Field Resource Library

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The Osa Peninsula, a land mass smaller than Los Angeles, boasts exceptional levels of endemicity and rarity. On this small fraction of the Earth’s surface live over 400 species of birds, 140 mammals, 500 trees, and 6,000 insect species described so far.

Osa Peninsula’s Species Lists

Click here to download the mammal species list for the Osa Peninsula.

Click here to download the bird species list for the Osa Peninsula.

Click here to download the amphibian species list for the Osa Peninsula.

Click here to download the tree species list for the Osa Peninsula.

Click here to download the dung beetle species list for the Osa Peninsula.

Online Resources

Explore our Online Osa Arboretum

Protecting more than 300 native, endemic, rare and threatened tree species, this is an online catalog of the Osa Arboretum. Located on the Osa Conservation Campus, the arboretum is an environmental education site and wildlife refuge that connects people to nature as they learn about Osa’s flora. With a trail network spanning 617 acres across coastal, mangrove, secondary and old growth forests, the Osa Arboretum aims to be one of the largest arboretums in Central America.

Check out CorcovadoAzul.com

This is a web resource dedicated to marine conservation of the region. CorcovadoAzul.com acts as a hub for news publications, scientific journals, and up-to-date information on the potential Corcovado Marine Protected Area. Click here to discover #CorcovadoAzul, the incredible marine seascape of Corcovado National Park.

Join the Osa Biodiversity Survey

The Osa Biodiversity Survey (OBS) is a community of naturalists dedicated to cataloguing the flora and fauna of the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica. The OBS is instrumental in enhancing the collection of Osa’s biodiversity records; these range from mini-fauna to rare and endemic species, and even apex predators. This region-wide monitoring effort will help guide future conservation and restoration efforts in the Osa Peninsula.

Join the AmistOsa Biodiversity Survey

The Amistosa Biodiversity Survey (ABS) is a community of naturalists dedicated to cataloguing the flora and fauna of the Amistosa biological corridor and La Amistad International Park, Costa Rica. This region-wide monitoring effort will help guide future conservation and restoration efforts of this high elevation protected area and the biological corridor that connects it to the Osa Peninsula.

Field Guides

Foods eaten by the Endangered Geoffroy’s Spider Monkey

Authors: Ruthmery Pillco Huarcaya, Maria J. A. Creighton, Marvin Lopez Morales, Danielle Connor, Eleanor Flatt, Andrew Whitworth

Description: This guide includes 79 of the 111 different plant species consumed by the Geoffroy’s spider monkeys. The study considered sapling and seed inventories from latrines and direct observations

Bats of the Golfo Dulce

Authors: Elène Haave-Audet, Gloriana Chaverri, Doris Audet, Manuel Sánchez, Andrew Whitworth

Description: This guide includes representative species from all families encountered in the lowlands of the Golfo Dulce region(< 400 masl), comprised of old and secondary growth seasonally wet tropical forest, where ca. 75 species possibly occur.

Orchids of the Osa Conservation Campus

Authors: Julia K. Douglas

Description: A field guide to the epiphyte orchids as compiled by our 2021 Ugalde-Forsyth Fellow, Julia Douglas at the Osa Conservation Campus.

(Note: only available in Spanish).

Hymenoptera of the Osa Conservation Campus

Author: Jen Schlauch

Description: A specimen collection list of the hymenoptera as compiled and collected by our 2021 Ugalde-Forsyth Fellow, Jen Schlauch at the Osa Conservation Campus.

Gesneriaceae of the Golfo Dulce Region

Authors: Leonardo Álvarez-Alcázar, Andreas Berger

Description: A field guide to the Gesneriaceae of the Golfo Dulce Region, 2023

Further Reading

To dive deeper into the incredible biodiversity of tropical rainforests, Costa Rica, or the Osa Peninsula, we recommed the following readings:

Tropical Nature by Dr. Adrian Forsyth & Dr. Kenneth Miyata
Costa Rican Natural History by Dr. Daniel Janzen
Monkeys Are Made of Chocolate by Jack Ewing
The Birds of Costa Rica: A Field Guide, Zona Tropical Publications
“Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity” Research by Grantham, H.S., Duncan, A., Evans, T.D. et al.