Capilla de Monte, Argentina Photograph by Claudia Juarez   Neotropical Tropical and Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas, and Shrublands   22,500 square miles (58,200 square kilometers) -- about the size of West Virginia Vulnerable

· Pieces of a landscape puzzle
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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Pieces of a landscape puzzle

The Córdoba Montane Savannas are composed of eight large patches of montane grasslands located about 150 miles (400 km) east of the Andes Mountains in north-central Argentina. These grasslands are nestled in a diverse landscape and are surrounded by arid chaco subtropical grasslands, Argentine monte temperate grasslands, chaco dry forest, Argentine espinal shrublands, and moist Andean yungas rainforests. This ecoregion encompasses the Sierra Grande and Sierra Comechigones mountain ranges, reaching elevations of more than 6,560 feet (2,000,m).

Special Features

This unique ecoregion is a high-altitude relict of savanna grasslands, which were once extensive across central South America. Today, abundant bunchgrasses are now mixed with scattered woodlands of tabaquillo (a shrub tree in the rose family) and interspersed with rocky outcroppings and numerous streams. The isolated nature of this patchy ecoregion has led to high levels of endemism, including more than 12 endemic bird species.

	Hensel’s short-tailed opossum boasts the impressive number of 25 nipples and can have almost as many young in a litter. Since this species of opossum does not have a pouch, each newborn must attach to a nipple and cling to the mother’s belly until it is well developed.

Wild Side

Perched in a low branch of a tabaquillo tree in a small scrub patch, an endemic Córdoba cinclode (a type of ovenbird) spots an insect crawling in a nearby patch of bunchgrass and hops down to snatch it. On a low stream bank, an endemic Olrog’s cinclode builds a nest in a small cavity out of mud, grass, and sticks. High above on the face of a large cliff, several Andean condors spread their wings to the sun to warm up in the morning while cliff flycatchers catch insects on the fly. Among tufts of bunchgrass, a Hensel’s short-tailed opossum cautiously navigates the landscape, on constant alert for a lurking Geoffroy’s cat or pampas cat.

Cause for Concern

Although the ecoregion is not greatly threatened at present, overgrazing is a major concern for conservationists. Due to its restricted size, fragmented distribution, and isolation, this area would be especially vulnerable to any increase in threats.

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