ecoregion
An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and c ...
in western
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
. It is the northernmost ecoregion of the
Neotropical realm
The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropics, tropical Ecoregion#Terrestrial, terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperat ...
.
Geography
The ecoregion covers an area of approximately
The dry forests lie in the coastal plain and foothills between the Pacific Ocean and the pine-oak forests of the
Sierra Madre Occidental
The Sierra Madre Occidental is a major mountain range system of the North American Cordillera, that runs northwest–southeast through northwestern and western Mexico, and along the Gulf of California. The Sierra Madre is part of the American C ...
, covering most of
Sinaloa
Sinaloa (), officially the (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities, and its capital city is Culiacán Rosales.
It is located in northwest Mexic ...
and
Nayarit
Nayarit, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nayarit, is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in Municipalities of Nayarit, 20 municipalit ...
states and extending into portions of adjacent
Sonora
Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...
Jalisco
Jalisco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in western Mexico and is bordered by s ...
Sonoran Desert
The Sonoran Desert () is a hot desert and ecoregion in North America that covers the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur, as well as part of the Southwestern United States (in Arizona and California). It ...
. On the south, the dry forests transition to the coastal Jalisco dry forests southwest of the
Río Grande de Santiago
The Río Grande de Santiago, or Santiago River, is a river in western Mexico. It flows westwards from Lake Chapala via Ocotlán through the states of Jalisco and Nayarit to empty into the Pacific Ocean. It is one of the longest rivers in Mexic ...
, and the interior
Bajío dry forests
The Bajío dry forests is a tropical dry broadleaf forest ecoregion in western−central Mexico.
Geography
The Bajío dry forests lie in the southwestern portion of the Mexican Plateau. They are bounded on the southeast, south, and southwest by ...
to the southeast.
A number of rivers cross the ecoregion from origins in the Sierra Madre Occidental to empty into the Pacific. These include, from north to south, the Fuerte,
Sinaloa
Sinaloa (), officially the (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities, and its capital city is Culiacán Rosales.
It is located in northwest Mexic ...
,
Culiacán
Culiacán, officially Culiacán Rosales, is a city in northwestern Mexico, the capital and largest city of both Culiacán Municipality and the state of Sinaloa. The city was founded on 29 September 1531 by the Spanish conquistadors Lázaro de ...
Elota
Elota is a municipality in the Mexican state of Sinaloa
Sinaloa (), officially the (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities, and its capital c ...
Presidio
A presidio (''jail, fortification'') was a fortified base established by the Spanish Empire mainly between the 16th and 18th centuries in areas under their control or influence. The term is derived from the Latin word ''praesidium'' meaning ''pr ...
, Baluarte, Acaponeta, San Pedro Mezquital, and Grande de Santiago rivers. In the mountains the dry forests extend into the river canyons, and in the lowlands the rivers support riparian forests. Extensive lagoon and estuary systems along the coast are home to wetlands and mangroves.
Climate
The climate is semi-arid to semi-humid, generally drier near the coast and becoming more humid in the foothills. Rainfall is highly seasonal, with an October to June dry season.
Flora
Plant communities include thorn forests in the coastal lowlands, and dry deciduous forests in foothills of the Sierra Madre Occidental.
Thorn forests are characterized by dense growth of scrubby trees and shrubs. Spiny leguminous trees, particularly ''
Acacia
''Acacia'', commonly known as wattles or acacias, is a genus of about of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa, South America, and Austral ...
'', are predominant. High stands of trees, including species of '' Brosimum,
Ficus
''Ficus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes and hemiepiphytes in the family (biology), family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few spe ...
Bursera
''Bursera'' is a genus with about 100 described species of flowering shrubs and trees varying in size up to high. It is the type genus for Burseraceae. The trees are native (often for many species endemic) to the Americas, from the southern Uni ...
,
Acacia
''Acacia'', commonly known as wattles or acacias, is a genus of about of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa, South America, and Austral ...
Lysiloma
''Lysiloma'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Fabaceae.
The genus is native to the Americas, and species range from Arizona and New Mexico through Mexico and Central America to Costa Rica, and in Florida, Cuba, Hispaniola, ...
''. In the mountain canyons higher up are taller-statured forests, with '' Ceiba acuminata,
Bursera simaruba
''Bursera simaruba'', commonly known as gumbo-limbo, the tourist tree, copperwood, almácigo, chaca, West Indian birch, naked Indian, and turpentine tree, is a tree species in the family Burseraceae, native to the Neotropics, from South Florid ...
liana
A liana is a long-Plant stem, stemmed Woody plant, woody vine that is rooted in the soil at ground level and uses trees, as well as other means of vertical support, to climb up to the Canopy (biology), canopy in search of direct sunlight. T ...
s and
epiphyte
An epiphyte is a plant or plant-like organism that grows on the surface of another plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphyt ...
s.
Fauna
Large mammals include
white-tailed deer
The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known Common name, commonly as the whitetail and the Virginia deer, is a medium-sized species of deer native to North America, North, Central America, Central and South America. It is the ...
(''Odocoileus virginianus''),
javelina
Peccaries (also javelinas or skunk pigs) are pig-like ungulates of the family Tayassuidae (New World pigs). They are found throughout Central and South America, Trinidad in the Caribbean, and in the southwestern area of North America. Peccari ...
(''Tayassu tajacu''),
jaguar
The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large felidae, cat species and the only extant taxon, living member of the genus ''Panthera'' that is native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the biggest cat spe ...
(''Panthera onca''),
coyote
The coyote (''Canis latrans''), also known as the American jackal, prairie wolf, or brush wolf, is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the Wolf, gray wolf, and slightly smaller than the c ...
(''Canis latrans''),
ocelot
The ocelot (''Leopardus pardalis'') is a medium-sized spotted Felidae, wild cat that reaches at the shoulders and weighs between on average. It is native to the southwestern United States, Mexico, Central America, Central and South America, ...
(''Leopardus pardalis pardalis''),
jaguarundi
The jaguarundi (''Herpailurus yagouaroundi''; or ) is a wild felidae, cat native to the Americas. Its range extends from central Argentina in the south to northern Mexico, through Central America, Central and South America east of the Andes. T ...
(''Herpailurus yagouaroundi''),
gray fox
The gray fox (''Urocyon cinereoargenteus''), or grey fox, is an omnivorous mammal of the family Canidae, widespread throughout North America and Central America. This species and its only congener (biology), congener, the diminutive island fox ...
(''Urocyon cinereoargenteus nigrirostris''),
raccoon
The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the North American, northern or common raccoon (also spelled racoon) to distinguish it from Procyonina, other species of raccoon, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest ...
(''Procyon lotor mexicanus''), and
white-nosed coati
The white-nosed coati (''Nasua narica''), also known as the coatimundi (), is a species of coati and a member of the family Procyonidae (raccoons and their relatives). Local Spanish names for the species include ''antoon'', ''gato solo'', ''pi ...
thick-billed kingbird
The thick-billed kingbird (''Tyrannus crassirostris'') is a large bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. Distribution and habitat
This bird breeds from southeastern Arizona and extreme southwestern New Mexico in the United State ...
Sinaloa crow
The Sinaloa crow (''Corvus sinaloae'') is a crow native to western Mexico. Description
Visually, it is nearly identical to and the same length (34–38 cm) as the Tamaulipas crow (''Corvus imparatus''). It has the same purple-glossed, silky, ...
black-throated magpie-jay
The black-throated magpie-jay (''Cyanocorax colliei'') is a strikingly long-tailed magpie-jay of northwestern Mexico.
Taxonomy
The black-throated magpie-jay was formally described in 1829 by the Irish zoologist Nicholas Aylward Vigors from a s ...
(''Calocitta colliei''),
rufous-backed thrush
The rufous-backed thrush (''Turdus rufopalliatus'') is a songbird of the thrush family. It is endemic to the Pacific slope of Mexico. It is also known as the rufous-backed robin.
Description
This species resembles its widespread relative the ...
(''Turdus rufopalliatus''), and elegant quail (''Callipepla douglasii'').BirdLife International (2021) "Endemic Bird Areas factsheet: North-west Mexican Pacific slope." Accessed 26 August 2021 /ref>
Native reptiles include the Rio Fuerte beaded lizard (''Heloderma exasperatum''), clouded anole (''Anolis nebulosus''), Sinaloan milk snake (''Lampropeltis triangulum sinaloae''), filetail ground snake (''Sonora aemula''), indigo snake or babatuco (''Drymarchon corais''), Mexican short-tailed snake (''Sympholis lippiens''),
blunthead tree snake
''Imantodes cenchoa'', also known Common name, commonly as the blunthead tree snake, the neotropical blunt-headed tree snake, and the fiddle-string snake, is a species of mildly venomous snake, venomous, rear-fanged snake in the Family (biology ...
(''Imantodes gemmistratus''), Mexican moccasin, pichecuate or cantíl (''Agkistrodon bilineatus''), and Mexican west coast rattlesnake (''Crotalus basiliscus'')."Selected Wildlife of the Alamos Region". ''Research and Conservation in Southern Sonora, Mexico'', Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. Accessed 28 August 2021 /ref>
Native amphibians include Smith's pygmy robber frog (''Craugastor hobartsmithi'').
Ramsar site
A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O)
*** Permanent 8 ha (P)
*** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts)
**