Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park

🇲🇽 Mexico

🦝 Coatis and Spiny-tailed Iguanas

⏱ 2 days 🥾 Easy trails

🌍 #115 Global · 3.9 ★★★★★ ★★★★★ #8 in North America #55 in Tropical Forest

Quintana Roo, Mexico 509 spp. recorded

Cozumel protects the reef along the island's southwest shore, and the land behind it carries the animals a visitor actually walks up to. Spiny-tailed iguanas hold every wall and path on nine visits in ten, and white-nosed coatis work the coastal scrub on nearly as many.

20.276° N 87.019° W

Wildlife

⭐ Iconic Species

White-nosed Coati

Nasua narica

70–80% · Very likely

Black Spiny-tailed Iguana

Ctenosaura similis

80–90% · Very likely

Pygmy Raccoon

Procyon pygmaeus

40–50% · Likely

White-tailed Deer

Odocoileus virginianus

20–30% · Possible

📊 Most Spotted

Tropical Mockingbird

Mimus gilvus

80–90% · Very likely

Bananaquit

Coereba flaveola

80–90% · Very likely

Great-tailed Grackle

Quiscalus mexicanus

80–90% · Very likely

Southern Stingray

Hypanus americanus

70–80% · Very likely

Black Catbird

Melanoptila glabrirostris

70–80% · Very likely

Yellow Warbler

Setophaga petechia

70–80% · Very likely

Nurse Shark

Ginglymostoma cirratum

70–80% · Very likely

Black Vulture

Coragyps atratus

70–80% · Very likely

Yellow stingray

Urobatis jamaicensis

70–80% · Very likely

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Polioptila caerulea

70–80% · Very likely

Tropical Kingbird

Tyrannus melancholicus

60–70% · Likely

Cozumel Emerald

Cynanthus forficatus

60–70% · Likely

⭐ Iconic Species

White-nosed Coati

Nasua narica

70–80% · Very likely

Pygmy Raccoon

Procyon pygmaeus

40–50% · Likely

White-tailed Deer

Odocoileus virginianus

20–30% · Possible

📊 Most Spotted

Dicotyles tajacu

Pecari tajacu

30–40% · Possible

Jamaican Fruit-eating Bat

Artibeus jamaicensis

10–20% · Possible

Spotted Paca

Cuniculus paca

10–20% · With luck

Central American Agouti

Dasyprocta punctata

10–20% · With luck

Central American Spider Monkey

Ateles geoffroyi

10–20% · With luck

Bottlenose Dolphin

Tursiops truncatus

Insufficient data

Virginia Opossum

Didelphis virginiana

Insufficient data

Southern Yellow Bat

Dasypterus ega

Insufficient data

Margay

Leopardus wiedii

Insufficient data

Black mastiff bat

Molossus nigricans

Insufficient data

Common Big-eared Bat

Micronycteris microtis

Insufficient data

Northern Hairy-legged Myotis

Myotis pilosatibialis

Insufficient data

📊 Most Spotted

Tropical Mockingbird

Mimus gilvus

80–90% · Very likely

Bananaquit

Coereba flaveola

80–90% · Very likely

Great-tailed Grackle

Quiscalus mexicanus

80–90% · Very likely

Black Catbird

Melanoptila glabrirostris

70–80% · Very likely

Yellow Warbler

Setophaga petechia

70–80% · Very likely

Black Vulture

Coragyps atratus

70–80% · Very likely

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Polioptila caerulea

70–80% · Very likely

Tropical Kingbird

Tyrannus melancholicus

60–70% · Likely

Cozumel Emerald

Cynanthus forficatus

60–70% · Likely

American Redstart

Setophaga ruticilla

60–70% · Likely

Yucatán Woodpecker

Melanerpes pygmaeus

60–70% · Likely

Yellow-faced Grassquit

Tiaris olivaceus

50–60% · Likely

⭐ Iconic Species

Black Spiny-tailed Iguana

Ctenosaura similis

80–90% · Very likely

📊 Most Spotted

Brown Anole

Anolis sagrei

60–70% · Likely

Green Iguana

Iguana iguana

60–70% · Likely

American Crocodile

Crocodylus acutus

50–60% · Likely

Furrowed Wood Turtle

Rhinoclemmys areolata

40–50% · Likely

Brown Basilisk

Basiliscus vittatus

40–50% · Likely

Cozumel Racerunner

Aspidoscelis cozumela

20–30% · Possible

Green Turtle

Chelonia mydas

20–30% · Possible

Hawksbill

Eretmochelys imbricata

20–30% · Possible

Rainforest Cat-eyed Snake

Leptodeira frenata

20–30% · Possible

Common House Gecko

Hemidactylus frenatus

20–30% · Possible

Saint George Island Gecko

Aristelliger georgeensis

20–30% · Possible

Mesoamerican Slider

Trachemys venusta

10–20% · Possible

📊 Most Spotted

Mexican Smilisca

Smilisca baudinii

30–40% · Possible

Stauffer's Tree Frog

Scinax staufferi

20–30% · Possible

Central American Gulf Coast Toad

Incilius valliceps

10–20% · Possible

Greenhouse Frog

