Caribbean Sea
Marine biota in the region have representatives of both the Indian and Pacific oceans which were caught in the Caribbean before the emergence of the Isthmus of Panama four million years ago. In the Caribbean Sea there are around 1,000 documented species of fish, including sharks (bull shark, tiger shark, silky shark and Caribbean reef shark), flying fish, giant oceanic manta ray, angel fish, spotfin butterflyfish, parrotfish, Atlantic Goliath grouper, tarpon and moray eels. Throughout the Caribbean there is industrial catching of lobster and sardines (off the coast of Yucatán Peninsula).
Indio Maíz Biological Reserve
Among the amphibian family, there are brightly colored poison dart frogs like Oophaga pumilio. Abundant reptiles including iguanas, and snakes such as Lachesis muta and Bothriechis schlegelii. Fish like tarpon are common. The world's only freshwater shark, Nicaragua shark, known elsewhere in the world as the bull shark or Zambesi shark is also present in the San Juan River which borders the reserve. However, Nicaragua has recently banned freshwater fishing of the Nicaragua shark because of population declines.