The Neotropical realm is one of the eight

biogeographic realm A biogeographic realm is the broadest biogeography, biogeographic division of Earth's land surface, based on distributional patterns of terrestrial animal, terrestrial organisms. They are subdivided into bioregions, which are further subdivid ...

s constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

terrestrial ecoregions An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecology, ecological and Geography, geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of la ...

of the

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

and the entire

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ran ...

zone.

Definition

biogeography Biogeography is the study of the species distribution, distribution of species and ecosystems in geography, geographic space and through evolutionary history of life, geological time. Organisms and biological community (ecology), communities o ...

, the Neotropic or Neotropical realm is one of the eight terrestrial realms. This realm includes South America,

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

, the Caribbean Islands, and southern North America. In Mexico, the

Yucatán Peninsula The Yucatán Peninsula ( , ; ) is a large peninsula in southeast Mexico and adjacent portions of Belize and Guatemala. The peninsula extends towards the northeast, separating the Gulf of Mexico to the north and west of the peninsula from the C ...

and southern lowlands, and most of the east and west coastlines, including the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula are Neotropical. In the United States southern Florida and coastal

Central Florida Central Florida is a Regions of the United States#Florida, region of the U.S. state of Florida. Different sources give different definitions for the region, but as its name implies it is usually said to comprise the central part of the state, in ...

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 Fauna (: faunae or faunas) is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding terms for plants and fungi are ''flora'' and '' funga'', respectively. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively ...

flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...

. Its fauna and flora are distinct from 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 The Isthmus of Panama, historically known as the Isthmus of Darien, is the narrow strip of land that lies between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, linking North America, North and South America. The country of Panama is located on the i ...

joined the two continents two to three million years ago, precipitating the

Great American Interchange The Great American Biotic Interchange (commonly abbreviated as GABI), also known as the Great American Interchange and the Great American Faunal Interchange, was an important late Cenozoic paleozoogeographic biotic interchange event in which land ...

, an important biogeographical event. The Neotropic includes more

tropical rainforest Tropical rainforests are dense and warm rainforests with high rainfall typically found between 10° north and south of the Equator. They are a subset of the tropical forest biome that occurs roughly within the 28° latitudes (in the torrid zo ...

(

tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF), also known as tropical moist forest, is a subtropical and tropical forest habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). Description TSMF is generally found in la ...

) than any other realm, extending from southern Mexico through Central America and northern South America to southern Brazil, including the vast

Amazon rainforest The Amazon rainforest, also called the Amazon jungle or Amazonia, is a Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, moist broadleaf tropical rainforest in the Amazon biome that covers most of the Amazon basin of South America. This basin ...

. These rainforest ecoregions are one of the most important reserves of

biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

on Earth. These rainforests are also home to a diverse array of

indigenous peoples There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

, 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 the near-exponential expansion of

urbanization Urbanization (or urbanisation in British English) is the population shift from Rural area, rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. ...

, 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 the time of first European contact), in about 37 distinct

language families A language family is a group of languages related through descent from a common ancestor, called the proto-language of that family. The term ''family'' is a metaphor borrowed from biology, with the tree model used in historical linguistics ana ...

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 resource Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest, and cultural value. ...

Major ecological regions

The

World Wide Fund for Nature The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is a Swiss-based international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named th ...

(WWF) subdivides 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 A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest, is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, Montane forest, montane, Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, moist forest characteri ...

are subtropical and mild temperate

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

, found in areas with high humidity and relatively stable and mild temperatures.

Tropical rainforest Tropical rainforests are dense and warm rainforests with high rainfall typically found between 10° north and south of the Equator. They are a subset of the tropical forest biome that occurs roughly within the 28° latitudes (in the torrid zo ...

are highlight in Southern North America, Amazonia, Caribbean, Central America, Northern Andes and Central Andes.

