Mendoza and
San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to:
Places Argentina
* San Juan Province, Argentina
* San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province
* San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province
* San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...
rivers, which drains into the
Desaguadero River. The lakes and streams are mostly seasonal or intermittent.
The ecoregion is by far the driest part of Argentina.
The
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
is "BSk": arid, steppe, cold arid.
Annual precipitation is .
In the north and central regions there is more rain in summer.
In the colder south the monthly rainfall is more evenly distributed.
At a sample location at coordinates the mean temperature ranges from in July to in January.
The yearly average mean temperature is .
Annual precipitation is about .
Monthly precipitation ranges from in July to in October.
Ecology
The Argentine Monte is in the
Neotropical realm
The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone.
Definition
In bioge ...
, in the
temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands
Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands is a terrestrial biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. The predominant vegetation in this biome consists of grass and/or shrubs. The climate is temperate and ranges from Semi-arid climate ...
biome.
Flora
Flora are typically thorn scrub and dry grassland, with relatively low plant diversity.
There are thin gallery forests along the rivers.
There are areas of
cactus
A cactus (, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1750 known species of the order Caryophyllales. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Greek ...
scrub,
xerophilous
A xerophile () is an extremophilic organism that can grow and reproduce in conditions with a low availability of water, also known as water activity. Water activity (aw) is measured as the humidity above a substance relative to the humidity above p ...
open woodland, and vegetation adapted to rocky, sandy and salty conditions.
In some areas the scrub is very open.
The steppe contains resinous evergreen bushes, mainly from the family
Zygophyllaceae
Zygophyllaceae is a family of flowering plants that contains the bean-caper and caltrop. The family includes around 285 species in 22 genera.
Plants in the family Zygophyllaceae may be trees, shrubs, or herbs. They are often found in dry habita ...
and the genera ''
Larrea
''Larrea'' is a genus of flowering plants in the caltrop family, Zygophyllaceae. It contains five species of evergreen shrubs that are native to the Americas. The generic name honours Bishop Juan Antonio Hernández Pérez de Larrea, a patron of ...
'', ''
Bulnesia
''Bulnesia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the caltrop family, Zygophyllaceae. The wood of some – particularly '' B. arborea'' and '' B. sarmientoi'' – is traded as verawood (colloquially "vera") or ''"lignum vitae"''. They are cl ...
'' and ''
Plectocarpa''.
Other species are ''
Montea aphyla ''Moutya'' or Moutia, is a traditional African dance similar to the Sega, but with often more pronounced suggestive movements. Female and male dancers move in rhythm to the beat of the often single drum made of dried goatskin and lightly heated up ...
'', ''
Bougainvillea spinosa
''Bougainvillea'' ( , ) is a genus of thorny ornamental vines, bushes, and trees belonging to the four o' clock family, Nyctaginaceae. It is native to eastern South America, found from Brazil, west to Peru, and south to southern Argentina. ...
'' and ''
Prosopis
''Prosopis'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It contains around 45 species of spiny trees and shrubs found in subtropical and tropical regions of the Americas, Africa, Western Asia, and South Asia. They often thrive in ari ...
'' species.
In the north
cacti
A cactus (, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1750 known species of the order Caryophyllales. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Greek ...
of the genera ''
Echinopsis
''Echinopsis'' is a large genus of cacti native
Native may refer to:
People
* Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth
* Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory
** ...
'' and ''
Cereus'' and
bromeliads
The Bromeliaceae (the bromeliads) are a family of monocot flowering plants of about 80 genera and 3700 known species, native mainly to the tropical Americas, with several species found in the American subtropics and one in tropical west Africa, ...
of the genera ''
Dyckia
''Dyckia'' is a genus of plants in the family (biology), family Bromeliaceae, subfamily Pitcairnioideae.
The genus is named after the Prussian botanist, botanical artist and horticulturist The Prince and Earl of Salm Reifferscheid-Dyck (1773–1 ...
'', ''
Deuterocohnia
''Deuterocohnia'' is a genus of plants in the family Bromeliaceae, subfamily Pitcairnioideae, endemic to South America. The genus is named for Ferdinand Julius Cohn
Ferdinand Julius Cohn (24 January 1828 – 25 June 1898) was a German biolo ...
'' and ''
Tillandsia
''Tillandsia'' is a genus of around 650 species of evergreen, perennial flowering plants in the family Bromeliaceae, native to the forests, mountains and deserts of northern Mexico and south-eastern United States, Mesoamerica and the Caribbean to ...
