunk out of flood waters or allow the palm to grow on steep hillsides.

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Ecuador was part of the Inca Empire prior to the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors in 1531, but archeological findings of the Valdivia community reveals the existence of a significant pre-Colombian society on Ecuador’s Santa Elena Peninsula. Dating between 3500 and 1800 BC, it was among the first American cultures to use pottery and to cultivate cotton for use in making clothing. The Valdivian people relied on fishing and farming for their basic needs, but would occasional hunt to supplement their diet.

Giant Tortoise - Galapagos Islands

The Archipélago de Colón consists of 18 main islands and three smaller islets. Located 900 kilometers west of the Ecuadorian coast, the islands are of volcanic origin and host 9 active volcanoes. The unique animals found on the islands were studied by Charles Darwin during his visit in 1835 aboard H.M.S. Beagle.

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Chelonoidis nigra - Giant tortoises existed on all continents except Australia and Antarctica, but are now restricted to the Archipiélago de Colón and Aladabra Island, an atoll in the Indian Ocean. They arrived on the Archipiélago de Colón by drifting over from South America. The distance is about 1,000 kilometers, but tortoises, although poor swimmers, are buoyant enough to survive such a long journey. Their long necks allowed them to breach the surface for air and they can live for extended periods without food or fresh water.

Hoatzin - Guyana

The Iwokrama Rainforest of Central Guyana covers almost 10,000 square kilometers of pristine tropical forest. It has been set aside as a natural preserve and research center. The wide variety of plant and animal life has made the Iwokrama Rainforest a prime example of the importance in preserving the forests of the world.

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Opisthocomus hoazin - Various internal and external features have separated the hoatzin from most other birds. The hoatzin is a true ruminant; the leafy foliage, a hoatzin primary food source, is digested in the same way as the large herbivores digest their food, a process called foregut-ferment rumination. Hoatzin young have functional claws at the ends of their wings similar to the claws of archaeopteryx, an extinct dinosaur. The claws are lost when the bird matures; they are used to keep the chick from falling out of the nest or tree.

Scarlet Ibis - Guyana

Eudocimus ruber - The scarlet ibis can be found along the muddy coast and mangrove swamps of Northeastern South America. It feeds mainly on small mollusks and crustaceans by using its long beak to dig them out of the muddy bottom. Juveniles are gray with white undersides, but the adults have an intense and striking display of scarlet color covering their entire bodies. Mating pairs prefer to build their nest on islands as an extra precaution against predators. Both parents share nesting responsibilities.

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The Dutch were the first Europeans to establish settlements in Guyana. Three colonies were formed; Essequibo and Berbice sprang up in the early 17th century and Demerara in the mid 18th century. The colonies were ceded to Britain in 1814 and then merged into a single colony known as British Guiana in 1831. Great Britain retained control until 1966, when Guyana became a sovereign nation. It became a republic in 1970, but retained its membership within the British Commonwealth of Nations.

Peanuts - Paraguay

Arachis hypogaea - Peanuts were first cultivated in Paraguay. Although it is referred to as a nut, it is a legume. Until the 1930’s, peanuts were generally grown for use as animal fodder, but now it is cultivated primarily for human consumption in the form of peanut oil, flour, and peanut butter. Peanuts prefer a light sandy soil. The pods ripen between 120 to 150 days. Harvesting too soon will result in unripened pods, harvesting too late will result in the pods breaking off and remaining buried.

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The Gran Chaco is a region in South America covering 647,000 square kilometers, an area distributed over four countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, and Paraguay. The name is based on the Quechua term “chaku,” a term translating as “hunting land.” The landscape is flat and features a semi-arid climate. The Gran Chaco region has a sparse population of about 9 million people; Paraguay’s share is about 100,000 inhabitants. Argentina and Bolivia have a province or autonomous region named for the area.

Bald Uakari - Peru

Quechua, an indigenous language of the Andean region, is spoken by 9 million people. It was the official language of Tawantinsuyu, the Inca Empire. There are numerous extant Amerindian languages and Quechua, with its many dialects, has the largest number of native speakers; the Guarani language ranks second.

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Cacajao calvus - The bald uakari and two other species of the Cebidae family are three of the few short-tailed monkeys in the Americans. These species lack facial hair and when excited, the face, already red from lack of skin pigment, becomes flushed in bright scarlet. A typical uakari group consists of 10 to 30 members passing the day feeding on nuts and fruits found in the higher canopies of the forest. The uakari is confined to a small area in South America. Habitat loss and human encroachment has placed the uakari on the endangered list.

Potato - Peru

Solanum tuberosum - Potato plants are herbaceous perennials. They grow to about 60 centimeters in height and are usually pollinated by insects such as the bumble bee, but are capable of self-fertilization. Potatoes were domesticated in Southern Peru approximately 7,000 to 10,000 years ago and have since become the world’s 4th most important food crop following maize, wheat, and rice. There are over 4,000 varieties of the potato, each grown to suit different soils, climate or taste.

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The small municipality of La Rinconada, located in Peru’s San Antonio de Putina Province, is the world’s highest permanent settlement. The town is situated in the Peruvian Andes at an altitude of 5,100 meters. There are approximately 30,000 people living in La Rinconada, most being of Quechua ancestry. A nearby gold mine provides the only means of employment for the citizens of La Rinconada. Living at extreme altitudes can cause hypoxemia, a condition occurring when blood is oxygen starved.