Amazonia

The Amazonia bioregion is mostly covered by tropical moist broadleaf forest, including the vast

, which stretches from the Andes Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean, and the lowland forests of the

Guianas The Guianas, also spelled Guyanas or Guayanas, are a geographical region in north-eastern South America. Strictly, the term refers to the three Guianas: Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana, formerly British Guiana, British, Surinam (Dutch colo ...

. The bioregion also includes tropical savanna and tropical dry forest ecoregions.

Caribbean

Central America

Central Andes

The Central Andes lie between the gulfs of

Guayaquil Guayaquil (), officially Santiago de Guayaquil, is the largest city in Ecuador and also the nation's economic capital and main port. The city is the capital (political), capital of Guayas Province and the seat of Guayaquil Canton. The city is ...

and Penas and thus encompass southern Ecuador, Chile, Peru, western Bolivia, and northwest and western Argentina.

Eastern South America

Eastern South America includes the Caatinga xeric shrublands of northeastern Brazil, the broad

Cerrado The Cerrado () is a vast ecoregion of Tropics, tropical savanna in central Brazil, being present in the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Maranhão, Piauí, Bahia, Minas Gerais, São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Paraná ...

grasslands and savannas of the Brazilian Plateau, and the

Pantanal The Pantanal () is a natural region encompassing the world's largest tropical wetland area, and the world's largest Flooded grasslands and savannas, flooded grasslands. It is located mostly within the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul, but i ...

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.

Northern Andes

North of the Gulf of Guayaquil in Ecuador and Colombia, a series of accreted oceanic terranes (discrete allochthonous fragments) have developed that constitute the Baudo, or Coastal, Mountains and the Cordillera Occidental.

Orinoco

The Orinoco is a region of humid forested broadleaf forest and wetland primarily comprising the

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

for the

Orinoco The Orinoco () is one of the longest rivers in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes known as the Orinoquia, covers approximately 1 million km2, with 65% of it in Venezuela and 35% in Colombia. It is the List of rivers by discharge, f ...

River and other adjacent lowland forested areas. This region includes most of Venezuela and parts of Colombia, as well as

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

Southern South America

The temperate forest ecoregions of southwestern South America, including the temperate rain forests of the

Valdivian temperate rain forests The Valdivian temperate forests (NT0404) is an terrestrial ecoregion, ecoregion on the west coast of southern South America, in Chile and Argentina. It is part of the Neotropical realm. The forests are named after the city of Valdivia, Chile, Val ...

and

Magellanic subpolar forests The Magellanic subpolar forests () are a terrestrial ecoregion of southernmost South America, covering parts of southern Chile and Argentina, and are part of the Neotropical realm. It is a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion, and ...

ecoregions, and the

Juan Fernández Islands The Juan Fernández Islands () are a sparsely inhabited series of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, reliant on tourism and fishing. Situated off the coast of Chile, they are composed of three main volcanic islands: Robinson Crusoe Island, R ...

and Desventuradas Islands, are a refuge for the ancient

Antarctic flora Antarctic flora are a distinct community of vascular plants which evolved millions of years ago on the supercontinent of Gondwana. In 2025, species of Antarctica flora reside on several now separated areas of the Southern Hemisphere, including ...

, which includes trees like the southern beech (''Nothofagus''), podocarps, the alerce (''Fitzroya cupressoides''), and

Araucaria ''Araucaria'' (; original pronunciation: .ɾawˈka. ɾja is a genus of evergreen coniferous trees in the family Araucariaceae. While today they are largely confined to the Southern Hemisphere, during the Jurassic and Cretaceous they were glo ...

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 ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of more than 700 species of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. Most species of ''Eucalyptus'' are trees, often Mallee (habit), mallees, and a few are shrubs. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalyp ...

History

South America was originally part of the supercontinent of

Gondwana Gondwana ( ; ) was a large landmass, sometimes referred to as a supercontinent. The remnants of Gondwana make up around two-thirds of today's continental area, including South America, Africa, Antarctica, Australia (continent), Australia, Zea ...