'' are more common.
Herbaceous plants appear after rain showers, including ''
Portulaca grandiflora
''Portulaca grandiflora'' is a succulent flowering plant in the family Portulacaceae, native to southern Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay and often cultivated in gardens.Huxley, A., ed. (1992). ''New RHS Dictionary of Gardening''. Macmillan . It h ...
'', irises, lilies and grasses.
On the river edges or where there is underground water there are gallery forests of ''
Prosopis
''Prosopis'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It contains around 45 species of spiny trees and shrubs found in subtropical and tropical regions of the Americas, Africa, Western Asia, and South Asia. They often thrive in ari ...
'' species.
''
Larrea cuneifolia
''Larrea'' is a genus of flowering plants in the caltrop family, Zygophyllaceae. It contains five species of evergreen shrubs that are native to the Americas. The generic name honours Bishop Juan Antonio Hernández Pérez de Larrea, a patron of ...
'' is found in hot and dry areas, ''
Larrea divaricata
''Larrea divaricata'', commonly known as chaparral, is a small evergreen bush in the family Zygophyllaceae. It is native to arid regions of South America, where it is known as ''jarilla'' or ''jarillo''. It was first described in 1800 by the Spa ...
'' along the streams and ''
Larrea nitida
''Larrea'' is a genus of flowering plants in the caltrop family, Zygophyllaceae. It contains five species of evergreen shrubs that are native to the Americas. The generic name honours Bishop Juan Antonio Hernández Pérez de Larrea, a patron o ...
'' in cooler areas and mountain slopes.
Other plants found in different conditions include ''
Baccharis salicifolia
''Baccharis salicifolia'' is a blooming shrub native to the sage scrub community and desert southwest of the United States and northern Mexico, as well as parts of South America. Its usual common name is mule fat;Mojave Desert Wildflowers, Pam Ma ...
'', ''
Tessaria dodonaefolia'', ''
Suaeda divaricata'' and ''
Allenrolfea vaginata
''Allenrolfea'' is a genus of shrubs in the family Amaranthaceae. The genus was named for the English botanist Robert Allen Rolfe. There are three species, ranging from North America to South America.
Description
The species of ''Allenrolfea' ...
''.
Several endemic species have evolved in isolation since the
Oligocene
The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but the ...
such as ''
Romorinoa girolae'' and ''
Gomprhena colosacana'', found in the
Sierra de las Quijadas National Park, and ''
Halophytum ameghinoi
''Halophytum ameghinoi'' is a species of herbaceous plant endemic to Patagonia. It is the only species in the genus ''Halophytum''. It is a succulent annual plant, with simple, fleshy, alternate leaves. The plants are monoecious, with solitary f ...
'', a fleshy grass that grows in bogs.
Fauna
Common mammals include
screaming hairy armadillo
The screaming hairy armadillo (''Chaetophractus vellerosus'') is a species of armadillo also known as the small screaming armadillo, crying armadillo or the small hairy armadillo. It is a burrowing armadillo found in the central and southern part ...
(''Chaetophractus vellerosus''),
pink fairy armadillo (''Chlamyphorus truncatus''),
cougar
The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large Felidae, cat native to the Americas. Its Species distribution, range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mamm ...
(''Puma concolor''),
South American gray fox
The South American gray fox (''Lycalopex griseus''), also known as the Patagonian fox, the chilla or the gray zorro, is a species of ''Lycalopex'', the "false" foxes. It is endemic to the southern part of South America.
Description
The South A ...
(''Lycalopex griseus''),
Patagonian weasel
The Patagonian weasel (''Lyncodon patagonicus'') is a small mustelid that is the only member of the genus ''Lyncodon''. Its geographic range is the Pampas of western Argentina and sections of Chile. An early mention of the animal is in the Journa ...
(''Lyncodon patagonicus''),
guanaco
The guanaco (; ''Lama guanicoe'') is a camelid native to South America, closely related to the llama. Guanacos are one of two wild South American camelids, the other being the vicuña, which lives at higher elevations.
Etymology
The guanaco g ...
(''Lama guanicoe''), and
southern mountain cavy
The southern mountain cavy (''Microcavia australis'') is a species of South American rodent in the family Caviidae.
Description
Southern mountain cavies are tailless rodents with short, speckled, greyish-yellow fur, fading to pale grey on the un ...
(''Microcavia australis'').
