The Sonoran–Sinaloan transition subtropical dry forest is a

tropical dry broadleaf forest The tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forest is a habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature and is located at tropical and subtropical latitudes. Though these forests occur in climates that are warm year-round, and may receive ...

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 northwestern

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 ...

Geography

This ecoregion forms a transition belt between the

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 ...

to the north and the

Sinaloan dry forests The Sinaloan dry forests is a tropical dry broadleaf forest ecoregion in western Mexico. It is the northernmost ecoregion of the Neotropical realm. Geography The ecoregion covers an area of approximately The dry forests lie in the coastal pla ...

to the south, running south from the foothills 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 ...

highlands of the state of

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 ...

to the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

coasts of Sonora and

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 ...

. This region is also part of the transition zone between the

Nearctic The Nearctic realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting the Earth's land surface. The Nearctic realm covers most of North America, including Greenland, Central Florida, and the highlands of Mexico. The parts of North America ...

and

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 ...

s and as such habitats of the region range from sparse semi-desert in the north to dry forest in the south. It covers an area of from sea level to .

Climate

The climate is subtropical and semi-arid. Annual rainfall is , and comes mostly in the summer months.

Flora

The characteristic vegetation is deciduous thorn forest and woodland ("selva espinosa"), with areas of thorn scrub. Characteristic trees include the boat-thorn acacia (''

Acacia cochliacantha ''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 ...

''), tree catclaw ('' Acacia occidentalis''), torote prieto ('' Bursera fragilis''), and palo santo ('' Ipomoea arborescens''). Cacti are common, including organ pipe cactus (''

Stenocereus thurberi ''Stenocereus thurberi'', the organ pipe cactus, is a species of cactus native to Mexico and the United States. The species is found in rocky desert. Two subspecies are recognized based on their distribution and height. The Organ Pipe Cactus Nati ...

''), jumping cholla (''

Cylindropuntia fulgida ''Cylindropuntia fulgida'', the jumping cholla, also known as the hanging chain cholla, is a cholla cactus native to Sonora and the Southwestern United States. Description ''Cylindropuntia fulgida'' grows at elevations ranging from . While t ...

'') and barrel cactus (''

Ferocactus wislizeni ''Ferocactus wislizeni'', the fishhook barrel cactus, also called Arizona barrel cactus, candy barrel cactus, and Southwestern barrel cactus, is a species of flowering plant in the cactus family Cactaceae, native to northern Mexico and the southe ...

'').

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 ...

(''Dicotyles 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''), and

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''). As in the Sonoran Desert, nectar-feeding long-tongued bats like the

Mexican long-tongued bat The Mexican long-tongued bat (''Choeronycteris mexicana'') is a species of bat in the family Phyllostomidae. It is the only species within the genus ''Choeronycteris''. It is found in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and the United Sta ...

(''Choeronycteris mexicana'') and

Pallas's long-tongued bat Pallas's long-tongued bat (''Glossophaga soricina'') is a South and Central American bat with a fast metabolism that feeds on nectar. Metabolism It has the fastest metabolism ever recorded in a mammal, similar to those of hummingbirds. Although ...

(''Glossophaga soricina'') are important pollinators. The ecoregion has over 90 species of butterflies. Birds of the ecoregion include the

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'').

Threats and preservation

This woodland is vulnerable to logging and clearance for livestock grazing, particularly around the cities of

Navojoa Navojoa is the fifth-largest city in the northern Mexico, Mexican States of Mexico, state of Sonora and is situated in the southern part of the state. The city is the administrative seat of Navojoa Municipality, located in the Mayo River (Mexico), ...

Álamos Álamos () is a town in Álamos Municipality in the States of Mexico, Mexican state of Sonora, in northwestern Mexico. Historically an important center of silver mining, the town's economy is now dominated by the tourist sector. Designated a ...

, and

Sinaloa de Leyva Sinaloa de Leyva () is a town in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. Its geographical location is . The honorific "de Leyva" commemorates , an early supporter of Francisco I. Madero in the Mexican Revolution who was born there. Sinaloa serves as the ...

. While the wildlife is vulnerable to hunting. Areas of particular conservation importance include the

Yaqui River The Yaqui River (Río Yaqui in Spanish) (Hiak Vatwe in the Yaqui or Yoreme language) is a river in the state of Sonora in northwestern Mexico. It was formerly known as the Rio del Norte. Being the largest river system in the state of Sonora, th ...

basin.Benitez, H., C. Arizmendi, y L. Marquez, L. 1999. Base de datos de las AICAS. CIPAMEX, CONABIO, FMCN, y CCA. México A 2017 assessment found that 2,029 km², or 4%, of the ecoregion is in protected areas. 13% of the unprotected area is relatively-intact habitat.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sonoran-Sinaloan transition subtropical dry forest Ecoregions of Mexico Forests of Mexico Natural history of Sinaloa Natural history of Sonora Sierra Madre Occidental Nearctic ecoregions Tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests Sclerophyll forests