, which included Africa, Australia, India, New Zealand, and Antarctica, and the Neotropic shares many plant and animal lineages with these other continents, including

marsupial Marsupials are a diverse group of mammals belonging to the infraclass Marsupialia. They are natively found in Australasia, Wallacea, and the Americas. One of marsupials' unique features is their reproductive strategy: the young are born in a r ...

mammals and the

. 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, the

Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event The Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) extinction event, also known as the K–T extinction, was the extinction event, mass extinction of three-quarters of the plant and animal species on Earth approximately 66 million years ago. The event cau ...

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

, which allowed a biotic exchange between the two continents, the

. South American species like the ancestors of the Virginia opossum (''Didelphis virginiana'') and the

armadillo Armadillos () are New World placental mammals in the order (biology), order Cingulata. They form part of the superorder Xenarthra, along with the anteaters and sloths. 21 extant species of armadillo have been described, some of which are dis ...

moved into North America, and North Americans like the ancestors of South America's

camelid Camelids are members of the biological family (biology), family Camelidae, the only currently living family in the suborder Tylopoda. The seven extant taxon, extant members of this group are: dromedary, dromedary camels, Bactrian camels, wild Bac ...

s, including the

llama The llama (; or ) (''Lama glama'') is a domesticated South American camelid, widely used as a List of meat animals, meat and pack animal by Inca empire, Andean cultures since the pre-Columbian era. Llamas are social animals and live with ...

(''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.

Endemic animals and plants

Animals

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 Ovenbirds or furnariids are a large family of small suboscine passerine birds found from Mexico and Central America, Central to southern South America. They form the family Furnariidae. This is a large family containing around 321 species and 71 ...

, toucans, and seriemas. Bird families originally unique to the Neotropics include

hummingbird Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the Family (biology), biological family Trochilidae. With approximately 366 species and 113 genus, genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but most species are found in Cen ...

s (family Trochilidae) and wrens (family Troglodytidae).

Mammal A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three ...

groups originally unique to the Neotropics include: * Order ''

Xenarthra Xenarthra (; from Ancient Greek ξένος, xénos, "foreign, alien" + ἄρθρον, árthron, "joint") is a superorder and major clade of placental mammals native to the Americas. There are 31 living species: the anteaters, tree sloths, and ...

'':

anteater Anteaters are the four extant mammal species in the suborder Vermilingua (meaning "worm tongue"), commonly known for eating ants and termites. The individual species have other names in English and other languages. Together with sloths, they ar ...

sloth Sloths are a Neotropical realm, Neotropical group of xenarthran mammals constituting the suborder Folivora, including the extant Arboreal locomotion, arboreal tree sloths and extinct terrestrial ground sloths. Noted for their slowness of move ...

s, and

s * New World monkeys * Solenodontidae, the solenodons * Caviomorpha

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the Order (biology), order Rodentia ( ), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and Mandible, lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal specie ...

s, including

capybara The capybara or greater capybara (''Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris'') is the largest living rodent, native to South America. It is a member of the genus '' Hydrochoerus''. The only other extant member is the lesser capybara (''Hydrochoerus isthmi ...

guinea pig The guinea pig or domestic guinea pig (''Cavia porcellus''), also known as the cavy or domestic cavy ( ), is a species of rodent belonging to the genus ''Cavia'', family Caviidae. Animal fancy, Breeders tend to use the name "cavy" for the ani ...

s, hutias, and chinchillas * American opossums (order '' Didelphimorphia'') and shrew opossums (order '' Paucituberculata'') The Neotropical realm has 63 endemic

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

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 The red-bellied piranha, also known as the red piranha (''Pygocentrus nattereri''), is a Type (biology), type of piranha native to South America, found in the Amazon basin, Amazon, Paraguay River, Paraguay, Paraná River, Paraná and Essequibo Ri ...

is endemic to the Neotropic realm, occupying a larger geographic area than any other piranha species. Some

groups originally unique to the Neotropics include: * Order Gymnotiformes: Neotropical electric fishes * Family

Characidae Characidae, the characids, is a family of freshwater subtropical and tropical fish belonging to the order Characiformes. They are found throughout much of Central and South America, including such major waterways as the Amazon and Orinoco Riv ...