Vulnerable or endangered mammals include
plains viscacha rat
The plains viscacha rat, plains vizcacha rat, red viscacha rat, or red vizcacha rat (''Tympanoctomys barrerae'') is a species of rodent in the family Octodontidae native to Argentina. It is one of three species in the genus '' Tympanoctomys''.
D ...
(''Tympanoctomys barrerae''), pink fairy armadillo (''Chlamyphorus truncatus''),
strong tuco-tuco
The strong tuco-tuco (''Ctenomys validus'') is a species of rodent in the family Ctenomyidae. It is endemic to Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern ...
(''Ctenomys validus''),
viscacha rat (''Octomys mimax''),
Roig's pericote (''Andalgalomys roigi''),
delicate salt flat mouse
The delicate salt flat mouse, ''Salinomys delicatus'', (in Spanish, el ratón delicado de los salares) is a sigmodontine rodent species in the family Cricetidae from South America. It is the only species in the genus ''Salinomys''. Its habitat ...
(''Salinomys delicatus'') and
Patagonian mara
The Patagonian mara (''Dolichotis patagonum'') is a relatively large rodent in the mara genus ''Dolichotis''. It is also known as the Patagonian cavy, Patagonian hare, or dillaby. This herbivorous, somewhat rabbit-like animal is found in open an ...
(''Dolichotis patagonum'').
Endangered mammals include
southern river otter
The southern river otter (''Lontra provocax'') is a species of otter that lives in Chile and Argentina. Although called a "river otter", it inhabits both marine and freshwater environments. It sometimes is considered a subspecies of ''Lontra cana ...
(''Lontra provocax'').
Birds include
elegant crested tinamou
The elegant crested tinamou or martineta tinamou (''Eudromia elegans'') is a medium-sized tinamou that can be found in southern Chile and Argentina in Shrubland. The bird has an omnivorous diet. This species is terrestrial due to their poor flyi ...
(''Eudromia elegans''),
cinnamon warbling finch (''Poospiza ornata''),
Darwin's nothura
Darwin's nothura (''Nothura darwinii'') is a type of tinamou commonly found in high-altitude grassland in the southern Andes in South America.
Etymology
The name of the species is named after Charles Darwin, an eminent English naturalist, to co ...
(''Nothura darwinii'') and
burrowing parrot
The burrowing parrot (''Cyanoliseus patagonus''), also known as the burrowing parakeet or the Patagonian conure, is a species of parrot native to Argentina and Chile. It belongs to the monotypic genus ''Cyanoliseus'', with four subspecies that a ...
(''Cyanoliseus patagonus'').
Threatened birds are
peregrine falcon
The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known as the peregrine, and historically as the duck hawk in North America, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (Bird of prey, raptor) in the family (biology), family Falco ...
(''Falco peregrinus'') and
Chaco eagle
The Chaco eagle (''Buteogallus coronatus'') or crowned solitary eagle, is an endangered bird of prey from eastern and central South America. Typically it is known simply as the crowned eagle which leads to potential confusion with the African ''S ...
(''Buteogallus coronatus'').
Endangered birds include
yellow cardinal
The yellow cardinal (''Gubernatrix cristata'') is a species of South American bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. It is the only member of its genus, ''Gubernatrix''. It is very rare and can only be found on one continent.
Taxonomy
The yell ...
(''Gubernatrix cristata'') and
Eskimo curlew
The Eskimo curlew (''Numenius borealis''), also known as northern curlew, is a species of curlew in the family Scolopacidae. It was one of the most numerous shorebirds in the tundra of western Arctic Canada and Alaska. Thousands of birds were th ...
(Numenius borealis).
The Guanacache, Desaguadero y Bebedero system has rich biodiversity and supports more than 50 species of waterbirds.
These include
maguari stork
The maguari stork (''Ciconia maguari'') is a large species of stork that inhabits seasonal wetlands over much of South America, and is very similar in appearance to the white stork; albeit slightly larger.King CE. 1988. An ethological comparison ...
(''Ciconia maguari''),
southern screamer
The southern screamer (''Chauna torquata'') is a species of bird in family Anhimidae of the waterfowl order Anseriformes. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, ...
(''Chauna torquata''),
white-faced ibis
The white-faced ibis (''Plegadis chihi'') is a wading bird in the ibis family, Threskiornithidae.
This species breeds colonially in marshes, usually nesting in bushes or low trees. Its breeding range extends from the western United States south ...
(''Plegadis chihi''),
Chilean flamingo
The Chilean flamingo (''Phoenicopterus chilensis'') is a species of large flamingo at closely related to the American flamingo and the greater flamingo, with which it was sometimes considered conspecific. The species is listed as near threatened ...
