Veracruz moist forests
The Veracruz moist forests is a tropical moist broadleaf forests ecoregion in eastern Mexico.
Geography
The Veracruz moist forests cover an area of, occupying a portion of Mexico's Gulf Coastal Plain between the Sierra Madre Oriental and the Gulf of Mexico. The forests extend from southern Tamaulipas across northern Veracruz, eastern San Luis Potosí, and portions of eastern Hidalgo, northeastern Puebla and northern Queretaro. The Huasteca region includes much of the ecoregion.To the north, the forests transition to the dry lowland Tamaulipan mezquital and the upland Tamaulipan matorral. To the west, the Sierra Madre Oriental pine–oak forests occupy the higher elevations of the Sierra Madre Oriental.
The Moctezuma River and its tributaries have carved deep canyons through the Sierra Madre, which allow moist air from the Gulf of Mexico to flow further west into the plateaus and mountains, including the Sierra Gorda, and the moist forests extend westwards along the river valleys.
South of the gap where the Moctezuma River cuts through the Sierra Madre, the Veracruz montane forests and Oaxacan montane forests occupy middle slopes of the Sierra. The Veracruz dry forests separate the Veracruz moist forests from the Petén–Veracruz moist forests further south.
The northernmost extension of the Veracruz moist forests occurs in the El Cielo Biosphere and the Sierra de Tamaulipas at a latitude of about 23° 20′ degrees north.
Climate
The climate of the region is tropical and humid, with rains during seven months of the year and mild variation in temperature. Average annual rainfall is.Flora
The canopy of this ecoregion is characterized by trees reaching a height of up to, such as Mayan breadnut, sapodilla, rosadillo, Bursera simaruba, Dendropanax arboreus, and Sideroxylon capiri. The southern parts of the ecoregion feature mahogany, Manilkara zapota, Bernoullia flammea, and Astronium graveolens.Fauna
Mammals: Three species of rodents are endemic to this area, the El Carrizo deer mouse the Tamaulipan woodrat, and the Jico crested tail mouse. Spider monkeys, the northernmost representative of the New World primates range into this region, although it is an endangered species and not common. Marsupials include the common opossum and Mexican mouse opossum. Other mammals such as the Mexican anteater, lowland paca, and red brocket are known from this region. Among the carnivores are the kinkajou, mustelids such as tayra and greater grison, and five cat species including jaguarondi, ocelot, margay, Puma and jaguar. Just a few of the many species of bats include the elegant myotis, wrinkle-faced bat, and hairy-legged vampire bat.Birds: Endemic birds include the red-crowned amazon, Altamira yellowthroat, and crimson-collared grosbeak. A few other species occurring in this region of rich avifauna include the thicket tinamou, bare-throated tiger heron, boat-billed heron, plumbeous kite, collared forest falcon, bat falcon, great curassow, green parakeet, Aztec parakeet, yellow-headed amazon, squirrel cuckoo, mottled owl, northern potoo, Lesson's motmot, Amazon kingfisher, lineated woodpecker, pale-billed woodpecker, ivory-billed woodcreeper, boat-billed flycatcher, Tamaulipas crow, scrub euphonia, and yellow-throated euphonia.
Reptiles: The Morelet's crocodile can be found in the remote areas of the rivers and lagoons in this region with turtles like the Mesoamerican slider and scorpion mud turtles. Herrera's mud turtle and the Mexican box turtle are endemic to this region. Endemic lizards include the rare plain-necked glass lizard and the Cave Tropical Night Lizard known only from caves and the vicinity of cave openings in the Sierra Cucharas/Sierra del Abra of southern Tamaulipas adjacent San Luis Potosí. Other lizards found in the region include the silky anole, rainbow ameiva, rose-belly lizard, Mexican spiny-tailed iguana, and casque-headed lizard. Snakes such as Iverson's threadsnake, the brown hook-nose snake, Taylor's cantil, and the Totonacan rattlesnake are largely associated with the Veracruz moist forest but all range into areas beyond the strict limits of this region. Many tropical snakes from Central America range into this region like the Central American boa constrictor, Central American indigo snake, blunthead tree snake, Mexican parrot snake, brown vine snake, tropical ratsnake, tropical tree snake, green ratsnake, banded snail sucker, and terrestrial snail sucker. In addition to the cantil and Totonacan rattlesnake, venomous snakes from this province include the Texas coral snake and the terciopelo.
Amphibians: Although salamander diversity in Mexico is among the highest in the world, they mostly occur in mountainous areas. The broadfoot mushroomtongue salamander, a lungless salamander of the Plethodontidae family, occupies the coastal lowlands from sea level up to about 1000 meters from southern Tamaulipas to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. The distribution of the southern subspecies of the black-spotted newt nearly matches that of the Veracruz moist forests region. There are also enigmatic reports of an isolated population of the lesser siren from central Veracruz. Anuran, or frog diversity in the region is higher and among the species found in this area are the Gulf Coast toad, cane toad, white-lipped frog, sabinal frog, elegant narrow-mouthed toad, sheep frog, and the burrowing toad. Godman's treefrog, can be found in the broad-leafed evergreen forest on the coastal lowlands with the painted treefrog, Stauffer's treefrog, and Mexican treefrog. The veined treefrog is a large species that produces sticky, mucous, skin secretions, presumed to deter desiccation in the dry season, as well as being a toxin to predators.
Fishes: The Rio Tamesí/Pánuco system contains at least 85 species of freshwater fishes, where temperate and tropical taxa mingle and endemism is high. One source list 93 species in the Guayalejo-Temesí watershed of Tamaulipas alone, but this includes brackish-marine species. Many of the streams and rivers of this region are spring fed by karstic aquifers, providing consistent and relatively thermally stable water compared to other basins sourced largely by precipitation. The karstic environment of the Sierra Madre Oriental produces many caves and subterranean waterways that ultimately surface near the base of the mountains in the west of this region. Some fish like the endemic phantom blindcat are adapted to caves and have been collected at depths of 50 meters in cave systems of the Rio Frio. Some populations of the Mexican tetra also inhabit caves and are blind, although other populations of the same species living in surface streams have eyes, while still other populations are intermediate. The region is rich in platyfish and swordtail diversity including sheepshead swordtail, delicate swordtail, mountain swordtail, and the endemic variable platyfish. Cichlid diversity is also high in this area including the lowland cichlid and endemic species like the chairel cichlid and Nautla cichlid among others. Other fishes include the pigmy shiner, Forlón gambusia, gulf gambusia, chubsucker minnow, and the endemic lantern minnow. Conservation threats of fishes include, damming of waterways, water diversion for agriculture, runoff associated with agriculture and livestock, oil and industrial contamination, invasive species, and irresponsible recreational activities.
Conservation and threats
The forests have been heavily altered by human activity, so that only a few enclaves of mature forest remain. Forests have been cleared for timber harvesting, agriculture, and grazing, and much of the original forest has been replaced with scrubland or secondary forest.Protected areas
7.66% of the ecoregion is in protected areas. Protected areas entirely or partly within the ecoregion include El Cielo, Sierra del Abra Tanchipa, Sierra Gorda, Sierra Gorda de Guanajuato, andSierra de Tamaulipas biosphere reserves, Laguna Madre and Río Bravo Delta Flora and Fauna Protection Area, Bernal de Horcasitas, El Sótano de Las Golondrinas, and La Hoya de las Huahuas natural monuments, Río Filo-Bobos y su Entorno protected area, and Zona Protectora Forestal Vedada Cuenca Hidrográfica del Río Necaxa natural resources protection area.