Fauna
Birdlife
Birds are the largest group of animals that exist in the Atacama.
There are many types like Humboldt penguins that live in the desert cliffs, like the Andean flamingos nesting on salt flats.
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Several species of hummingbirds, sparrows, birds of prey such as burrowing owls and chimango caracaras and even threatened species such as the tamarugo conebill, Chilean woodstar, Thick-billed Miner, White-throated Earthcreeper, Cactus Canastero and Slender-billed finch which visit the Lomas seasonally to feed on.
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The
Andean Condor is also found here in the Atacama.
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Mammals
There are few species of mammals because of the extreme aridity of the
Atacama Desert.
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Omnivores like Darwin’s leaf-eared mouse and the South American gray fox
which eats eggs, fruit, lizards, rodents, seeds and even scorpions. The
viscacha, a relative of the chinchilla, larger animals such as guanacos and
vicunas graze in areas where grass grows. Vicuñas need water to survive while
guanacos can survive longer without water.
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Other mammalian species found in the Atacama are Fur seals and sea lions which gather along the coast, the threatened Atacama Myotis (Myotis atacamensis), the Elegant Fat-tailed Opossum (Thylamys elegans),the Manso Grass Mouse (Akodon olivaceus) and the Osgood's Leaf-eared Mouse (Phyllotis osgoodi).
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Reptiles and Amphibians
Something surprising is the lack of reptiles and amphibians in the Atacama´s Desert.
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There are endemic species of reptiles and amphibians that can only be
found here.
The
South American Leaf-toed Gecko (Phyllodactylus gerrhopygus) is a reptile found
in Southern Peru and Northern Chile and the Vallenar toad (Bufo atacamensis) is
an amphibian is that lives in oasis and streams all year.
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Insects and Arachnids
The conditions are so extreme and the climate is so dry that it's hard
to live even for insects.
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Sand-colored grasshoppers, butterflies, beetles and their larvae are an
important food source in the Lomas. Even the desert wasps eat other insects.
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Red
Scorpions use their color to hide from predators such as gray foxes.
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