(''Phoenicopterus chilensis'') and dabbling ducks of the genus ''
Anas
''Anas'' is a genus of dabbling ducks. It includes the pintails, most teals, and the mallard and its close relatives. It formerly included additional species but following the publication of a molecular phylogenetic study in 2009 the genus wa ...
''.
It is also used by migratory birds such as
plover
Plovers ( , ) are a widely distributed group of wading birds belonging to the subfamily Charadriinae.
Description
There are about 66 species in the subfamily, most of them called "plover" or "dotterel". The closely related lapwing subfa ...
s and
sandpiper
Sandpipers are a large family, Scolopacidae, of waders. They include many species called sandpipers, as well as those called by names such as curlew and snipe. The majority of these species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil. ...
s.
Reptiles include Argentine red tegu (''
Tupinambis rufescens
The red tegu (''Salvator rufescens'') is a lizard native to western Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay. It is sold in the pet trade around the world because of its relatively docile nature and because it is comparatively easy to keep.
Habits and ...
''), false tomodon snake (''
Pseudotomodon trigonatus
The false tomodon snake (''Tachymenis trigonatus'') is a genus of snake in the family Colubridae.
It is endemic to western Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in t ...
''), Patagonian lancehead (''
Bothrops ammodytoides
:''Common names: Patagonian lancehead,Campbell JA, Lamar WW. 2004. ''The Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere''. Comstock Publishing Associates, Ithaca and London. 870 pp. 1500 plates. . yarará ñata,[Boa constrictor
The boa constrictor (scientific name also ''Boa constrictor''), also called the red-tailed boa, is a species of large, non-venomous, heavy-bodied snake that is frequently kept and bred in captivity. The boa constrictor is a member of the family B ...]
''), ringed hognose snake (''
Lystrophis semicinctus
''Lystrophis'' is the genus of tricolored South American hognose snakes.
They mimic milk snakes or coral snakes with their red, black, and white ringed patterns.
Species
The genus ''Lystrophis'' contains five species that are recognized as be ...
'') and
Chaco tortoise
The Chaco tortoise (''Chelonoidis chilensis''), also known commonly as the Argentine tortoise, the Patagonian tortoise, or the southern wood tortoise, is a species of tortoise in the family Testudinidae. The species is endemic to South America.
...
(''Chelonoidis chilensis'').
Amphibians include Mendoza four-eyed frog (''
Pleurodema nebulosum
''Pleurodema nebulosum'' is a species of frog in the family Leptodactylidae.
It is endemic to Argentina.
Its natural habitats are temperate shrubland, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, temperate grassland, subtropical or tropical dry lowland ...
'').
Endangered amphibians include La Rioja water frog (''
Telmatobius schreiteri'' and Andalgala water frog (''
Telmatobius scrocchii
''Telmatobius scrocchii'' is a species of frog in the family Telmatobiidae.
It is endemic to Argentina.
Its natural habitat is rivers.
It is threatened by habitat loss
Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is ...
'').
In the northern region about 10% of insect genera and 35% of insect species are endemic.
Status
The
World Wildlife Fund
The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an 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 the Wo ...
gives the ecoregion the status of "Vulnerable".
The region has mostly been settled by people only in oases or areas near rivers where irrigation-based agriculture is possible.
This process began in the late 19th century and continues today.
The habitat in the settled areas has been greatly changed, with trees cleared for use as fuel and lumber and to make way for agriculture and mineral exploitation.
of the ecoregion has been affected by erosion caused by deforestation and excessive grazing by sheep, goats and cattle.
There is marked increase in desert areas, affecting the habitats of many native species.
Many species are affected by fragmentation of their habitats.
The Guanacache, Desaguadero y Bebedero system has been affected by various natural and man-made changes that have caused the area of lagoons and marshes to shrink significantly.
Some efforts are being made to rehabilitate them.
Conservation
5.37% of the ecoregion is in protected areas.
[
Protected areas in the Low Monte include:][
Protected areas in the High Monte include:]["High Monte". DOPA Explorer. Accessed 7 April 2022]
/ref>
See also
*Monte Desert
The Monte Desert is a South American desert, lying entirely within Argentina and covering approximately the submontane areas of Catamarca, La Rioja Province, Argentina, La Rioja, San Juan Province, Argentina, San Juan, San Luis Province, San Luis a ...
Notes
Sources
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Argentine Monte
Neotropical ecoregions
Ecoregions of Argentina
Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands