Aridoamerica denotes an ecological region spanning

Northern Mexico Northern Mexico ( es, el Norte de México ), commonly referred as , is an informal term for the northern cultural and geographical area in Mexico. Depending on the source, it contains some or all of the states of Baja California, Baja California ...

and the Southwestern United States, defined by the presence of the culturally significant staple foodstuff '' Phaseolus acutifolius'', a drought-resistant bean.Pratt and Nabhan 419 Its dry, arid climate and geography stand in contrast to the verdant

Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica ...

of present-day central Mexico into Central AmericaCordell and Fowler 85 to the south and east, and the higher, milder "island" of

Oasisamerica Oasisamerica is a term that was coined by Paul Kirchhoff (who also coined "Mesoamerica") and published in a 1954 article, and is used by some scholars, primarily Mexican anthropologists, for the broad cultural area defining pre-Columbian sout ...

to the north. Aridoamerica overlaps with both. Because of the relatively hard conditions, the

pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492. Usually, ...

people in this region developed distinct cultures and subsistence farming patterns. The region has only to of annual precipitation. The sparse rainfall feeds seasonal creeks and waterholes.Bye and Linares 273 The term was introduced by American anthropologist

Gary Paul Nabhan Gary Paul Nabhan (born 1952) is an agricultural ecologist, Ethnobotanist, Ecumenical Franciscan Brother, and author whose work has focused primarily on the plants and cultures of the desert Southwest. He is considered a pioneer in the local food ...

in 1985, building on prior work by anthropologists A. L. Kroeber and Paul Kirchhoff to identify a "true cultural entity" for the desert region. Kirchhoff was first in introducing the term 'Arid America', in his 1954 seminal article, writing: "I propose for that of the gatherers the name "Arid America" and "Arid American Culture," and for that of the farmers "Oasis America" and "American Oasis Culture"". Mexican anthropologist

Guillermo Bonfil Batalla Guillermo Bonfil Batalla (July 29, 1935 - July 19, 1991) was a Mexican writer who was also trained as an ethnologist and anthropologist. He was director of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), General Director of Popular Cultur ...

notes that although the distinction between Aridoamerica and Mesoamerica is "useful for understanding the general history of precolonial Mexico," that the boundary between the two should not be conceptualized as "a barrier that separated two radically different worlds, but, rather, as a variable limit between climatic regions." The inhabitants of Aridoamerica lived on "an unstable and fluctuating frontier" and were in "constant relations with the civilizations to the south."''''

Subsistence

The

Chichimeca Chichimeca () is the name that the Nahua peoples of Mexico generically applied to nomadic and semi-nomadic peoples who were established in present-day Bajio region of Mexico. Chichimeca carried the meaning as the Roman term "barbarian" that d ...

, an umbrella term for several tribes used by the

Nahua people The Nahuas () are a group of the indigenous people of Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. They comprise the largest indigenous group in Mexico and second largest in El Salvador. The Mexica (Aztecs) were of Nahua ethnicity, a ...

, were hunter-gatherers in Aridoamerica grasslands. They gathered

maguey Maguey may refer to various American plants: * Genus '' Agave'', especially ** Species ''Agave americana'', the century plant ** Species ''Agave salmiana ''Agave salmiana'' (also known as ''maguey pulquero'' and green maguey) is a species of the ...

s, yucca flowers,

mesquite Mesquite is a common name for several plants in the genus '' Prosopis'', which contains over 40 species of small leguminous trees. They are native to dry areas in the Americas. They have extremely long roots to seek water from very far under gr ...

beans, chia seeds, and cacti, including the paddles of fruits of

nopal Nopal (from the Nahuatl word for the pads of the plant) is a common name in Spanish for ''Opuntia'' cacti (commonly referred to in English as ''prickly pear''), as well as for its pads. There are about 114 known species in Mexico, where it i ...

cactus. The

century plant ''Agave americana'', common names century plant, maguey, or American aloe, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae, native to Mexico and the United States in Texas. It is cultivated worldwide as an ornamental plant, and ha ...

(''

Agave americana ''Agave americana'', common names century plant, maguey, or American aloe, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae, native to Mexico and the United States in Texas. It is cultivated worldwide as an ornamental plant, and has b ...

