Chin-Kan Protected Area, Mexico Photograph by Javier de la Maza/SEMARNAP   Neotropical Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests   57,600 square miles (149,100 square kilometers) -- about the size of Georgia Critical/Endangered

· Coatis and Cacomistles
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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Coatis and Cacomistles

These lowland tropical moist forests grow along the northeastern coastal plain of Mexico, in the northern portion of Veracruz and south Tamaulipas states, at altitudes of 328-2,950 feet (100-900 m). The climate is tropical humid, with rains during seven months of the year totaling 43-63 inches (110-160 cm). In south Tamaulipas, the dominant trees (e.g. Mayan breadnut, sapodilla, rosadillo, and gumbo limbo) reach heights of up to 98 feet (30 m). The same species grow even taller in San Luis Potosí. Lichens and fungi grow on the trees, as well as hanging epiphytes. Two relatives of the raccoon family live in these forests-the coati and cacomistle, both of which have masked faces and long, ringed tails.

Special Features

The Veracruz Moist Forests make up the northernmost extension of this forest type in North America and is the northern limit to many other tropical vegetation communities. It also contains a particularly rich and endemic insect fauna. The International Council for Bird Preservation has designated these forests as an Endemic Bird Area, because several birds, such as the green-cheeked Amazon parrot, crimson-collared grosbeak, and Taumalipan crow, are largely restricted to the moist and dry forests of northeastern Mexico.

"Hen-like" birds that rarely fly, many tinamous have an unusual mating arrangement. The females have the freedom to mate with as many males as they like, leaving each father to incubate the eggs itself and to defend the young from predators. The baby birds are capable of feeding themselves upon hatching. Tinamou eggs are shiny and of many different colors including green, blue, turquoise, purple, violet, steel gray, chocolate, and yellow.

Wild Side

Characteristic species, which some birdwatchers might spot, are the green macaw, crested guan, crimson-collared grossbeak, thicket tinamou, elegant trogon, and black-headed nightingale-thrush. However, most of the moist forests have been reduced to small remnants with a high diversity of species living in a significantly reduced area. Endangered mammals that may still occur here include the jaguar, bobcat, ocelot, puma and jaguarundi. Central American spider monkeys were once found throughout these forests, representing the northernmost monkey species in the Americas. Coyotes, grey foxes, and opossums enjoy healthier populations, though they still face shrinking habitat problems.

Cause for Concern

Large portions of these forests have been eliminated. Only small patches remain, scattered north-to-south from Tamaulipas to central Veracruz. Scrub and secondary communities have sprung up in their place. Logging and cattle grazing cause the greatest habitat loss. Only 20 percent of the natural vegetation remains intact, of which 14 percent is secondary growth. A single protected area has been set aside to protect the region's remaining biodiversity.

For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report.