''Quercus skinneri'' is a species of

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

. It is found in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

, and

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

. It is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

Description

''Quercus skinneri'' is a medium-sized to large tree, growing up to 25 meters tall.

Range and habitat

''Quercus skinneri'' is found in the mountains and foothills of southern Mexico, including the coastal

Sierra de los Tuxtlas The Sierra de Los Tuxtlas (Tuxtlas Mountains) are a volcanic belt and mountain range along the southeastern Veracruz Gulf coast in Eastern Mexico. The Los Tuxtlas Biosphere Reserve (Biósfera Los Tuxtlas) includes the coastal and higher elevations ...

of Veracruz and the Chiapas Highlands and

Sierra Madre de Chiapas The Sierra Madre de Chiapas is a major mountain range in Central America. It crosses El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico and Honduras. The Sierra Madre de Chiapas is part of the American Cordillera, a chain of mountain ranges that consists of an almos ...

of Chiapas, and scattered sites in the eastern

Sierra Madre del Sur The Sierra Madre del Sur is a mountain range in southern Mexico, extending from southern Michoacán east through Guerrero, to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in eastern Oaxaca. Geography The Sierra Madre del Sur joins with the Eje Volcánico Transv ...

and southern

Sierra Madre Oriental The Sierra Madre Oriental () is a mountain range in northeastern Mexico. The Sierra Madre Oriental is part of the American Cordillera, a chain of mountain ranges (cordillera) that consists of an almost continuous sequence of mountain ranges that f ...

. It is also found in the Sierra Madre de Chiapas and

Guatemalan Highlands The Guatemalan Highlands is an upland region in southern Guatemala, lying between the Sierra Madre de Chiapas to the south and the Petén lowlands to the north. Description The highlands are made up of a series of high valleys enclosed by moun ...

of Guatemala, the

Maya Mountains The Maya Mountains are a mountain range located in Belize and eastern Guatemala, in Central America. Etymology The Maya Mountains were known as the ''Cockscomb'' or ''Coxcomb Mountains'' to Baymen and later Belizeans at least until the mid-2 ...

of Belize, and the

Chortis Highlands The Chortis Highlands is a highland region in northern Central America, which covers portions of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua.Townsend, J. H. (2014). Characterizing the Chortís Block Biogeographic Province: geological, physiograp ...

of El Salvador and Honduras. The species' estimated

area of occupancy Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a region on the plane or on a curved surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape or planar lamina, while '' surface area'' refers to the area of an open s ...

(AOO) is 580 km², which may be an under-estimate due to under-sampling. The species' habitat includes old-growth

cloud forest A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF), is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, montane, moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud c ...

s and other types of montane humid forest, from 1,000 to 2,400 meters elevation. It can be locally abundant in suitable habitats, but is often scarce across its range.

Conservation and threats

The species is threatened with habitat loss from deforestation of cloud forests in Mexico and Central America. Threats to the species and its habitat include livestock grazing, firewood collection, timber harvesting, shifting cultivation, and conversion forest to agriculture or livestock pasture. Its subpopulations are fragmented, and the number of mature individuals is declining. The species is assessed as

near threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qualify fo ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q12955942 skinneri Cloud forest flora of Mexico Flora of the Central American montane forests Flora of Los Tuxtlas Sierra Madre de Chiapas Flora of the Chiapas Highlands Oaks of Mexico Trees of Guatemala Trees of Honduras Trees of El Salvador Trees of Belize Taxonomy articles created by Polbot nah:Teōcuahuitl