'') is a particularly important resource in the region. Despite dry conditions, Aridoamerica boasts the greatest diversity of wild and domesticated

tepary beans ''Phaseolus acutifolius'', also known as the tepary bean, is a legume native to the southwestern United States and Mexico and has been grown there by the native peoples since pre-Columbian times. It is more drought-resistant than the common bea ...

('' Phaseolus acutifolius'') and is a possible site of their domestication.

Maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. The ...

cultivation reached Aridoamerica by about 2100 BCE.Herr, Sara A. "The Latest Research on the Earliest Farmers." ''Archaeology Southwest'' Vol. 23, No. 1, Winter 2009, p.1 Archaeologists disagree whether the plant was introduced by Uto-Aztecan migrants from Mesoamerica or spread either northward or southward from other groups by cultural borrowing. In

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

, fishing and hunting provided food, as did harvesting acorns, nopal,

pine nut Pine nuts, also called piñón (), pinoli (), pignoli or chilgoza (), are the edible seeds of pines (family Pinaceae, genus ''Pinus''). According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, only 29 species provide edible nuts, while 20 are trad ...

s, and other native plants. Historically, people of Aridoamerica

coppice Coppicing is a traditional method of woodland management which exploits the capacity of many species of trees to put out new shoots from their stump or roots if cut down. In a coppiced wood, which is called a copse, young tree stems are repeate ...

d willows, that is, tree trunks were cut to a stump to encourage the growth of slender shoots. These willow shoots were woven tightly to produce waterproof, cooking baskets. Fire-heated rocks were plunged into a gruel in the baskets to cook.

Deserts

The elevation in 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 lo ...

varies from 1970 to 5500 feet, as there are several smaller mountain ranges contained in the area, namely the San Andres, Doña Anas, and Franklin Mountains. The Chihuahuan is a " rain shadow" desert, formed between two mountain ranges (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 ...

on the west and the Sierra Madre Oriental on the east) which block oceanic precipitation from reaching the area. The Chihuahuan Desert is considered the "most biologically diverse desert in the Western Hemisphere and one of the most diverse in the world", and includes more species of cacti than any other desert in the world. The most prolific plants in this region are agave, yucca and creosote bushes, in addition to the ubiquitous presence of various cacti species. Agfr desert

When people think of the desert southwest, the landscape of the

Sonoran Desert The Sonoran Desert ( es, Desierto de Sonora) is a desert in North America and ecoregion that covers the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur, as well as part of the southwestern United States (in Ariz ...

is what mostly comes to mind. The Sonoran Desert makes up the southwestern portion of the Southwest. Rainfall averages between 4–12 inches per year, and the desert's most widely known inhabitant is the saguaro cactus, which is unique to the desert. It is bounded on the northwest by the Mojave Desert, to the north by the Colorado Plateau and to the east by the

Arizona Mountains forests The Arizona Mountains forests are a temperate coniferous forests ecoregion of the southwest United States with a rich variety of woodland habitats and wildlife. Setting This is a landscape of steep mountains and high stony plateaus with rocky ou ...

and the Chihuahuan Desert. Aside from the trademark saguaro, the desert has the most diverse plant life of any desert in the world, and includes many other species of cacti, including the organ-pipe, senita, prickly pear, barrel, fishhook, hedgehog, cholla, silver dollar, and jojoba. The most northwest portion of Aridoamerica is covered by the

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily ...

. In terms of topography, the Mojave is very similar to the

Great Basin Desert The Great Basin Desert is part of the Great Basin between the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada and the Wasatch Range. The desert is a geographical region that largely overlaps the Great Basin shrub steppe defined by the World Wildlife Fund, a ...

, which lies just to its north. The Mojave gets less than six inches of rain annually, and its elevation ranges from 3000 to 6000 feet above sea level. The most prolific vegetation is the tall

Joshua tree ''Yucca brevifolia'' is a plant species belonging to the genus ''Yucca''. It is tree-like in habit, which is reflected in its common names: Joshua tree, yucca palm, tree yucca, and palm tree yucca. This monocotyledonous tree is native to the ar ...

, which grow as tall as 40 feet, and are thought to live almost 1000 years. Other major vegetation includes the Parry saltbush and the Mojave sage, both only found in the Mojave, as well as the creosote bush.

Wildlife

The region has an extremely diverse bird population, with hundreds of species being found in Aridoamerica. In the

Chiricahua Mountains The Chiricahua Mountains massif is a large mountain range in southeastern Arizona which is part of the Basin and Range province of the west and southwestern United States and northwest Mexico; the range is part of the Coronado National Forest. ...

alone, in southeastern Arizona, there can be found more than 400 species. Species include

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

(''Branta canadensis'') and

snow geese The snow goose (''Anser caerulescens'') is a species of goose native to North America. Both white and dark morphs exist, the latter often known as blue goose. Its name derives from the typically white plumage. The species was previously placed ...

sandhill crane The sandhill crane (''Antigone canadensis'') is a species of large crane of North America and extreme northeastern Siberia. The common name of this bird refers to habitat like that at the Platte River, on the edge of Nebraska's Sandhills on ...

s (''Grus canadensis''), and the

roadrunner The roadrunners (genus ''Geococcyx''), also known as chaparral birds or chaparral cocks, are two species of fast-running ground cuckoos with long tails and crests. They are found in the southwestern and south-central United States and Mexico, us ...

, the most famous bird in the region. Birds of prey include the

red-tailed hawk The red-tailed hawk (''Buteo jamaicensis'') is a bird of prey that breeds throughout most of North America, from the interior of Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West Indies. It is one of the most common members wit ...

(''Buteo jamaicensis''),

Cooper's hawk Cooper's hawk (''Accipiter cooperii'') is a medium-sized hawk native to the North American continent and found from southern Canada to Mexico. This species is a member of the genus ''Accipiter'', sometimes referred to as true hawks, which are f ...

(''Accipiter cooperii''),

osprey The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the wings. It is brown o ...

(''Pandion haliaetus''),

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 birds of ...

(''Aquila chrysaetos''),

Harris's hawk The Harris's hawk (''Parabuteo unicinctus''), formerly known as the bay-winged hawk, dusky hawk, and sometimes a wolf hawk, and known in Latin America as peuco, is a medium-large bird of prey that breeds from the southwestern United States south ...

(''Parabuteo unicinctus''), common black hawk (''Buteogallus anthracinus''),

zone-tailed hawk The zone-tailed hawk (''Buteo albonotatus'') is a medium-sized hawk of warm, dry parts of the Americas. It is somewhat similar in plumage and flight style to a common scavenger, the turkey vulture, and may benefit from being able to blend into g ...

(''Buteo albonotatus''), bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus''),

Swainson's hawk Swainson's hawk (''Buteo swainsoni'') is a large bird species in the Accipitriformes order. This species was named after William Swainson, a British naturalist. It is colloquially known as the grasshopper hawk or locust hawk, as it is very fond ...

(''Buteo swainsoni''),

American kestrel The American kestrel (''Falco sparverius''), also called the sparrow hawk, is the smallest and most common falcon in North America. It has a roughly two-to-one range in size over subspecies and sex, varying in size from about the weight of ...

(''Falco sparverius''),

prairie falcon The prairie falcon (''Falco mexicanus'') is a medium-large sized falcon of western North America. It is about the size of a peregrine falcon or a crow, with an average length of 40 cm (16 in), wingspan of approximately 1 meter (40&n ...

(''Falco mexicanus''), peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''),

gray hawk The gray hawk (''Buteo plagiatus'') or Mexican goshawk is a smallish Bird of prey, raptor found in open country and forest edges. It is sometimes placed in the genus ''Asturina'' as ''Asturina plagiata''. The species was split by the American Orn ...

(''Buteo plagiatus''), barn owl (''Tyto alba''), the

western screech owl The western screech owl (''Megascops kennicottii'') is a small owl native to North and Central America, closely related to the eastern screech owl. The scientific name commemorates the American naturalist Robert Kennicott. Description Length ...

(''Megascops kennicottii''),

whiskered screech-owl The whiskered screech owl (''Megascops trichopsis'') is a small screech owl found in North and Central America. Description Adults occur in 2 color morphs, in either brown or dark grey plumage. They have a round head with ear tufts, yellow eye ...

(''Megascops trichopsis''),

great horned owl The great horned owl (''Bubo virginianus''), also known as the tiger owl (originally derived from early naturalists' description as the "winged tiger" or "tiger of the air"), or the hoot owl, is a large owl native to the Americas. It is an extre ...

(''Bubo virginianus''),

long-eared owl The long-eared owl (''Asio otus''), also known as the northern long-eared owlOlsen, P.D. & Marks, J.S. (2019). ''Northern Long-eared Owl (Asio otus)''. In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook o ...

