Biodiversity is
a term that can be literally broken up to mean “the diversity of
life.” The place where there is the most diversity of life, or
widest range of different life forms, is in the tropical
rainforests. The Neotropical forests of Costa Rica alone seem
to be bursting at the seems with over 200 species of mammals,
850 kinds of birds, 220 species of reptiles, 160 types of
amphibians, 130 species of fresh water fish, 366,000 kinds of
arthropods (insects, spiders, and crabs), and 13,020 species of
plants! And these are only the numbers of what people have
found so far. Every year up to 500 new species of life are
found! Who knows what fascinating creature could be found next,
or what new medicine found in the bark of an unknown tree could
cure cancer?