: tetras and allies * Family

Loricariidae Loricariidae is the largest family (biology), family of catfish (order Siluriformes), with over 90 genus, genera and just over 680 species. Loricariids originate from freshwater habitats of Costa Rica, Panama, and tropical and subtropical South A ...

: armoured catfishes * Subfamily

Cichlinae The Cichlinae are a subfamily of fishes in the Cichlidae, cichlid family, native to Centra America, Central and South America. This subfamily consists of approximately 117 described species as of July 2017. Some authors have suggested that the ...

: Neotropical cichlids * Subfamily Poeciliinae: guppies and relatives Examples of other animal groups that are entirely or mainly restricted to the Neotropical region include: * Caimans * New World coral snakes * Poison dart frogs *

Dactyloidae Dactyloidae are a family of lizards commonly known as anoles (singular anole ) and native to warmer parts of the Americas, ranging from southeastern United States to Paraguay. Instead of treating it as a family, some authorities prefer to treat ...

("anoles") * Rock iguanas (''Cyclura'') * Preponini and Anaeini butterflies (including '' Agrias'') * Brassolini and Morphini butterflies (including '' Caligo'' and '' Morpho'') * Callicorini butterflies * Heliconiini butterflies *

Ithomiini Ithomiini is a butterfly tribe in the nymphalid subfamily Danainae. It is sometimes referred to as the tribe of clearwing butterflies or glasswing butterflies. Some authors consider the group to be a subfamily (Ithomiinae). These butterflies ar ...

butterflies * Riodininae butterflies *

Eumaeini The Eumaeini are a tribe of gossamer-winged butterflies (family Lycaenidae). They are typically placed in the subfamily Theclinae, but sometimes considered a separate subfamily Eumaeinae. Over 1,000 species are found in the Neotropical realm S ...

butterflies * Firetips or firetail skipper butterflies * Euglossini bees * Augochlorini bees * Pseudostigmatidae ("giant damselflies") * Mantoididae (short-bodied mantises) * Canopidae, Megarididae, and Phloeidae (pentatomoid bugs) * Aetalionidae and Melizoderidae (treehoppers) * Gonyleptidae (harvestmen)

Plants

According to Simberloff. as of 1984 there were a total of 92,128 species of

flowering plants Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

(Angiosperms) in the Neotropics. Plant families endemic and partly subendemic to the realm are, according to Takhtajan (1978), Hymenophyllopsidaceae, Marcgraviaceae, Caryocaraceae, Pellicieraceae, Quiinaceae,

Peridiscaceae Peridiscaceae is a Family (biology), family of flowering plants in the Order (biology), order Saxifragales.Peter F. Stevens. 2001 onwards. "Peridiscaceae". At: Angiosperm Phylogeny Website At: Missouri Botanical Garden Website. (see ''External li ...

, Bixaceae, Cochlospermaceae,

Tovariaceae ''Tovaria'' is a genus of herbs native to Jamaica and South America. There are two species, ''Tovaria pendula'' and ''Tovaria diffusa''. The genus is the only one in the family Tovariaceae. References

* http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/Research/A ...

, 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 the Neotropic include Bromeliaceae, Cannaceae and Heliconiaceae. Plant species with economic importance originally unique to the Neotropic include: *

Potato The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...

(''Solanum tuberosum'') *

Tomato The tomato (, ), ''Solanum lycopersicum'', is a plant whose fruit is an edible Berry (botany), berry that is eaten as a vegetable. The tomato is a member of the nightshade family that includes tobacco, potato, and chili peppers. It originate ...

