Campo Verde Flora and Fauna Protection Area is a
protected area
Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...
in northern
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
. It covers an area of 1080.67 km
2 in northwestern
Chihuahua Chihuahua may refer to:
Places
*Chihuahua (state), a Mexican state
**Chihuahua (dog), a breed of dog named after the state
**Chihuahua cheese, a type of cheese originating in the state
**Chihuahua City, the capital city of the state
**Chihuahua Mun ...
, on the border with
Sinaloa
Sinaloa (), officially the Estado Libre y Soberano de Sinaloa ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sinaloa), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is d ...
. It is at the eastern edge 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 ...
, where it meets the
Chihuahuan Desert
The Chihuahuan Desert ( es, Desierto de Chihuahua, ) is a desert ecoregion designation covering parts of northern Mexico and the southwestern United States. It occupies much of far West Texas, the middle to lower Rio Grande Valley and the lower P ...
.
[
]
Flora and fauna
According to the National Biodiversity Information System of (CONABIO) in Campo Verde Flora and Fauna Protection Area there are over 255 plant and animal species from which 32 are in at risk category and 4 are exotics. Quercus laeta
''Quercus laeta'' is an oak species in the white oak section, ''Quercus'' section ''Quercus'', in the beech family. It is widespread across much of Mexico from Sinaloa and Nuevo León south as far as Oaxaca.
Description
''Quercus laeta'' is a ...
'') is a characteristic oak species.["Campo Verde". Sistema de Información, Monitoreo y Evaluación para la Conservación (SIMEC) of the Comisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas (CONANP). Accessed 4 September 2021]
/ref>
Native mammals include American black bear
The American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), also called simply a black bear or sometimes a baribal, is a medium-sized bear endemic to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most widely distributed bear species. American black bear ...
(''Ursus americanus''), white-tailed deer
The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced t ...
(''Odocoileus virginianus''), puma
Puma or PUMA may refer to:
Animals
* ''Puma'' (genus), a genus in the family Felidae
** Puma (species) or cougar, a large cat
Businesses and organisations
* Puma (brand), a multinational shoe and sportswear company
* Puma Energy, a mid- and d ...
(''Puma concolor''), Mexican big-eared bat
The Mexican big-eared bat (''Corynorhinus mexicanus'') is a species of vesper bat endemic to Mexico. They are nocturnal and insectivorous. Their very large ears are located across their foreheads, and when captured, the bats are observed to curl ...
(''Corynorhinus mexicanus''), Zacatecan deer mouse
The Zacatecan deer mouse or southern rock mouse (''Peromyscus difficilis'') is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae.Musser, G. G. and M. D. Carleton. 2005. Superfamily Muroidea. Pp. 894-1531 ''in'' Mammal Species of the World a Taxonomic a ...
(''Peromyscus difficilis''), and Chihuahuan mouse (''Peromyscus polius'').[
Native birds include the Gould's wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo mexicanus''), ]golden eagle
The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird of p ...
(''Aquila chrysaetos'') eared quetzal
The eared quetzal (''Euptilotis neoxenus''), also known as the eared trogon, is a near passerine bird in the trogon family, Trogonidae. It is native to streamside pine-oak forests and canyons in the Sierra Madre Occidental of Mexico south to we ...
(''Euptilotis neoxenus''), thick-billed parrot
The thick-billed parrot (''Rhynchopsitta pachyrhyncha'') is a medium-sized parrot endemic to Mexico that formerly ranged into the southwestern United States. Its position in parrot phylogeny is the subject of ongoing discussion; it is sometimes ...
(''Rhynchopsitta pachyrhyncha''), Aztec thrush
The Aztec thrush (''Ridgwayia pinicola'') is a species of bird in the family Turdidae. It is found mainly in Mexico, but vagrants are occasionally seen in the United States. Its natural habitat is montane forests. The IUCN Red List denotes it as ...
(''Ridgwayia pinicola''), and Bewick's wren
The Bewick's wren (''Thryomanes bewickii'') is a wren native to North America. It is the only species placed in the genus ''Thryomanes''. At about long, it is grey-brown above, white below, with a long white eyebrow. While similar in appearance ...
(''Thryomanes bewickii'').[
Native reptiles include the ]Mexican Plateau horned lizard
The Mexican Plateau horned lizard (''Phrynosoma orbiculare'') is a species of horned lizard in the family Phrynosomatidae. The species, also known commonly as the Chihuahua Desert horned lizard, is endemic to Mexico. There are five recognized su ...
(''Phrynosoma orbiculare''), northern pigmy skink
''Plestiodon parviauriculatus'', the northern pigmy skink, is a species of lizard which is endemic to Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bo ...
(''Plestiodon parviauriculatus''), Chihuahuan skink
''Plestiodon multilineatus'', the Chihuahuan skink, is a species of skink. It is endemic to the state of Chihuahua, Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North Ame ...
(''Plestiodon multilineatus''), Mexican wandering garter snake
The Mexican wandering garter snake (''Thamnophis errans'') is a species of snake of the family Colubridae. It is endemic to Mexico.
Taxonomy
Classification
This snake was first described as species new to science in 1942. Subsequently, some a ...
(''Thamnophis errans''), and blackbelly garter snake
The blackbelly garter snake (''Thamnophis melanogaster'') is a species of snake of the family Colubridae. It is found in Mexico.
Authority
First described as ''Tropidonotus melanogaster'' by Peters in 1864, this species is now recognized as ''Th ...
(''Thamnophis melanogaster'').[
Native amphibians include the ]Tarahumara salamander
The Tarahumara salamander (''Ambystoma rosaceum'') is a freshwater species of mole salamander in the family Ambystomatidae, endemic to Mexico.
Its natural habitats are temperate forest, subtropical or tropical moist montane forest, subtropical ...
(''Ambystoma rosaceum''), Mexican tiger salamander
The plateau tiger salamander or Mexican tiger salamander (''Ambystoma velasci'') is a species of mole salamander in the family Ambystomatidae. It is typically considered endemic to Mexico, although its range might extend to the United States.
Its ...
(''Ambystoma velasci''), Lemos-Espinal's leopard frog
Lemos-Espinal's leopard frog (''Lithobates lemosespinali'') is a species of frog in the family Ranidae endemic to the Sierra Madre Occidental of southwestern Chihuahua in northern Mexico. Its natural habitats are pine-oak forests. It is threat ...
(''Lithobates lemosespinali''), Tarahumara frog (''Lithobates tarahumarae''), pine toad ('' Incilius occidentalis''), plateau toad ('' Anaxyrus compactilis''), and Mexican Madre toad (''Anaxyrus mexicanus
The southwestern toad or Mexican Madre toad (''Anaxyrus mexicanus''), formerly ''Bufo mexicanus'', is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. It is endemic to north-western Mexico and found on the Sierra Madre Occidental in eastern Sonora and ...
''),[
]
Conservation
The area was decreed a forest reserve and wildlife refuge by President Lázaro Cárdenas
Lázaro Cárdenas del Río (; 21 May 1895 – 19 October 1970) was a Mexican army officer and politician who served as president of Mexico from 1934 to 1940.
Born in Jiquilpan, Michoacán, to a working-class family, Cárdenas joined the M ...
in 1938.[ It was re-designated a flora and fauna protection area in 2003.][
]
References
{{reflist
Flora and fauna protection areas of Mexico
Protected areas of Chihuahua (state)
Protected areas of the Sierra Madre Occidental