Eleutherodactylus planirostris

10–20% · Possible

Giant Marine Toad

Rhinella horribilis

0–10% · With luck

Sheep Frog

Hypopachus variolosus

Insufficient data

Elegant Narrow-mouthed Toad

Gastrophryne elegans

Insufficient data

📊 Most Spotted

Southern Stingray

Hypanus americanus

70–80% · Very likely

Nurse Shark

Ginglymostoma cirratum

70–80% · Very likely

Yellow stingray

Urobatis jamaicensis

70–80% · Very likely

Maylan

Aetobatus narinari

60–70% · Likely

Cub shark

Carcharhinus leucas

Insufficient data

Caribbean numbfish

Narcine bancroftii

10–20% · Possible

reef shark

Carcharhinus perezii

Insufficient data

Box Ray

Mobula tarapacana

Insufficient data

Animal Events

🐗

Coatis and Tree Frogs in the Rains

JulAugSep

White-nosed coati bands move through the coastal scrub and Mexican tree frogs call after dark.

White-nosed Coati

Nasua narica

70–80% · Very likely

🦎

Iguanas in the Dry Months

DecJanFeb

Spiny-tailed and green iguanas bask on the walls and open ground at their most visible of the year.

Black Spiny-tailed Iguana

Ctenosaura similis

80–90% · Very likely

Green Iguana

Iguana iguana

60–70% · Likely

Sighting Calendar

Chance of spotting each species, month by month

Species Total

70–80

70–80

70–80

70–80

70–80

70–80

70–80

70–80

60–70

70–80

70–80

70–80

White-nosed Coati

70–80

70–80

60–70

60–70

70–80

80–90

80–90

70–80

50–60

70–80

70–80

80–90

Black Spiny-tailed Iguana

80–90

80–90

80–90

80–90

90–100

80–90

80–90

80–90

80–90

60–70

70–80

80–90

40–50

50–60

40–50

40–50

40–50

50–60

50–60

40–50

30–40

60–70

40–50

60–70

White-tailed Deer

10–20

20–30

30–40

20–30

30–40

20–30

10–20

30–40

20–30

20–30

20–30

20–30

Tropical Mockingbird

90–100

90–100

90–100

80–90

90–100

70–80

80–90

80–90

70–80

90–100

90–100

80–90

80–90

90–100

80–90

80–90

90–100

80–90

80–90

70–80

80–90

70–80

80–90

80–90

Great-tailed Grackle

80–90

80–90

70–80

70–80

90–100

70–80

90–100

80–90

80–90

70–80

70–80

80–90

Southern Stingray

90–100

80–90

80–90

90–100

90–100

80–90

90–100

90–100

80–90

90–100

90–100

80–90

70–80

70–80

80–90

70–80

70–80

70–80

70–80

60–70

60–70

60–70

80–90

70–80

70–80

80–90

70–80

70–80

70–80

70–80

80–90

60–70

70–80

70–80

60–70

60–70

80–90

90–100

80–90

90–100

90–100

90–100

90–100

80–90

90–100

90–100

80–90

80–90

70–80

70–80

70–80

50–60

50–60

70–80

60–70

60–70

70–80

70–80

70–80

70–80

Yellow stingray

80–90

80–90

80–90

90–100

90–100

80–90

80–90

90–100

80–90

90–100

90–100

80–90

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

70–80

70–80

70–80

70–80

70–80

70–80

60–70

60–70

70–80

60–70

70–80

60–70

Tropical Kingbird

70–80

70–80

60–70

60–70

70–80

70–80

50–60

60–70

60–70

60–70

70–80

60–70

Cozumel Emerald

70–80

70–80

60–70

60–70

60–70

60–70

70–80

40–50

50–60

50–60

70–80

70–80

Animal Events

🐗 Coatis and Tree Frogs in the Rains

🦎 Iguanas in the Dry Months

Sighting Zones

Warm areas are where all species together are recorded most, so they track where people go as much as where animals are. For one species, see the map on its own page.

0.0 ★★★★★ ★★★★★ Excellent

🦝 Coatis and Spiny-tailed Iguanas

🦜

Biodiversity

Good

How rich is the wildlife?

4.3 Global avg

3.1 ★★★★★ ★★★★★

Species by taxon

🦅 Birds

347

🐒 Mammals

96

🦎 Reptiles

48

🐸 Amphibians

10

🦈 Sharks & Rays

8

509 Total Species

841 Global average across 280 parks

20 Threatened 57 Endemic

🔭

Sighting

Excellent

How likely to see animals?

3.6 Global avg

4.2 ★★★★★ ★★★★★

🎯

Top-12 Avg Probability

62% Global avg

77%

📊

Coverage (160 species at ≥5% of 509 in the inventory)

24% Global avg

31%

🔀

Taxon variety in top 12 (7 bird, 3 elasmobranch, 1 reptile, 1 mammal)

47% Global avg

78%

🔭

Species per 10 outings (distinct species a visitor would meet over 10 outings — effort held equal across parks)

132 Global avg

111

🌟

Iconic-group species (≥15%) (every species from the 19 iconic groups — monkeys, cats, toucans, macaws, sloths, crocodilians… — not just the 4 highlighted above)

14 Global avg

8

⭐

High-prob species (>40%)

26 Global avg

34

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