(''Solanum lycopersicum'') * Cacao tree (''Theobroma cacao''), source of cocoa and

chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cocoa beans that can be a liquid, solid, or paste, either by itself or to flavoring, flavor other foods. Cocoa beans are the processed seeds of the cacao tree (''Theobroma cacao''); unprocesse ...

Maize Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...

(''Zea mays'') * Passion fruit (''Passiflora edulis'') *

Guava Guava ( ), also known as the 'guava-pear', is a common tropical fruit cultivated in many tropical and subtropical regions. The common guava '' Psidium guajava'' (lemon guava, apple guava) is a small tree in the myrtle family (Myrtaceae), nativ ...

(''Psidium guajava'') * Lima bean (''Phaseolus lunatus'') * Cotton (''

Gossypium barbadense ''Gossypium barbadense'' is one of several species of cotton. It is in the Malvaceae, mallow family. It has been cultivated since antiquity, but has been especially prized since a form with particularly long fibers was developed in the 19th cent ...

'') *

Cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava, manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America, from Brazil, Paraguay and parts of the Andes. Although ...

(''Manihot esculenta'') * Sweet potato (''Ipomoea batatas'') * Amaranth ('' Amaranthus caudatus'') *

Quinoa Quinoa (''Chenopodium quinoa''; , from Quechuan languages, Quechua ' or ') is a flowering plant in the Amaranthaceae, amaranth family. It is a herbaceous annual plant grown as a crop primarily for its edible seeds; the seeds are high in prote ...

(''Chenopodium quinoa'')

Neotropical terrestrial ecoregions

Citations

General and cited bibliography

* Albert, J. S., and R. E. Reis (2011).
''Historical Biogeography of Neotropical Freshwater Fishes''
University of California Press, Berkeley. 424 pp. . * Bequaert, Joseph C. "An Introductory Study of Polistes in the United States and Canada with Descriptions of Some New North and South American Forms (Hymenoptera; Vespidæ)". ''Journal of the New York Entomological Society'' 48.1 (1940): 1–31. * Cox, C. B.; P. D. Moore (1985). ''Biogeography: An Ecological and Evolutionary Approach'' (Fourth Edition). Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford. * Dinerstein, E., Olson, D. Graham, D. J. et al. (1995)
''A Conservation Assessment of the Terrestrial Ecoregions of Latin America and the Caribbean''
World Bank, Washington, D.C. * Olson, D. M., B. Chernoff, G. Burgess, I. Davidson, P. Canevari, E. Dinerstein, G. Castro, V. Morisset, R. Abell, and E. Toledo. 1997
''Freshwater biodiversity of Latin America and the Caribbean: a conservation assessment''
Draft report. World Wildlife Fund-U.S., Wetlands International, Biodiversity Support Program, and United States Agency for International Development, Washington, D.C. * Reis, R. E., S. O. Kullander, and C. J. Ferraris Jr. 2003. ''Check List of the Freshwater Fishes of South and Central America''. Edipucrs, Porto Alegre. 729 pp. * Udvardy, M. D. F. (1975)
''A classification of the biogeographical provinces of the world''
IUCN Occasional Paper no. 18. Morges, Switzerland: IUCN. * van der Sleen, Peter, and James S. Albert, eds. ''Field Guide to the Fishes of the Amazon, Orinoco, and Guianas''. Princeton University Press, 2017.

External links

* List of terrestrial ecoregions
Eco-Index
a bilingual searchable reference of conservation and research projects in the Neotropics; a service of the Rainforest Alliance
NeoTropic
* Acosta, Guillermo et al., 2018
"Climate change and peopling of the Neotropics during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition"
''Boletín de la Sociedad Geológica Mexicana''. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Neotropical realm . . . . . Biogeographic realms Biogeography Natural history of Central America Natural history of North America Natural history of South America Natural history of the Caribbean Phytogeography