Isla Escudo de Veraguas
Encyclopedia
Isla Escudo de Veraguas is a small (3.4 km2) isolated Caribbean
island of the Republic of Panama
. Despite its name, it is not part of the province of Veraguas, but rather Bocas del Toro
. Although located only 17 km from the coastline in the Golfo de los Mosquitos
and isolated for only about 9000 years, several animals found on the island are distinct from their mainland counterparts, and two mammal species are recognized as occurring only on the island: the fruit bat Artibeus incomitatus and the sloth Bradypus pygmaeus (also known as the Pygmy
Sloth
), both of which are considered critically endangered due to their being unique to the small island. Other mammals found on the island include the bats Glossophaga soricina, Micronycteris megalotis, Carollia brevicauda, Myotis riparius, and Saccopteryx leptura, the spiny rat Hoplomys gymnurus, and the opossum Caluromys derbianus.
It is mostly uninhabited but there are a few native campsites on the island, seasonally inhabited by fishermen. Most of the island is in a near-pristine undeveloped state.
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
island of the Republic of Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
. Despite its name, it is not part of the province of Veraguas, but rather Bocas del Toro
Bocas del Toro Province
Bocas del Toro is a province of Panama. Its extension is 4,643.9 square kilometers comprising the mainland and nine main islands. The province consists of the Bocas del Toro Archipelago, Bahía Almirante , Laguna de Chiriquí , and adjacent mainland. The capital is the city of Bocas del Toro on Isla...
. Although located only 17 km from the coastline in the Golfo de los Mosquitos
Golfo de los Mosquitos
Golfo de los Mosquitos is a gulf on the north coast of Panama, extending from the Valiente Peninsula in Bocas del Toro, past the north coast of Veraguas to the province of Colón, Panama....
and isolated for only about 9000 years, several animals found on the island are distinct from their mainland counterparts, and two mammal species are recognized as occurring only on the island: the fruit bat Artibeus incomitatus and the sloth Bradypus pygmaeus (also known as the Pygmy
Pygmy
Pygmy is a term used for various ethnic groups worldwide whose average height is unusually short; anthropologists define pygmy as any group whose adult men grow to less than 150 cm in average height. A member of a slightly taller group is termed "pygmoid." The best known pygmies are the Aka,...
Sloth
Sloth
Sloths are the six species of medium-sized mammals belonging to the families Megalonychidae and Bradypodidae , part of the order Pilosa and therefore related to armadillos and anteaters, which sport a similar set of specialized claws.They are arboreal residents of the jungles of Central and South...
), both of which are considered critically endangered due to their being unique to the small island. Other mammals found on the island include the bats Glossophaga soricina, Micronycteris megalotis, Carollia brevicauda, Myotis riparius, and Saccopteryx leptura, the spiny rat Hoplomys gymnurus, and the opossum Caluromys derbianus.
It is mostly uninhabited but there are a few native campsites on the island, seasonally inhabited by fishermen. Most of the island is in a near-pristine undeveloped state.