(''Asio otus''),

elf owl The elf owl (''Micrathene whitneyi'') is a small grayish-brown owl about the size of a sparrow found in the Southwestern United States, central Mexico, and the Baja California peninsula. It has pale yellow eyes highlighted by thin white "eyebrow ...

(''Micrathene whitneyi''), ferruginous pygmy-owl (''Glaucidium brasilianum''), and

burrowing owl The burrowing owl (''Athene cunicularia''), also called the shoco, is a small, long-legged owl found throughout open landscapes of North and South America. Burrowing owls can be found in grasslands, rangelands, agricultural areas, deserts, or an ...

, (''Athene cunicularia''). among many others. Other bird species include the

turkey vulture The turkey vulture (''Cathartes aura'') is the most widespread of the New World vultures. One of three species in the genus '' Cathartes'' of the family Cathartidae, the turkey vulture ranges from southern Canada to the southernmost tip of Sout ...

(''Cathartes aura'') and

black vulture The black vulture (''Coragyps atratus''), also known as the American black vulture, Mexican vulture, zopilote, urubu, or gallinazo, is a bird in the New World vulture family whose range extends from the northeastern United States to Peru, Cen ...

(''Coragyps atratus''); the northern cardinal (''Cardinalis cardinalis'') and its close relative the pyrrhuloxia (''Cardinalis sinuous''); the blue grosbeak (''Passerina caerulea'') and

black-headed grosbeak The black-headed grosbeak (''Pheucticus melanocephalus'') is a medium-sized, seed-eating bird in the family Cardinalidae. It is sometimes considered conspecific with the rose-breasted grosbeak (''P. ludovicianus'') with which it hybridizes on ...

(''Pheucticus melanocephalus''); the varied bunting (''Passerina versicolor''),

house finch The house finch (''Haemorhous mexicanus'') is a bird in the finch family Fringillidae. It is native to western North America and has been introduced to the eastern half of the continent and Hawaii. This species and the other two American rosefi ...

(''Carpodacus mexicanus''), and

lesser goldfinch The lesser goldfinch (''Spinus psaltria'') is a very small songbird of the Americas. Together with its relatives the American goldfinch and Lawrence's goldfinch, it forms the New World goldfinch clade in the genus '' Spinus''. As is the case f ...

(''Spinus psaltria''); the broad-billed hummingbird (''Cynanthus latirostris''),

black-chinned hummingbird The black-chinned hummingbird (''Archilochus alexandri'') is a small hummingbird occupying a broad range of habitats. It is migratory, spending winter as far south as Mexico. Taxonomy A hybrid between this species and Anna's hummingbird was ca ...

(''Archilochus alexandri''),

Costa's hummingbird Costa's hummingbird (''Calypte costae'') is a bird species in the hummingbird family Trochilidae. It breeds in the arid region of the southwest United States and northwest Mexico; it winters in western Mexico. Taxonomy Costa's hummingbird was f ...

(''Calypte costae''), Anna's hummingbird (''Calypte anna''), Rivoli's hummingbird (''Eugenes fulgens''),

blue-throated mountain-gem The blue-throated mountaingem, also known as the blue-throated mountain-gem or blue-throated hummingbird (''Lampornis clemenciae'') is a species of hummingbird in tribe Lampornithini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in the United States and ...

(''Lampornis clemenciae''), and

lucifer hummingbird The lucifer sheartail or lucifer hummingbird (''Calothorax lucifer'') is a medium-sized, 10 cm long, green hummingbird with a slightly curved bill and distinctive outward flare of its gorget feathers. Its habitat is in high-altitude areas of ...

(''Calothorax lucifer''); and the

Gambel's quail Gambel's quail (''Callipepla gambelii'') is a small ground-dwelling bird in the New World quail family. It inhabits the desert regions of Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Texas, and Sonora; also New Mexico-border Chihuahu ...

(''Callipepla gambelii''),

common raven The common raven (''Corvus corax'') is a large all-black passerine bird. It is the most widely distributed of all corvids, found across the Northern Hemisphere. It is a raven known by many names at the subspecies level; there are at least ...

(''Corvus corax''),

Gila woodpecker The Gila woodpecker (''Melanerpes uropygialis'') is a medium-sized woodpecker of the desert regions of the southwestern United States and western Mexico. In the U.S., they range through southeastern California, southern Nevada, Arizona, and New M ...

(''Melanerpes uropygialis''),

gilded flicker The gilded flicker (''Colaptes chrysoides'') is a large-sized woodpecker (mean length of ) of the Sonoran, Yuma, and eastern Colorado Desert regions of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, including all of Baja California, ex ...

(''Colaptes chrysoides''),

cactus wren The cactus wren (''Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus'') is a species of wren endemic to the deserts of the southwestern United States and northern and central Mexico. It is the state bird of Arizona, and the largest wren in the United States. ...

(''Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus''), rock wren (''Salpinctes obsoletus''), and many oriole (''Icterus''), thrasher (''Toxostoma''), gnatcatcher (''Polioptila''), dove (''Columbidae''), rail (''Rallidae''), and tyrant-flycatcher (''Tyrannidae'') species. Mammal species include the bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), coyote (''Canis latrans''),

collared peccary The collared peccary (''Dicotyles tajacu'') is a species of artiodactyl (even-toed) mammal in the family Tayassuidae found in North, Central, and South America. It is the only member of the genus ''Dicotyles''. They are commonly referred to as ...

(''Pecari tajacu''),

black bear Black bear or Blackbear may refer to: Animals * American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), a North American bear species * Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), an Asian bear species Music * Black Bear (band), a Canadian First Nations group ...

(''Ursus americanus''),

black-tailed jackrabbit The black-tailed jackrabbit (''Lepus californicus''), also known as the American desert hare, is a common hare of the western United States and Mexico, where it is found at elevations from sea level up to . Reaching a length around , and a ...

(''Lepus californicus''),

desert cottontail The desert cottontail (''Sylvilagus audubonii''), also known as Audubon's cottontail, is a New World cottontail rabbit, and a member of the family Leporidae. Unlike the European rabbit (''Oryctolagus cuniculus''), they do not form social burrow s ...

(''Sylvilagus audubonii''),

desert bighorn sheep The desert bighorn sheep (''Ovis canadensis nelsoni'') is a subspecies of bighorn sheep (''Ovis canadensis'') that is native to the deserts of the United States' intermountain west and southwestern regions, as well as northwestern Mexico. The ...

(''Ovis canadensis nelsoni''),

mule deer The mule deer (''Odocoileus hemionus'') is a deer indigenous to western North America; it is named for its ears, which are large like those of the mule. Two subspecies of mule deer are grouped into the black-tailed deer. Unlike the related whi ...

(''Odocoileus hemionus''), Coues'

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 couesi''), elk (''Cervus canadensis''),

feral horse A feral horse is a free-roaming horse of domesticated stock. As such, a feral horse is not a wild animal in the sense of an animal without domesticated ancestors. However, some populations of feral horses are managed as wildlife, and these ...

(''Equus caballus''), ringtail (''Bassariscus astutus''),

gray fox The gray fox (''Urocyon cinereoargenteus''), or grey fox, is an omnivorous mammal of the family Canidae, widespread throughout North America and Central America. This species and its only congener, the diminutive island fox (''Urocyon littor ...

(''Urocyon cinereoargenteus''),

kit fox The kit fox (''Vulpes macrotis'') is a fox species that inhabits arid and semi-arid regions of the southwestern United States and northern and central Mexico. These foxes are the smallest of the four species of ''Vulpes'' occurring in North Amer ...

(''Vulpes macrotis''),

mountain lion The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large cat native to the Americas. Its range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere. ...

(''Puma concolor''), river otter (''Lontra canadensis''),

long-tailed weasel The long-tailed weasel (''Neogale frenata''), also known as the bridled weasel, masked ermine, or big stoat, is a species of mustelid distributed from southern Canada throughout all the United States and Mexico, southward through all of Central A ...

(''Neogale frenata''),

western spotted skunk The western spotted skunk (''Spilogale gracilis'') is a spotted skunk of western North America. Description With a total length of , the western spotted skunk is smaller than the striped skunk (''Mephitis mephitis''). Males, which weigh , are s ...

(''Spilogale gracilis''),

pronghorn The pronghorn (, ) (''Antilocapra americana'') is a species of artiodactyl (even-toed, hoofed) mammal indigenous to interior western and central North America. Though not an antelope, it is known colloquially in North America as the American a ...

antelope (''Antilocapra americana''),

raccoon The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the common raccoon to distinguish it from other species, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest of the procyonid family, having a body length of , and a body weight of ...

(''Procyon lotor''), numerous

kangaroo rat Kangaroo rats, small mostly nocturnal rodents of genus ''Dipodomys'', are native to arid areas of western North America. The common name derives from their bipedal form. They hop in a manner similar to the much larger kangaroo, but developed t ...

(''Dipodomys''),

woodrat A pack rat or packrat, also called a woodrat or trade rat, are any species in the North and Central American rodent genus ''Neotoma''. Pack rats have a rat-like appearance, with long tails, large ears, and large, black eyes. Pack rats are notice ...

(''Neotoma''), and pocket mouse (''Chaetodipus'') species,

white-nosed coati The white-nosed coati (''Nasua narica''), also known as the coatimundi (), is a species of coati and a member of the family Procyonidae (raccoons and their relatives). Local Spanish names for the species include ''pizote'', ''antoon'', and ''te ...

(''Nasua narica''), jaguar (''Panthera onca''), and

Mexican wolf The Mexican wolf (''Canis lupus baileyi''), also known as the lobo,; nah, Cuetlāchcoyōtl is a subspecies of gray wolf native to southeastern Arizona and southern New Mexico in the United States, and northern Mexico; it also previously rang ...

(''Canis lupus baileyae''). There is also a great diversity of

bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most ...

species in the region. There is a large contingent of snakes native to the region. Among them include: the

rosy boa ''Lichanura'', the rosy boas, are a genus of snakes in the family Boidae. They are distributed across the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, ...

(''Lichanura trivirgata''); several sub-species of the glossy snake (''Arizona elegans''); the Trans-Pecos ratsnake (''Bogertophis subocularis''); several sub-species of shovel-nosed snakes; several sub-species of kingsnake, including the desert kingsnake (''Lampropeltis getula splendida'') and the Arizona mountain kingsnake (''Lampropeltis pyromelana''); the

Arizona coral snake ''Micruroides'' is a genus of venomous coral snake in the family Elapidae. The genus is monotypic, containing only the species ''Micruroides euryxanthus''. ''Micruroides euryxanthus'', commonly known as the Sonoran coral snake, Western Coral ...

(''Micruroides euryxanthus''); the

western diamondback rattlesnake The western diamondback rattlesnake or Texas diamond-backWright AH, Wright AA. (1957). ''Handbook of Snakes''. Comstock Publishing Associates. (7th printing, 1985). . (''Crotalus atrox'') is a rattlesnake species and member of the viper family, ...

(''Crotalus atrox''); the Trans-Pecos copperhead (''Agkistrodon contortrix pictigaster''); the Sonoran sidewinder (''Crotalus cerastes cercobombus''); the Arizona black rattlesnake (''Crotalus oreganus cerberus''); the western rattlesnake (''Crotalus viridis''); the Grand Canyon rattlesnake (''Crotalus oreganus abyssus''), found only in Arizona; several sub-species of the ridge-nosed rattlesnake (''Crotalus willardi''), and the desert massasauga (''Sistrurus catenatus edwardsii''). Other reptiles in the region include lizards and turtles. Lizards are highly represented in the region, the most distinctive denizen being the

Gila monster The Gila monster (''Heloderma suspectum'', ) is a species of venomous lizard native to the Southwestern United States and the northwestern Mexican state of Sonora. It is a heavy, typically slow-moving reptile, up to long, and it is the only ve ...

, native only to the American Southwest and the state of Sonora in Mexico. Other lizards include: Sonoran collared lizard (''Crotaphytus nebrius''); several types of geckos, including western banded gecko (''Coleonyx variegatus''), the barefoot banded gecko (''Coleonyx switaki''), and the Mediterranean house gecko (''Hemidactylus turcicus''), the latter species being non-native to the region and confined to developed areas; the

desert iguana The desert iguana (''Dipsosaurus dorsalis'') is an iguana species found in the Sonoran and Mojave Deserts of the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, as well as on several Gulf of California islands. Taxonomy The species was ...

(''Dipsosaurus dorsalis''); the

chuckwalla Chuckwallas are lizards found primarily in arid regions of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Some are found on coastal islands. The six species of chuckwallas are all placed within the genus ''Sauromalus''; they are part of th ...

(''Sauromalus ater''); the greater earless lizard (''Cophosaurus texanus scitulus''); several sub-species of

horned lizard Horned lizards (''Phrynosoma''), also known as horny toads or horntoads, are a genus of North American lizards and the type genus of the family Phrynosomatidae. The common names refer directly to their horns or to their flattened, rounded bodies, ...

s (''Phrynosoma''); numerous species of

spiny lizard Spiny lizards is a common name for the genus ''Sceloporus'' in the family Phrynosomatidae. The genus is endemic to North America, with various species ranging from New York, to Washington, and one occurring as far south as northern Panama. Köh ...

s (''Sceloporus'');

Gilbert's skink ''Plestiodon gilberti'', commonly known as Gilbert's skink, is a species of heavy-bodied medium-sized lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to the southwestern United States, and grows to about in total length (including tail ...

(''Plestiodon gilberti''); the

western skink The western skink ''(Plestiodon skiltonianus)'' is a species of small, smooth- scaled lizard with relatively small limbs. It measures about 100 to 210 mm (about 4 to 8.25 inches) in total length (body + tail). It is one of seven species of ...

(''Plestiodon skiltonianus''); Trans-Pecos striped whiptail (''Aspidoscelis inornata heptagrammus''); and the Arizona night lizard (''Xantusia arizonae''). Turtles are less numerous than their other reptilian counterparts, but several are found in the region, including: the

western painted turtle The painted turtle (''Chrysemys picta'') is the most widespread native turtle of North America. It lives in slow-moving fresh waters, from southern Canada to northern Mexico, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific. They have been shown to prefer l ...

(''Chrysemys picta bellii''); the Rio Grande cooter (''Pseudemys gorzugi''); the desert box turtle (''Terrapene ornata luteola''); the

Big Bend slider The Big Bend slider (''Trachemys gaigeae''), also called the Mexican Plateau slider, is a species of aquatic turtle in the family Emydidae. The species is endemic to the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Taxonomy The species ''Tr ...

(''Trachemys gaigeae gaigeae''); the Sonora mud turtle (''Kinosternon sonoriense''); and the

desert tortoise The desert tortoise (''Gopherus agassizii''), is a species of tortoise in the Family (biology), family Testudinidae. The species is native to the Mojave Desert, Mojave and Sonoran Deserts of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexic ...

(''Gopherus agassizii''). Amphibians include numerous toads and frogs. Toads which can be found in the region include: the Great Plains toad (''Anaxyrus cognatus''); the green toad (''Anaxyrus debilis''); the Arizona toad (''Anaxyrus microscaphus''); the New Mexico spadefoot (''Spea multiplicata stagnalis''); and the

Colorado River toad The Colorado River toad (''Incilius alvarius''), formerly known as the Sonoran Desert toad, is found in northern Mexico and the southwestern United States. It exudes toxins from glands within its skin that have psychoactive properties. Descript ...

(''Incilius alvarius''), also known as the Sonoran Desert toad. Frog representation includes: western barking frog (''Craugastor augusti''); the canyon tree frog (''Hyla arenicolor''); the Arizona treefrog (''Hyla wrightorum''); the western chorus frog (''Pseudacris triseriata'');

Chiricahua leopard frog The Chiricahua leopard frog (''Lithobates chiricahuensis'' syn. ''Rana chiricahuensis'') is a species of frog in the family Ranidae, the true frogs. Distribution and habitat It is native to Mexico and the United States (Arizona and New Mexico) ...

(''Lithobates chiricahuensis''); and the relict leopard frog (''Lithobates onca''). There are quite a few salamanders throughout the region, including: the Arizona tiger salamander (''Ambystoma mavortium nebulosum'') and the painted ensatina (''Ensatina eschscholtzii picta'').

Political geography

The current Mexican states that lie in Aridoamerica are: * Aguascalientes *

* Baja California Sur * Coahuila * Chihuahua * Durango *

Nayarit Nayarit (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nayarit ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Nayarit), is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 20 municipalities and its ...

* Nuevo León * San Luis Potosí * Sinaloa * Sonora *

Tamaulipas Tamaulipas (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas), is a state in the northeast region of Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal Entiti ...

Zacatecas , image_map = Zacatecas in Mexico (location map scheme).svg , map_caption = State of Zacatecas within Mexico , coordinates = , coor_pinpoint = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type ...

The northern parts of: *

Hidalgo Hidalgo may refer to: People * Hidalgo (nobility), members of the Spanish nobility * Hidalgo (surname) Places Mexico * Hidalgo (state), in central Mexico * Hidalgo, Coahuila, a town in the north Mexican state of Coahuila * Hidalgo, Nuevo Le� ...

* Guanajuato * Querétaro * Jalisco The southern portions of the United States that lie within Aridoamerica are: *

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

Aridoamerica cultures

* Acaxee * Caxcane *

Cochimí The Cochimí were the indigenous inhabitants of the central part of the Baja California peninsula, from El Rosario in the north to San Javier in the south. Information on Cochimí customs and beliefs has been preserved in the brief observati ...

, Baja California * Cocopá ( Cocopah), Baja California *

Guachichil The Guachichil, Cuauchichil, or Quauhchichitl, are an Indigenous people of Mexico. Pre-contact, they occupied the most extensive territory of all the indigenous Chichimeca Nations tribes in pre-Columbian Central Mexico. The Guachichiles roamed t ...

* Guachimontone *

Guamare The Guamare people were an indigenous people of Mexico, who were established mostly in Guanajuato and at the border of Jalisco. They were part of the Chichimecas, a group of a nomadic hunter-gatherer culture and called themselves Children of the ...

* Guaycura, Baja California * Huarijio *

Huichol The Huichol or Wixárika are an indigenous people of Mexico and the United States living in the Sierra Madre Occidental range in the states of Nayarit, Jalisco, Zacatecas, and Durango, as well as in the United States in the states of California ...

* Kiliwa, Baja California * Kumiai ( Kumeyaay), Baja California *

Mayo Mayo often refers to: * Mayonnaise, often shortened to "mayo" * Mayo Clinic, a medical center in Rochester, Minnesota, United States Mayo may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Mayo Peak, Marie Byrd Land Australia * Division of Mayo, an Aust ...

Mogollon culture Mogollon culture () is an archaeological culture of Native American peoples from Southern New Mexico and Arizona, Northern Sonora and Chihuahua, and Western Texas. The northern part of this region is Oasisamerica, while the southern span of the M ...

, ca. 200–1500 CE, also

* Monqui, Baja California *

Opata The Opata (written Ópata in Spanish, pronounced with stress on the first syllable: /ˈopata/) are three indigenous peoples of Mexico. Opata territory, the “Opatería” in Spanish, encompasses the mountainous northeast and central part of the ...

Otomi The Otomi (; es, Otomí ) are an indigenous people of Mexico inhabiting the central Mexican Plateau (Altiplano) region. The Otomi are an indigenous people of Mexico who inhabit a discontinuous territory in central Mexico. They are linguisticall ...

* Pai Pai, Baja California * Pame * Pericúe ( Pericú), Baja California * Pima Bajo * Seri * Tarahumara *

Tecuexe The Tecuexe were an indigenous peoples of Mexico, who lived in the eastern part of present-day Guadalajara. History It is believed that the Tecuexe derived from the dispersion of Zacateco groups from La Quemada. Like the Zacatecos, the Tecuexe ...

* Tepecano *

Tepehuán The Tepehuán are an indigenous people of Mexico. They live in Northwestern, Western, and some parts of North-Central Mexico. The indigenous Tepehuán language has three branches: Northern Tepehuan, Southeastern Tepehuan, Southwestern Tepehu ...

* Teuchitlan tradition *

Western Mexico shaft tomb tradition The Western Mexico shaft tomb tradition refers to a set of interlocked cultural traits found in the western Mexican states of Jalisco, Nayarit, and, to a lesser extent, Colima to its south, roughly dating to the period between 300 BCE and 400 CE ...

Yaqui The Yaqui, Hiaki, or Yoeme, are a Native American people of the southwest, who speak a Uto-Aztecan language. Their homelands include the Río Yaqui valley in Sonora, Mexico, and the area below the Gila River in Arizona, Southwestern United Sta ...

Zacateco The Zacatecos (or Zacatecas) is the name of an indigenous group, one of the peoples called Chichimecas by the Aztecs. They lived in most of what is now the state of Zacatecas and the northeastern part of Durango. They have many direct descendan ...

Notes

References

* * Cordell, Linda S. and Don D. Fowler, eds
''Southwest Archaeology in the Twentieth Century.''
Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 2005. . * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aridoamerica Indigenous peoples in Mexico Pre-Columbian cultural areas