Fauna
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  • Land fauna: Being very isolated, Malpelo features many interesting scientific processes. As far as invertebrates go, there are the research results by Henk Wolda during the 1972 Smithsonian Institution expedition, recording 35 species. The Colombian Alexander Von Humboldt Institute collected material concerning annelids and arthropods. For this last group, 5 classes, 13 orders and about 25 families with around 40 species were identified. The island has but little invertebrate fauna; nonetheless these few species serve as food sustenance for the reptiles endemic to the area (Humboldt Institute, 1999.)

NNP Malpelo is also home to certain species of ants such as Odontomachusbauri, which is widely distributed across the Neotropical region, and that was apparently man-introduced here as it was in Galapagos island. However, worker ants of this species in Malpelo display different colour patterns than their continental counterparts. There are not, seemingly, no endemic ant species, though taxonomic status verdict is still pending for Solenopsis and Pheidole ants. Concerning coleoptera (beetles), a species of Platynus stands out (Carabidae: Harpalinae: Platynini), since neither the family nor the genus had ever been recorded in Malpelo. This was later confirmed to be a new species of carabid with quite unusual external morphology for the genus, and quite different from continental populations in Colombia and Ecuador, which would suggest this is an endemic species as opposed to an accidental introduction.

Amongst decapod crustaceans, the Gecarcinus malpilensis land crab is known to exist in the island. This is an omnivore species from Clipperton island, Gecarcinus panamensis.

The three land reptiles of the island subsist mainly on food waste from birds, especially masked boobies. There are high densities of reptile populations, especially Anolis agassizi belonging to the family of iguanas. This endemic lizard features a greenish colour, feeds on insects (flies, ants, crickets and beetles), and young Gecarcinus malpilensis crabs. It also has a marked sexual dimorphism: the male has a black crest and is very territorial (Alvarez et al, 1999.)

The dotted galliwasp Diploglossus millepunctatus, is also endemic to the island. Measuring up to 27 centimeters long, it feeds on remains chewed by the masked booby for its younglings. This species recognizes the sound of young chicks at feeding time and takes position in cracks near to the nests. It can also break the eggs and feed on them, as well as on dead chicks.

Another reptile species endemic to Malpelo is the Phyllodacteus traversalis, or gecko. A nocturnal animal, the gecko takes refuge in cracks during the day, feeding on insects and measuring up to 15 centimeters long (Alvarez et al, 1999.)

There is a great density of marine birds in the island, notably the masked booby (Sula granti). In Colombia, this bird nests exclusively in Malpelo with the largest population in the world, representing between a third and a fourth of the world’s total reproductive population of this species.

  • Marine fauna: Malpelo island is an aggregator of pelagic fish, mammals and sea turtles. Some migrating species, such as the tuna fish, come to feed around the island during their journey. The immense so-called fish balls which form sporadically around Malpelo bear witness to the intense predation activity by a great quantity of species.

Important amounts of Seriola rivoliana and the Elagatis bipinnulata mackerel are permanently in the island. These two species are regarded as some of the most fearsome predators of other species of young fish. The blue horse mackerel, Caranx melampygus, the black horse mackerel, Caranx lugubris, and the beautiful, Sarda orientalis can also be seen hunting in large groups around the island.

Several species of sharks, such as the hammerhead, Sphyrna lewini, and the Galapagos shark, Carcharhinus galapagensis, gather during the day around the island not only to feed, but also to get rid of parasites. Some zones have been identified as being cleaning areas, performed chiefly by the butterfly fish, Jhonrandilla nigirirostris, and the angelfish Holacanthus passer.

Large concentrations of over 1000 specimens of silky sharks, Carcharhinus falciformis, are occasionally spotted, for reasons yet unknown. They spend several days and even months around the island. Some hypotheses are that the sharks find in Malpelo, due to their long migration, an ideal place to feed and meet other needs of their life cycle. Nonetheless, the real reason is difficult to reveal owing to the irregularity of the sightings. Effectively, the first large groups of this species was sighted in Malpelo during 1990 and 1991. Subsequently, only until 1998 and 2001 were such groups visible again. Some smaller groups, not exceeding 20 specimens, have been observed in a fish ball.

The first report with photographs and videos of a kind of depth shark came in 1999. After the molecular genetics studies were performed on a piece of skin of one of these specimens, the species was determined: Odontaspis ferox (Risso, 1810.)

The whale sharks, Rhincodon typus, and the devil rays, Manta birostris, are also present in the area due to the advantageous large amount of larvae. Also, sea mammals are frequently sighted in the Sanctuary. It seems the biomass available in the area was enough for a colony of about 20 large dolphins, Tursiops truncates, to have become sedentary.