The Peruvian Yungas is a

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

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 ...

in the

Yungas The Yungas (Aymara ''yunka'' warm or temperate Andes or earth, Quechua ''yunka'' warm area on the slopes of the Andes) is a bioregion of a narrow band of forest along the eastern slope of the Andes Mountains from Peru and Bolivia, and extends into ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

Setting

The Peruvian Yungas occur on the eastern slopes and valleys of the Peruvian

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

. They form a transition zone between the

Southwest Amazon moist forests The Southwest Amazon moist forests (NT0166) is an ecoregion located in the Upper Amazon basin. The forest is characterized by a relatively flat landscape with alluvial plains dissected by undulating hills or high terraces. The biota of the sout ...

and

Ucayali moist forests The Ucayali moist forests (NT0174) is an ecoregion in the western Amazon rainforest of Peru. Geography Location The Ucayali moist forest ecoregion is to the east of the Andes mountains in Peru. It is bounded to the east by the Ucayali River, ...

at lower elevations to the east and the

Central Andean puna The Central Andean puna is a montane grasslands and shrublands ecoregion in the Andes of southern Peru, Bolivia, and northern Argentina. Setting The landscape in this ecoregion consists of high mountains with permanent snow and ice, meadows, l ...

and wet puna at higher elevations to the west.

Climate

The climate in this ecoregion varies from a

tropical rainforest climate A tropical rainforest climate, humid tropical climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southe ...

in the north to a

subtropical highland climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...

in the south. Precipitation ranges from per year.

Flora

This ecoregion contains over 3,000 species of plants, including 200 species of

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of floweri ...

s. Orchid

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...

include ''

Epidendrum ''Epidendrum'' , abbreviated Epi in the horticultural trade, is a large neotropical genus of the orchid family. With more than 1,500 species, some authors describe it as a mega-genus. The genus name (from Greek ''επί, epi'' and ''δένδρο ...

'' and ''

Maxillaria ''Maxillaria'', abbreviated as Max in the horticultural trade, is a large genus of orchids (family Orchidaceae). This is a diverse genus, with very different morphological forms. Their characteristics can vary widely. They are commonly called s ...

''. Tree ferns ('' Cyathea'') and bamboo (''

Chusquea ''Chusquea'' is a genus of evergreen bamboos in the grass family. Most of them are native to mountain habitats in Latin America, from Mexico to southern Chile and Argentina. They are sometimes referred to as South American mountain bamboos. Unli ...

'') are common. Below , the forest includes species such as cedar ('' Cedrela''), trumpet tree (''

Tabebuia ''Tabebuia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Bignoniaceae.Eberhard Fischer, Inge Theisen, and Lúcia G. Lohmann. 2004. "Bignoniaceae". pages 9-38. In: Klaus Kubitzki (editor) and Joachim W. Kadereit (volume editor). ''The Families ...

''), and relatives of papaya (''

Carica ''Carica'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Caricaceae including the papaya (''C. papaya'' syn. ''C. peltata'', ''C. posoposa''), a widely cultivated fruit tree native to the American tropics. The genus was formerly treated as incl ...

''). Above , there are scrublands and wet rocky thickets with shrubs and land orchids as well as forests of ''

Podocarpus ''Podocarpus'' () is a genus of conifers, the most numerous and widely distributed of the podocarp family, the Podocarpaceae. The name comes from Greek πούς (poús, “foot”) + καρπός (karpós, “fruit”). ''Podocarpus'' species ...

'' conifers.

Fauna

This ecoregion contains over 200 species of

vertebrate Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () ( chordates with backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, with ...

s. The gallito de las rocas ('' Rupicola peruviana'') is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

. Notable mammals include the shrew opossums (''

Caenolestes The common shrew opossums (genus ''Caenolestes'') are members of the family Caenolestidae. They are found in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República ...

'') and Kalinowski's Agouti ('' Dasyprocta kalinowskii''), as well as the northern pudú ('' Pudu mephistophiles'') and the hairy long-nosed armadillo ('' Dasypus pilosus''). Notable species with limited distributions found here include the horned curassow ('' Pauxi unicornis''), hummingbirds ('' Metallura theresiae'', '' Heliangelus regalis''), the long-whiskered owlet ('' Xenoglaux loweryi'') and the Marañón poison frog ('' Dendrobates mysteriosus''). Endangered and threatened species include the yellow-tailed woolly monkey ('' Oreonax flavicauda''), jaguar (''

Panthera onca The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus '' Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the t ...

''), ocelot ('' Leopardus pardalis''), spectacled bear ('' Tremarctos ornatus''), neotropical otter (''

Lontra longicaudis The Neotropical otter or Neotropical river otter (''Lontra longicaudis'') is an otter species found in Mexico, Central America, South America, and the island of Trinidad. It is physically similar to the northern and southern river otter, which ...

''), colocolo ('' Oncifelis colocolo''), Andean cock-of-the-rock ('' Rupicola peruviana'') and cinchona (''

Cinchona ''Cinchona'' (pronounced or ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae containing at least 23 species of trees and shrubs. All are native to the tropical Andean forests of western South America. A few species are reportedly nat ...

'' sp.). This ecoregions also has endemic species of butterflies from the genera '' Dismopha'', '' Callithea'', '' Paridos'', and '' Morpho''.

Natural areas

* Bahuaja-Sonene National Park *

Amarakaeri Communal Reserve The Amarakaeri Communal Reserve (''Reserva Comunal Amarakaeri'') is a protected area in Peru located in the Madre de Dios Region, Manú Province. It protects parts of the Southwest Amazon moist forests and Peruvian Yungas ecoregions. Located in ...

* Megantoni National Sanctuary *

Manú National Park Manú National Park ( es, Parque Nacional del Manú) is a national park and biosphere reserve located in the regions of Madre de Dios and Cusco in Peru. It protects a diverse number of ecosystems including lowland rainforests, cloud forests and ...

Otishi National Park Otishi National Park ( es, Parque Nacional Otishi) is a protected area in Peru, located in the regions of Junín and Cusco. It protects part of the Vilcabamba mountain range, preserving the wildlife and geological formations in this area. See a ...

Nor Yauyos-Cochas Landscape Reserve The Nor Yauyos-Cochas Landscape Reserve ( es, Reserva Paisajística Nor Yauyos-Cochas) is a protected area in Peru located in the Lima Region, Yauyos Province and in the Junín Region, Jauja Province. It lies with the Peruvian Yungas and Central ...

* San Matías–San Carlos Protection Forest * Yanachaga–Chemillén National Park * Rio Abiseo National Park * Alto Mayo Protection Forest * Cutervo National Park * Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu

References

{{coord missing, Peru Yungas Ecoregions of Peru * Forests of Peru Ecoregions of the Andes Neotropical tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests