tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forest
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.
Description
TSMF is generally found in large, disco ...
ecoregion
An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas o ...
in the
Yungas
The Yungas ( Aymara ''yunka'' warm or temperate Andes or earth, Quechua ''yunka'' warm area on the slopes of the Andes) is a bioregion of a narrow band of forest along the eastern slope of the Andes Mountains from Peru and Bolivia, and extends i ...
of
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
.
Setting
The Peruvian Yungas occur on the eastern slopes and valleys of the Peruvian
Andes
The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...
. They form a transition zone between the
Southwest Amazon moist forests
The Southwest Amazon moist forests (NT0166) is an ecoregion located in the Upper Amazon basin.
The forest is characterized by a relatively flat landscape with alluvial plains dissected by undulating hills or high terraces. The biota of the south ...
Central Andean puna
The Central Andean puna is a montane grasslands and shrublands ecoregion in the Andes of southern Peru, Bolivia, and northern Argentina.
Setting
The landscape in this ecoregion consists of high mountains with permanent snow and ice, meadows, lake ...
tropical rainforest climate
A tropical rainforest climate, humid tropical climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southea ...
in the north to a
subtropical highland climate
An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...
in the south. Precipitation ranges from per year.
Flora
This ecoregion contains over 3,000 species of plants, including 200 species of
orchid
Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant.
Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...
s. Orchid
genera
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial ...
include ''
Epidendrum
''Epidendrum'' , abbreviated Epi in the horticultural trade, is a large neotropical genus of the orchid family. With more than 1,500 species, some authors describe it as a mega-genus. The genus name (from Greek ''επί, epi'' and ''δένδρ� ...
'' and ''
Maxillaria
''Maxillaria'', abbreviated as Max in the horticultural trade, is a large genus of orchids (family Orchidaceae). This is a diverse genus, with very different morphological forms. Their characteristics can vary widely.
They are commonly called s ...
''. Tree ferns (''
Cyathea
''Cyathea'' is a genus of tree ferns, the type genus of the fern order Cyatheales.
The genus name ''Cyathea'' is derived from the Greek ''kyatheion'', meaning "little cup", and refers to the cup-shaped sori on the underside of the fronds.
D ...
'') and bamboo (''
Chusquea
''Chusquea'' is a genus of evergreen bamboos in the grass family. Most of them are native to mountain habitats in Latin America, from Mexico to southern Chile and Argentina.
They are sometimes referred to as South American mountain bamboos. Unl ...
'') are common. Below , the forest includes species such as cedar (''
Cedrela
''Cedrela'' is a genus of several species in the mahogany family, Meliaceae. They are evergreen or dry-season deciduous trees with pinnate leaves, native to the tropical and subtropical New World, from southern Mexico south to northern Arg ...
''), trumpet tree (''
Tabebuia
''Tabebuia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Bignoniaceae.Eberhard Fischer, Inge Theisen, and Lúcia G. Lohmann. 2004. "Bignoniaceae". pages 9-38. In: Klaus Kubitzki (editor) and Joachim W. Kadereit (volume editor). ''The Families a ...
''), and relatives of papaya ('' Carica''). Above , there are scrublands and wet rocky thickets with shrubs and land orchids as well as forests of ''
Podocarpus
''Podocarpus'' () is a genus of conifers, the most numerous and widely distributed of the podocarp family, the Podocarpaceae. The name comes from Greek πούς (poús, “foot”) + καρπός (karpós, “fruit”). ''Podocarpus'' speci ...
'' conifers.
Fauna
This ecoregion contains over 200 species of
vertebrate
Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxon, taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () (chordates with vertebral column, backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the ...
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...
.
Notable mammals include the shrew opossums ('' Caenolestes'') and Kalinowski's Agouti ('' Dasyprocta kalinowskii''), as well as the northern pudú (''
Pudu mephistophiles
The northern pudu (''Pudu mephistophiles'', Mapudungun ''püdü'' or ''püdu'', es, pudú, ) is a species of South American deer native to the Andes of Colombia, Venezuela, Peru and Ecuador. It is the world's smallest deer and is classified as ...
Oreonax flavicauda
The yellow-tailed woolly monkey (''Lagothrix flavicauda'') is a New World monkey endemic to Peru. It is a rare primate species found only in the Peruvian Andes, in the departments of Amazonas and San Martin, as well as bordering areas of La ...
''), jaguar (''
Panthera onca
The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the t ...
''), ocelot (''
Leopardus pardalis
The ocelot (''Leopardus pardalis'') is a medium-sized spotted wild cat that reaches at the shoulders and weighs between on average. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. Two subspecies are recognized. It is native to the southw ...
Cinchona
''Cinchona'' (pronounced or ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae containing at least 23 species of trees and shrubs. All are native to the tropical Andean forests of western South America. A few species are reportedly natu ...
'' sp.).
This ecoregions also has endemic species of butterflies from the genera '' Dismopha'', ''
Callithea
''Asterope'' is a genus of brush-footed butterflies found in the Neotropical realm ( South America).
File:Asteropemarkiidavisi.jpg, ''Asterope marki davisii'', underside
Species
Listed alphabetically:Paridos'', and ''
Morpho
The morpho butterflies comprise many species of Neotropical butterfly under the genus ''Morpho''. This genus includes more than 29 accepted species and 147 accepted subspecies, found mostly in South America, Mexico, and Central America. ''Morp ...
Amarakaeri Communal Reserve
The Amarakaeri Communal Reserve (''Reserva Comunal Amarakaeri'') is a protected area in Peru located in the Madre de Dios Region, Manú Province. It protects parts of the Southwest Amazon moist forests and Peruvian Yungas ecoregions.
Located in t ...
Manú National Park
Manú National Park ( es, Parque Nacional del Manú) is a national park and biosphere reserve located in the regions of Madre de Dios and Cusco in Peru. It protects a diverse number of ecosystems including lowland rainforests, cloud forests and ...
Nor Yauyos-Cochas Landscape Reserve
The Nor Yauyos-Cochas Landscape Reserve ( es, Reserva Paisajística Nor Yauyos-Cochas) is a protected area in Peru located in the Lima Region, Yauyos Province and in the Junín Region, Jauja Province. It lies with the Peruvian Yungas and Central A ...
*
San Matías–San Carlos Protection Forest
The San Matías–San Carlos Protection Forest (Bosque de Protección San Matías-San Carlos) is a national forest situated in Pasco Region, Peru. It is a forest set aside to preserve the soils and to protect infrastructure, towns, and agricult ...