The number of species that exist on our planet is indisputable. However, they are not all everywhere, which makes them even more special. This time we want to delve into the endemic fauna in the region of Mexico, one of the 12 countries with the greatest biodiversity in the world. If you want to know more and know what species you can find exclusively there, keep reading, because from Ecologist Verde we tell you what endemic species are there in Mexico with examples. Attentive!
Location and main characteristics of Mexico
Mexico or, rather, the United States of Mexico, is a country that is located in the southern part of North America. With an area of 1,964,375 km2 Mexico is the fourteenth largest country in the world and the third in Latin America. It is bounded by its coasts bathed by the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Gulf of Mexico together with the Caribbean Sea to the east. As for its inhabitants, it is the eleventh most populous country, with a population of approximately 124 million people in 2022.
His relief is very rugged and it has a large number of volcanoes. In addition, there are the Madre Oriental and Madre Occidental mountain ranges, which are an extension of the Rocky Mountains.
Mexico has a very diverse climatic variety where the average temperature is around 19ºC, although we can find both cold climates in the mountainous areas and very hot climates in the areas near its coasts. The country is also divided into two very different areas by the Tropic of Cancer: an area with a tropical climate and another with a more temperate climate.
It has a wet season between May and October during which it rains about 70 days a year, although in most of the country rainfall is scarce.
What are endemic species
Before continuing with the article we must make a little parenthesis. Know what are endemic species? An endemic species is one that refers to a species whose distribution is restricted to a specific geographic location and that naturally is not found in other regions of the world.
However, an endemism does not specify how restricted it is. By this we mean that the scale is highly variable, an endemism can be its own from a mountain to an island or a continent. Similarly, here we are referring to species, but you can also refer to other larger groups such as genera or families. With all this, the general thing is that it is indicated which taxon we are referring to (species, subspecies, family …) and from where.
Expand this information with this other Green Ecologist article on Endemic Species: definition and examples.
What are the endemic species of Mexico: examples
As we said, Mexico is one of the most diverse countries in the world with the 10% or 12% of the planet's biodiversity that includes diverse species of vertebrate animals, invertebrates and plants.
Some examples of endemic invertebrates of Mexico They are the crab of the canyonsPseudothelphusa dugesi), the acocil reigo (Procambarus regiomontanus), the hope butterfly (Papilio hope) or the tarantula of the Federal District (Chilango hemirrhagus).
Within the endemic vertebrate animals of Mexico Below we collect a sample of species classified by groups in descending order of number of total species:
- Fish: in Mexico there are 2,692 species of fish, of which 271 are endemic. Some examples of them are Julimes puppy (Cyprinodon julimes), the charal of Alchichica (Poblana Alchichica) or Almoloya (Poblana Ferdebueni) or the Yucatecan sardine (Fundulus persimilis).
- Birds: of the 1,096 existing species, 125 are endemic. Some examples are the dwarf chara (Cyanolyca nana), the Tamaulipas owl (Glaucidium sanchezi), the long-eared trogon (Euptilotis neoxenus) or the mountain sparrow (Xenospiza baileyi).
- Reptiles: 864 species are registered, of which 493 are endemic, such as the Mexican spiny iguana (Ctenosaura pectinata), the mountain nauyaca (Cerophidion barbouri), the coral of the Balsas (Micrurus laticollaris), the four swamp turtle (Terrapene coahuila) or the Mexican pygmy rattlesnake (Crotalus ravus).
- Mammals: 535 species with 164 endemic, including the Cozumel raccoon (Procyon pigmaeus), the banana bat (Musonycteris harrisoni), the vaquita marinaPhocoena sinus) or the pygmy skunk (Spilogale pymaea).
- Amphibians: 361, with 174 endemic. Examples of amphibians in Mexico are the Mexican axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum), the cecilia oaxagueña (Dermophis oaxacae), the Sierra Madre Occidental frog (Lithobates sierramadrensis), the salamadra of the Sierra de Juárez (Cryptotriton adelos) or the large crested toad (Bufo cristatus).
Last but not least, some species of endemic plants of Mexico They are the oyamel of Juárez (Abies hickelii), the pine of Jalisco (Pinus jaliscana), the weeping stone pine (Pinus pinceana), perennial corn (Zea diploperennis), the palm of Guadalupe (Brahea edulis), various species of “immortelle” (Echeverria spp.) or Tehuantepec soyate (Beaucarnea stricta).
If you liked knowing all this information about the endemic species of Mexico, we recommend that you also consult this other article about the 10 animals in danger of extinction in Mexico.
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