Editing Jamaica (section)

===Flora and fauna===
{{see also|Jamaican moist forests|Jamaican dry forests}}
[[File:Red-billed_streamertail(_Trochilus_polytmus)_adult_male_2.jpg|thumb|Jamaica's national bird, a [[red-billed streamertail]]]]
[[File:Epicrates subflavus.jpg|thumb|[[Jamaican boa]]]]
[[File:Stoplight-parrotfish.jpg|thumb|[[parrotfish|Jamaican parrotfish]]]]

Jamaica's climate is tropical, supporting diverse ecosystems with a wealth of plants and animals. Its plant life has changed considerably over the centuries; when the Spanish arrived in 1494, except for small agricultural clearings, the country was deeply forested. The European settlers cut down the great timber trees for building and ships' supplies, and cleared the plains, savannas, and mountain slopes for intense agricultural cultivation.<ref name="EBJ"/> Many new plants were introduced including sugarcane, bananas, and citrus trees.<ref name="EBJ"/>

Jamaica is home to about 3,000 species of [[flowering plant|native flowering plants]] (of which over 1,000 are [[endemic]] and 200 are species of [[Orchidaceae|orchid]]), thousands of species of non-flowering flora, and about 20 [[botanical garden]]s, some of which are several hundred years old.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://old.jamaica-gleaner.com/pages/history/story0021.html |title=Jamaica's Botantical{{sic|hide=y}} Gardens Worth More Than Gold |author=<!--Not stated--> |website=Jamaica Gleaner |publisher=Jamaica Gleaner Newspaper |access-date=23 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190130103325/http://old.jamaica-gleaner.com/pages/history/story0021.html |archive-date=30 January 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Aiken, Wilson, Vogel, Garraway PhD |first=Karl, Byron, Peter, Eric |date=21 January 2007 |title=LETTER OF THE DAY: Biologists speak on Cockpit mining |url=https://www.mona.uwi.edu/lifesciences/cockpit.htm |work=University of the West Indies |location=University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica |access-date=23 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100712155740/http://www.mona.uwi.edu/lifesciences/cockpit.htm |archive-date=12 July 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref> Areas of heavy rainfall also contain stands of bamboo, ferns, ebony, mahogany, and rosewood. Cactus and similar dry-area plants are found along the south and southwest coastal area. Parts of the west and southwest consist of large grasslands, with scattered stands of trees. Jamaica is home to three terrestrial [[ecoregion]]s, the [[Jamaican moist forests]], [[Jamaican dry forests]], and [[Greater Antilles mangroves]].

Jamaica's fauna, typical of the Caribbean, includes highly diversified wildlife with many endemic species. As with other oceanic islands, land mammals are mostly several species of [[bat]]s of which at least three endemic species are found only in Cockpit Country, one of which is at-risk. Other species of bat include the [[Jamaican fig-eating bat|fig-eating]] and [[lasiurus|hairy-tailed bats]]. The only non-bat native mammal extant in Jamaica is the [[Jamaican hutia]], locally known as the coney.<ref name="EBJ"/> Introduced mammals such as [[wild boar]] and the [[small Asian mongoose]] are also common. Jamaica is also home to about 50 species of reptiles,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.reptile-database.org|title=THE REPTILE DATABASE|work=reptile-database.org|access-date=7 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151102083427/http://reptile-database.org/|archive-date=2 November 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> the largest of which is the [[American crocodile]]; however, it is only present within the Black River and a few other areas. Lizards such as [[anole]]s, [[iguana]]s and snakes such as racers and the [[Jamaican boa]] (the largest snake on the island), are common in areas such as the Cockpit Country. None of Jamaica's eight species of native snakes is venomous.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cockpitcountry.com/Amphibians%20%26%20Reptiles.html |title=Amphibians and reptiles found in Cockpit Country jamaica |publisher=Cockpitcountry.com |access-date=31 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120110142008/http://www.cockpitcountry.com/Amphibians%20%26%20Reptiles.html |archive-date=10 January 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Jamaica is home to about 289 species of birds of which 27 are endemic including the endangered [[black-billed amazon|black-Billed parrots]] and the [[Jamaican blackbird]], both of which are only found in Cockpit Country. It is also the indigenous home to four species of [[hummingbird]]s (three of which are found nowhere else in the world): the [[black-billed streamertail]], the [[Jamaican mango]], the [[Vervain hummingbird]], and [[red-billed streamertail]]s. The red-billed streamertail, known locally as the "doctor bird", is Jamaica's National Symbol.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jis.gov.jm/symbols/jamaican-national-bird-the-doctor-bird/|title=The Doctor Bird – Jamaica Information Service|work=jis.gov.jm|access-date=8 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180321065148/http://jis.gov.jm/symbols/jamaican-national-bird-the-doctor-bird/|archive-date=21 March 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="EBJ"/> Other notable species include the [[Jamaican tody]] and the [[Greater flamingo]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cms.int/flamingos/en/country/jamaica |title=High Andean Flamingos (Jamaica) |publisher=Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (Germany) |access-date=2 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190203085427/https://www.cms.int/flamingos/en/country/jamaica |archive-date=3 February 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>

One species of freshwater turtle is native to Jamaica, the [[Jamaican slider]]. It is found only on Jamaica and on a few islands in [[the Bahamas]]. In addition, many types of frogs are common on the island, especially [[treefrog]]s.

Jamaican waters contain considerable resources of fresh and saltwater fish.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fishbase.org/Country/CountryChecklist.php?c_code=388&vhabitat=all2&csub_code= |title=All fishes reported from Jamaica |work=fishbase.org |access-date=14 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130909194629/http://www.fishbase.org/Country/CountryChecklist.php?c_code=388&vhabitat=all2&csub_code= |archive-date=9 September 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> The chief varieties of saltwater fish are [[King mackerel|kingfish]], [[Carangidae|jack]], [[mackerel]], [[Whiting (fish)|whiting]], [[bonito]], and [[tuna]]. Fish that occasionally enter freshwater and estuarine environments include [[Centropomidae|snook]], [[Epinephelus itajara|jewfish]], [[mangrove snapper]], and [[Mullet (fish)|mullets]]. Fish that spend the majority of their lives in Jamaica's fresh waters include many species of [[livebearer]]s, [[killifish]], freshwater [[Goby|gobies]], the mountain mullet, and the [[American eel]]. [[Tilapia]] have been introduced from Africa for aquaculture, and are very common. Also visible in the waters surrounding Jamaica are dolphins, [[parrotfish]], and the endangered [[West Indian manatee|manatee]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/sea-cows-used-to-walk-on-land-in-africa-and-jamaica-2742073/|title=Sea Cows Used To Walk on Land in Africa And Jamaica|first=Rachel|last=Nuwer|author-link=Rachel Nuwer|website=Smithsonian Magazine|access-date=7 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200402204116/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/sea-cows-used-to-walk-on-land-in-africa-and-jamaica-2742073/|archive-date=2 April 2020|url-status=live}}</ref>

Insects and other invertebrates are abundant, including the world's largest centipede, the [[Amazonian giant centipede]]. Jamaica is the home to about 150 species of butterflies and moths, including 35 indigenous species and 22 subspecies. It is also the native home to the [[Homerus swallowtail|Jamaican swallowtail]], the western hemisphere's largest butterfly.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20140629/arts/arts1.html |title=Beautiful Butterflies – Jamaican Swallowtails Among Those on Display at IOJ |date=29 June 2014 |website=Jamaica Gleaner |publisher=Jamaica Gleaner Newspaper |access-date=23 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190124041455/http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20140629/arts/arts1.html |archive-date=24 January 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>