The Chimalapas montane forests is a

tropical moist broadleaf forest Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF), also known as tropical moist forest, is a subtropical and tropical forest habitat (ecology), habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Description TSMF is generally foun ...

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 of l ...

in southern

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 includes the montane tropical forests of the Chimalapas region on the boundary of

Chiapas Chiapas (; Tzotzil language, Tzotzil and Tzeltal language, Tzeltal: ''Chyapas'' ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas), is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, ...

and

Oaxaca Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of Mexico. It is ...

Geography

The Chimalapas region is in the

Isthmus of Tehuantepec The Isthmus of Tehuantepec () is an isthmus in Mexico. It represents the shortest distance between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean. Before the opening of the Panama Canal, it was a major overland transport route known simply as the Te ...

, and the region's mountains form part of the divide between Mexico's Pacific watersheds to the south and

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

watersheds to the north. The montane forests are bounded by the lowland

Petén–Veracruz moist forests The Petén–Veracruz moist forests is an ecoregion of the tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forest biome found in Belize, Guatemala, and Mexico. Setting The Petén–Veracruz moist forests cover an area of , extending from central Veracr ...

on the north. The

Chiapas Depression dry forests The Chiapas Depression dry forests form one of the ecoregions that belong to the tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests biome, as defined by the World Wildlife Fund, in northwestern Central America. Geography This ecoregion is located in ...

lie to the northeast. The montane forests adjoin the

Sierra Madre de Oaxaca pine–oak forests The Sierra Madre de Oaxaca pine–oak forests is a tropical and subtropical coniferous forests ecoregion in Southern Mexico. It occupies the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca, a mountain range which lies mostly within the state of Oaxaca, and extends no ...

on the west, and the

Central American pine–oak forests The Central American pine–oak forests is a tropical and subtropical coniferous forests ecoregion in the mountains of northern Central America and Chiapas state in southern Mexico. Setting The Central American pine–oak forests occupy an are ...

to the east. The

Southern Pacific dry forests The Southern Pacific dry forests is a tropical dry broadleaf forest ecoregion in southern Mexico. Geography The Southern Pacific dry forests occupy the coastal lowlands and foothills along the Pacific coast of Southern Mexico. The Balsas River ...

lie to the south between the mountains and the Pacific Ocean.

Climate

The climate of the ecoregion is tropical and humid. The forests have a cooler climate than the surrounding lowlands, and average annual temperatures decrease with elevation.

Flora

The characteristic plant community is montane tropical evergreen moist forest, also known cloud forest.BirdLife International (2020) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Chimalapas. Accessed from http://www.birdlife.org on 19 August 2020.

Fauna

281 species of birds have been recorded in the ecoregion. They include the

solitary eagle The solitary eagle or montane solitary eagle (''Buteogallus solitarius'') is a large Neotropical eagle. It is also known as the black solitary eagle. Range and habitat The solitary eagle is native to Mexico and Central and South America. It i ...

(''Harpyhaliaetus solitarius''),

great curassow The great curassow (''Crax rubra'') is a large, pheasant-like bird from the Neotropical rainforests, its range extending from eastern Mexico, through Central America to western Colombia and northwestern Ecuador. Male birds are black with curly cr ...

(''Crax rubra''),

highland guan The highland guan (''Penelopina nigra'') is a species of bird in the family Cracidae. It is found in the highlands of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, southern Mexico, and Nicaragua. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane ...

(''Penelopina nigra''),

wood stork The wood stork (''Mycteria americana'') is a large American wading bird in the family Ciconiidae (storks), the only member of the family to breed in North America. It was formerly called the "wood ibis", though it is not an ibis. It is found in ...

(''Mycteria americana''),

keel-billed motmot The keel-billed motmot (''Electron carinatum'') is a species of bird in the motmot family Momotidae. It is very closely related to the broad-billed motmot, and the two may be the same species. The two are similar sizes and shapes, and have been ...

(''Electron carinatum''),

southern mealy amazon The southern mealy amazon or southern mealy parrot (''Amazona farinosa'') is among the largest parrots in the genus ''Amazona'', the amazon parrots. It is a mainly green parrot with a total length of . It is native to tropical Central and South A ...

(''Amazona farinosa''), and

chestnut-headed oropendola The chestnut-headed oropendola (''Psarocolius wagleri'') is a New World tropical icterid bird. The scientific name of the species commemorates Johann Georg Wagler, who established ''Psarocolius'', the oropendola genus. Description The male is ...

(''Psarocolius wagleri'').

Protected areas

A 2017 assessment found 278 km², or 13%, of the ecoregion is in protected areas. They include El Cordón del Retén Voluntary Conservation Area (153.29 km²).

External links

References

{{reflist Ecoregions of Mexico Montane forests Natural history of Chiapas Natural history of Oaxaca Neotropical tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests Important Bird Areas of Mexico Cloud forests of Mexico