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44-599: The isthmus is in the Paraguana xeric scrub ecoregion. 11°36′00″N 69°43′30″W  /  11.60000°N 69.72500°W  / 11.60000; -69.72500 This article about a location in Venezuela is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Paraguana xeric scrub The Paraguana xeric scrub (NT1313) is an ecoregion in Venezuela to the north and east of Lake Maracaibo and along

88-494: A few freshwater marshes, which hold endemic plant species and provide resting areas for resident and migratory birds. Plants species in the marshes include Acrostichium aurem , Marsilea ancylopoda , Nephrolepis hirsutula , Pitygramma trifoliata , Eichhornia crassipes , Amoreuxia wrightii , Ipomoea wrightiii , Pluchea odorata , Pluchea sagittalia and Eleocharis mutata . The Galapagos carpet weed ( Sesuvium edmonstonei ), formerly thought to be found only on

132-909: A rare bush 1–3 metres (3 ft 3 in – 9 ft 10 in) high, has only been recorded in the Morrocoy National Park in Paraguaná and the Lara-Falcón dry forests ecoregion. The endangered Guajira mouse opossum ( Marmosa xerophila ) has been recorded in some places in Falcón. The species is found only in dry areas in Colombia and Venezuela around the mouth of Lake Maracaibo, mostly tropical thorn or very dry forest with mean temperatures above 24 °C (75 °F) and rainfall from 250–500 millimetres (9.8–19.7 in). Much of its habitat has been converted to agriculture, and

176-866: A transitional habitat between dry forests and briars. They contain trees under 5 metres (16 ft) high and bushy plants. The low and even storey is mainly composed of Opuntia caracasana , Lippia origanoides and Croton flavens . Many annual plants spring up in the rainy season. The most common species include Croton heliaster , Borreria cumanensis , Caesalpinia mollis , Randia gaumeri , Jacquinia aristata , Caesalpinia coriaria , Pithecellobium dulce , Capparis odoratissima , Capparis linearis , Caesalpinia coriaria , Pereskia guamacho , Prosopis juliflora , Stenocereus griseus , Malpighia species, Bursera tomentosa and Morisonia americana . The scrub contains low bushy plants from 3–8 metres (9.8–26.2 ft) high, mostly very dense, and may be seen as degraded deciduous forests. Many of

220-776: Is about 680 millimetres (27 in). Monthly rainfall is 9.7 millimetres (0.38 in) in February, rising to 74.3 millimetres (2.93 in) in May, falling to 33.3 millimetres (1.31 in) in July and rising again to 141.9 millimetres (5.59 in) in October. The ecoregion is in the neotropical realm, in the deserts and xeric shrublands biome. The flora and fauna are adapted to extreme conditions of drought, salty soils, high winds and heat. Vegetation includes stunted scrub, low trees and cactuses . Herbaceous or bushy vegetation grows on

264-435: Is almost extinct in Paraguaná due to destruction of its arid habitat in Falcón. Other endangered birds include the plain-flanked rail ( Rallus wetmorei ). The World Wildlife Fund gives the ecoregion the status of "Critical/Endangered". Protected areas in or near to the ecoregion include the 9,128 hectares (22,560 acres) Médanos de Coro National Park , the 1,900 hectares (4,700 acres) Cerro Santa Ana Natural Monument and

308-628: Is endemic to the Neotropic realm, occupying a larger geographic area than any other piranha species. Some fish groups originally unique to the Neotropics include: Examples of other animal groups that are entirely or mainly restricted to the Neotropical region include: According to Simberloff. as of 1984 there were a total of 92,128 species of flowering plants (Angiosperms) in the Neotropics. Plant families endemic and partly subendemic to

352-725: Is mostly covered by tropical moist broadleaf forest , including the vast Amazon rainforest , which stretches from the Andes Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean, and the lowland forests of the Guianas . The bioregion also includes tropical savanna and tropical dry forest ecoregions. The Central Andes lie between the Gulfs of Guayaquil and Penas and thus encompass southern Ecuador, Chile, Peru, western Bolivia, and northwest and western Argentina. Eastern South America includes

396-584: Is replaced by farmland and vegetation is destroyed by grazing goats. The Paraguana xeric scrub is in the northwest of Venezuela. It has an area of 1,605,792 hectares (3,968,000 acres). It extends along the Caribbean coast of the ABC islands (Leeward Antilles) to the east of the mouth of Lake Maracaibo and includes the Paraguaná Peninsula . A belt of the xeric scrub extends inland to the foothills of

440-545: Is usually less than 300 millimetres (12 in), while in the Lara–Falcón valleys it ranges from 350 millimetres (14 in) in dry areas to as much as 1,000 millimetres (39 in) in the foothills of the Andes. Ground-level temperatures may rise to 50 °C (122 °F) in the sun, but may fall to as low as 15 °C (59 °F) in the shade. The cause of the arid or semi-arid climate is unclear, but may be caused in part by

484-838: The Caatinga xeric shrublands of northeastern Brazil, the broad Cerrado grasslands and savannas of the Brazilian Plateau , and the Pantanal and Chaco grasslands. The diverse Atlantic forests of eastern Brazil are separated from the forests of Amazonia by the Caatinga and Cerrado, and are home to a distinct flora and fauna. North of the Gulf of Guayaquil in Ecuador and Colombia, a series of accreted oceanic terranes (discrete allochthonous fragments) have developed that constitute

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528-656: The Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event altered local flora and fauna. Much later, about two to three million years ago, South America was joined with North America by the formation of the Isthmus of Panama , which allowed a biotic exchange between the two continents, the Great American Interchange . South American species like the ancestors of the Virginia opossum ( Didelphis virginiana ) and

572-628: The Galápagos Islands , has been observed on a protected strip of shore grasses and bush between Coro and La Vela. However, the description of the specimens is somewhat different from that of the Galapagos species, so it may be a different species. The rare Oxycarpha suaedifolia and Atriplex oestophora are mostly confined to the state of Falcón. Oxycarpha suaedifolia was first reported in 1917, growing in sand dune valleys near La Vela de Coro. Crossopetalum rhacoma (maidenberry),

616-604: The Gulf of Venezuela . The valleys of the Lara–Falcón depression contains ancient Quaternary rocks and recent sediments, and include plains and hills between the Andes and the Venezuelan Coastal Range . The soils are high in salt, mainly calcite . Soils are sandy along the coast and sandy with clay content further inland. The soils are all low in organic matter and phosphorus, and have pH close to neutral. The Paraguaná peninsula has only intermittent streams. On

660-592: The Nearctic realm (which includes most of North America) because of the long separation of the two continents. The formation of the Isthmus of Panama joined the two continents two to three million years ago, precipitating the Great American Interchange , an important biogeographical event. The Neotropic includes more tropical rainforest ( tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests ) than any other realm, extending from southern Mexico through Central America and northern South America to southern Brazil, including

704-654: The Venezuelan Andes to the west of Barquisimeto . Along the Caribbean coast there are stretches of Amazon-Orinoco-Southern Caribbean mangroves . To the east the ecoregion merges into the Lara-Falcón dry forests ecoregion, and to the west merges into the Maracaibo dry forests ecoregion. In the south it meets the northeastern section of the Venezuelan Andes montane forests . The southeastern extreme of

748-547: The armadillo moved into North America, and North Americans like the ancestors of South America's camelids , including the llama ( Lama glama ), moved south. The long-term effect of the exchange was the extinction of many South American species, mostly by outcompetition by northern species. The Neotropical realm has 31 endemic bird families, which is over twice the number of any other realm. They include tanagers , rheas , tinamous , curassows , antbirds , ovenbirds , toucans , and seriemas . Bird families originally unique to

792-689: The temperate rain forests of the Valdivian temperate rain forests and Magellanic subpolar forests ecoregions, and the Juan Fernández Islands and Desventuradas Islands , are a refuge for the ancient Antarctic flora , which includes trees like the southern beech ( Nothofagus ), podocarps , the alerce ( Fitzroya cupressoides ), and Araucaria pines like the monkey-puzzle tree ( Araucaria araucana ). These rainforests are endangered by extensive logging and their replacement by fast-growing non-native pines and eucalyptus . South America

836-484: The 7,275 hectares (17,980 acres) León Hill Natural Monument . The Médanos de Coro National Park theoretically protects a sizeable part of the ecoregion, but in practice has often been invaded by individuals and government agencies. There is a municipal dump in the park, privately owned facilities for extracting salt and outlets for untreated waste water. Unplanned housing and tourist facilities have invaded many areas and large areas of scrubland have been destroyed, causing

880-604: The Baudo, or Coastal, Mountains and the Cordillera Occidental. The Orinoco is a region of humid forested broadleaf forest and wetland primarily comprising the drainage basin for the Orinoco River and other adjacent lowland forested areas. This region includes most of Venezuela and parts of Colombia, as well as Trinidad and Tobago . The temperate forest ecoregions of southwestern South America, including

924-619: The Cerro Santa Ana inselberg . The 830 metres (2,720 ft) Cerro Santa Ana is the highest point in the hills of the center of the former island. The long, narrow and low Médanos Isthmus that joins Paraguana to the mainland was formed about 3,000 years ago by tectonic uplift. A 32 kilometres (20 mi) long ledge of exposed beach rock protects the eastern shore from strong wave action. The shoreline mainly consists of sandy or sand and silt beaches, with murky waters. Dunes have formed recently from sand that continues to arrive from

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968-452: The Neotropics include hummingbirds (family Trochilidae) and wrens (family Troglodytidae). Mammal groups originally unique to the Neotropics include: The Neotropical realm has 63 endemic fish families and subfamilies, which is more than any other realm. Neotropical fishes include more than 5,700 species, and represent at least 66 distinct lineages in continental freshwaters (Albert and Reis, 2011). The well-known red-bellied piranha

1012-602: The United States southern Florida and coastal Central Florida are considered Neotropical. The realm also includes temperate southern South America. In contrast, the Neotropical Floristic Kingdom excludes southernmost South America, which instead is placed in the Antarctic kingdom . The Neotropic is delimited by similarities in fauna or flora . Its fauna and flora are distinct from

1056-408: The coast of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao . The region holds flora and fauna adapted to the very dry conditions of the coastal dunes and inland areas of bush, scrub, briars and cacti. There are several endangered species of animals and birds. Efforts at protecting the environment have been ineffective. Most of the original trees have been cut down, dunes are being destabilized by loss of vegetation, scrub

1100-416: The dunes and saline depressions by the coast. Further inland there is brush, scrub and areas of briars or cacti. These forms of vegetation may contain differing quantities of deciduous and evergreen trees depending on conditions, forming a complex mosaic of habitats. The coastal grasslands include halophyte plants in salty depressions and dune vegetation that grows along narrow strips of stabilized dunes on

1144-453: The dunes to move and become barren of all vegetation. Attempts have been made to open a tourist complex in the area, destroying large areas of typical vegetation. Marshes have been drained for housing development. Most of the trees have been cut down, often surreptitiously by poor residents, leaving only a few remnants of forest. The wood is used for small buildings, furniture, fencing and fuel. Extensive grazing of livestock such as goats threaten

1188-677: The ecoregion connects to the La Costa xeric shrublands . The ecosystem includes the valleys of the Lara – Falcón depression in the coastal plains north of the foothills of the Venezuelan Andes , and the Paraguaná Peninsula. In the Pliocene epoch the peninsula was an island Paraguana has four marine terraces at 6 metres (20 ft), 15–20 metres (49–66 ft), 40–50 metres (130–160 ft) and 80 metres (260 ft) surrounding

1232-646: The entire South American temperate zone. In biogeography , the Neotropic or Neotropical realm is one of the eight terrestrial realms . This realm includes South America, Central America , the Caribbean Islands , and southern North America. In Mexico, the Yucatán Peninsula and southern lowlands, and most of the east and west coastlines, including the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula are Neotropical. In

1276-470: The habitat. Large areas of scrub have been cleared and replaced by vegetable farms. Small mammals are poached. Other threats come from dam construction, oil exploitation, mining and road building. Neotropical realm The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and

1320-682: The higher levels of the peninsula is very different from the rest of the ecoregion. The forests are dense, with two stories of low to medium trees and a thick understory. Common species include Protium tovarense , Tetrochidium rubrivenium , Hieronyma moritziana , Aichomea triplinervia , Qualea calophylla , Laplacea fruticosa , Graffenrieda latifolia , Clusia multiflora , Didymopanax glabratum , Ladenbergia moritziana , Vasconcellea microcarpa , Chamaedorea species, Geonoma species and Wettinia praemorsa . Endemic species include Geonoma paraguanensis , Philodendrum holtonianum and Rodospatha falconensis . There are

1364-708: The mainland the Mitare River divides into the Pedregal and Paraíso rivers, which empty into the gulf of Coro. The Tocuyo River , which crosses the Lara–Falcón dry forest ecoregion, is formed by the confluence of the Morere, Barigua and Bucares rivers. It empties into the Caribbean near the Triste Gulf. The Turbio River is the largest in the Lara Falcón depression. Annual rainfall on the Paraguaná Peninsula

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1408-410: The near-exponential expansion of urbanization , roads, pastoralism and forest industries which encroach on their customary lands and environment. Nevertheless, amidst these declining circumstances this vast "reservoir" of human diversity continues to survive, albeit much depleted. In South America alone, some 350–400 indigenous languages and dialects are still living (down from an estimated 1,500 at

1452-1154: The peninsula between Coro and Adícora , and along the mainland coast on either side of Coro. Other areas of mobile dunes have little or no vegetation. Halophyte grasslands are typically low and open, without trees or bushes. Species include Atriplex pentandra , Heterostachya ritteriana , Salicornia fruticosa , Batis maritima and Sesuvium portulacastrum . Grasslands on the sand dunes include dense but uneven herbaceous-bushy flora. Species include Scaevola plumieri , Portulaca pilosa , Cakile lanceolata , Cyperus planifolius , Sporobolus virginicus , Sporobolus piramydatus , Ipomoea pes-caprae , Euphorbia buxifolia , Spartina patens , Lycium bridgesii , Calotropis procera , Egletes prostrata , Argusia gnaphalodes , Tournefortia volubilis , Opuntia caracasana , Heterostachys ritteriana , Chamaesyce dioica , Chamaesyce mesembryanthemifolia , Croton punctatus , Cenchrus echinatus and Tribulus zeyheri . Isolated dunes may hold windblown trees and bushes such as Conocarpus erectus , Prosopis juliflora and Vachellia tortuosa . The bush lands are

1496-402: The peninsula includes thorny plants at elevations of 0–300 metres (0–984 ft), deciduous forests at 300–550 metres (980–1,800 ft), cloud forests at 550–700 metres (1,800–2,300 ft), scrubland with small bush-like trees at 700–800 metres (2,300–2,600 ft) and páramo -like vegetation with dwarf woody plants at 800–830 metres (2,620–2,720 ft) on the Cerro Santa Ana. The flora at

1540-402: The population of the species was declining quickly due to trapping for sale as a cage bird, and the population was severely fragmented. It is observed at elevations from 100–1,500 metres (330–4,920 ft), moving seasonally and daily from moist evergreen forest to dry deciduous woodlands, and the surrounding shrubby grasslands and pastures. The yellow-shouldered amazon ( Amazona barbadensis )

1584-580: The realm are, according to Takhtajan (1978), Hymenophyllopsidaceae , Marcgraviaceae , Caryocaraceae , Pellicieraceae , Quiinaceae , Peridiscaceae , Bixaceae , Cochlospermaceae , Tovariaceae , Lissocarpaceae ( Lissocarpa ), Brunelliaceae , Dulongiaceae , Columelliaceae , Julianiaceae , Picrodendraceae , Goupiaceae , Desfontainiaceae , Plocospermataceae , Tropaeolaceae , Dialypetalanthaceae ( Dialypetalanthus ), Nolanaceae ( Nolana ), Calyceraceae , Heliconiaceae , Cannaceae , Thurniaceae and Cyclanthaceae . Plant families that originated in

1628-693: The realm into bioregions , defined as "geographic clusters of ecoregions that may span several habitat types, but have strong biogeographic affinities, particularly at taxonomic levels higher than the species level (genus, family)." Laurel forest and other cloud forest are subtropical and mild temperate forest , found in areas with high humidity and relatively stable and mild temperatures. Tropical rainforest , tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests are highlight in Southern North America, Amazonia, Caribbean, Central America, Northern Andes and Central Andes. The Amazonia bioregion

1672-557: The remnants are very fragmented. The main breeding period in the Paraguaná Peninsula is the dry season in June and July. It may occur in the Cerro Santa Ana Natural Monument but has not been recorded there. Other vulnerable species found in the more wooded areas are ocelot ( Leopardus pardalis ), cougar ( Puma concolor ) and jaguar ( Panthera onca ). A poison-arrow frog species, Mannophryne lamarcai ,

1716-1013: The species have thorns, spines, and prickles . Common species include Prosopis juliflora , Castela erecta , Stenocereus griseus , Opuntia caracasana , Croton crassifolius , Ipomoea carnea , and Parkinsonia praecox . The driest parts of the arid and semi-arid areas hold dense or sparse vegetation of stunted thorny bushes and cacti. The areas where cacti columns are most common are called cardonales . Common bush species include Castela erecta , Prosopis juliflora , Parkinsonia praecox , Bourreria cumanensis , Pithecellobium dulce , Vachellia tortuosa , Acacia flexuosa , Stenocereus griseus , Opuntia caribea , Ipomoea carnea , Croton heliotropiifolius , Ipomoea carnea , Indigofera suffruticosa , Tephrosia senna , Aristida venezuelae , Calotropis procera and Capraria biflora . Common cacti include Acanthocereus tetragonus , Cereus hexagonus , Opuntia elatior and Pilosocereus lanuginosus . The vegetation of

1760-667: The strong northeast trade winds blowing along the coast and by the contrast in thermal properties between the sea and the land. At a sample location at coordinates 10°45′N 70°15′W  /  10.75°N 70.25°W  / 10.75; -70.25 the Köppen climate classification is "BSh": arid, steppe, hot arid. Mean monthly temperatures at this location range from 24.4 °C (75.9 °F) in January to 26.8 °C (80.2 °F) in August–September. Yearly total rainfall

1804-478: The time of first European contact ), in about 37 distinct language families and a further number of unclassified and isolate languages . Many of these languages and their cultures are also endangered. Accordingly, conservation in the Neotropical realm is a hot political concern, and raises many arguments about development versus indigenous versus ecological rights and access to or ownership of natural resources . The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) subdivides

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1848-462: The vast Amazon rainforest . These rainforest ecoregions are one of the most important reserves of biodiversity on Earth. These rainforests are also home to a diverse array of indigenous peoples , who to varying degrees persist in their autonomous and traditional cultures and subsistence within this environment. The number of these peoples who are as yet relatively untouched by external influences continues to decline significantly, however, along with

1892-458: Was discovered in a small area of Socopó Ridge in Falcón at 520 metres (1,710 ft). The frog, considered critically endangered, was found in 2004 in a small marsh beside a dirt road and in calm sections of a small stream. The surrounding area was cloud forest that had been cleared to create cattle pasture. The endangered red siskin ( Spinus cucullatus ) is found in the ecoregion in the Lara–Falcón valleys. Although protected by law, as of 2016

1936-485: Was originally part of the supercontinent of Gondwana , which included Africa, Australia, India, New Zealand, and Antarctica, and the Neotropic shares many plant and animal lineages with these other continents, including marsupial mammals and the Antarctic flora . After the final breakup of the Gondwana about 110 million years ago, South America was separated from Africa and drifted north and west. 66 million years ago,

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