Where is the Nearctic region located?
The Nearctic region consists of subtropical, tropical, temperate, and arctic North America. The region stretches from the Mexican Plateau to northern Canada and Alaska.
What is Nearctic?
Nearctic in American English (niˈɑːrktɪk, -ˈɑːr-) adjective. Geography. belonging or pertaining to a geographical division comprising temperate Greenland and arctic North America, sometimes including high mountainous regions of the northern Temperate Zone.
Why are animals in the Nearctic and Palearctic realms similar?
The Palearctic and Nearctic Realms also contain similar fauna, as animals have been able to migrate between the two Realms on land bridges formed when sea levels were lower than today. Harsh climate characterizes these areas where only hardy animals survive, such as bison, mountain goat, bear, and the horse.
Which desert seperates Palearctic real from Ethiopian realm?
Sahara and Arabian deserts A great belt of deserts, including the Atlantic coastal desert, Sahara desert, and Arabian desert, separates the Palearctic and Afrotropic ecoregions.
Which realm is known as the realm of birds?
Meaning of Zoogeographical Realms: P. L. Sclater (1857) divided the geographical areas of the Earth into six parts, on the basis of the distribution of birds. After that, Alfred Russel Wallace in 1876 published a paper on zoogeographical realms.
How do you pronounce Nearctic?
0:051:01How To Say Nearctic - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipNortec nortec nortec aniorte aniorte nortec.MoreNortec nortec nortec aniorte aniorte nortec.
What is the climate of Nearctic region?
Climate is temperate with an arctic edge. There are grasslands in the middle of the continent. Western part is arid with mountains and coniferous forests.
Which is the largest zoogeographical region in the world?
1. Palaearctic Region. This faunal region stretches over the greater parts of Europe and Eurasia, north of Himalayas. This faunal region includes 136 families of vertebrates, 100 genera of mammals, 174 genera of birds.
How do you pronounce Palearctic?
0:051:00How To Say Palearctic - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipAl día al día el día al día al día oliart.MoreAl día al día el día al día al día oliart.
How many zoogeographical realms are there in the world?
The six zoogeographical regions are the Palaearctic, the Nearctic, the Neotropical, the Ethiopian, the Oriental and the Australian. regions to be so different from the rest of the world, these two are often considered as regions or realms equal to the other four combined.
What are the countries included in each of the 6 zoogeographical realms?
Present-day zoogeographical regions were adapted from Kreft & Jetz6 and Holt et al.5. CA Central Asia, MP Mongolian Plateau, NA North Asia, NC North China, SA South Asia, SC South China, SEA Southeast Asia, TP Tibetan Plateau, WA West Asia.
Which region is rich in Ethiopia?
According to the Ethiopian government website, the Amhara Highlands receive 80% of Ethiopia's total annual rainfall of and are the country's most fertile and climatically hospitable region. Lake Tana, in the Amhara Region, is the source of the Blue Nile—at Bahir Dar.
What is Nearctic Zoogeography?
Nearctic region includes Fishes, Amphibians, Reptiles, Birds and Mammales. Fishes: Cat fishes,Garpike, Paddle fishes, and Cyprinidonts are commonly present. Amphibians: Amphiuma, Salamanders, Bufo, Amblystoma, Hyla, and Rana are seeWin this region.
What 2 mammal families are endemic to the Nearctic?
Mammals originally unique to the Nearctic include: Order Primates- the first primate/proto-primate, Purgatorius, originated in the Early Paleocene of the Nearctic. Family Canidae- dogs, wolves, foxes, and coyotes.
Where are the Neotropics?
The Neotropical region is here defined as Central America, the Caribbean, and South America. Although parts of South America are not tropical, we include the entire region in the definition.
What is a holarctic distribution?
under the term Holarctic species (or distribu- tion, range) or circum-Holarctic species (or. distribution, range) we mean species occur- ring (distributed) throughout the whole or at. least most of Eurasia and North America.
What is the Neotropical realm?
The Neotropical realm. The Neotropical realm and its subdivisions. The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone.
What continent is South America?
South America was originally part of the supercontinent of Gondwana, which included Africa, Australia, India, New Zealand, and Antarctica, and the Neotropic shares many plant and animal lineages with these other continents, including marsupial mammals and the Antarctic flora .
Why is the Neotropic delimited?
The Neotropic is delimited by similarities in fauna or flora. Its fauna and flora are distinct from the Nearctic realm (which includes most of North America) because of the long separation of the two continents.
What is WWF bioregion?
The WWF subdivides the realm into bioregions, defined as "geographic clusters of ecoregions that may span several habitat types, but have strong biogeographic affinities, particularly at taxonomic levels higher than the species level (genus, family)."
What is the bioregion of Amazon?
The Amazonia bioregion is mostly covered by tropical moist broadleaf forest, including the vast Amazon rainforest, which stretches from the Andes mountains to the Atlantic Ocean, and the lowland forests of the Guianas. The bioregion also includes tropical savanna and tropical dry forest ecoregions.
How did South America and North America become one?
Much later, about two to three million years ago, South America was joined with North America by the formation of the Isthmus of Panama, which allowed a biotic exchange between the two continents, the Great American Interchange. South American species like the ancestors of the Virginia opossum ( Didelphis virginiana) and the armadillo moved into North America, and North Americans like the ancestors of South America's camelids, including the llama ( Lama glama ), moved south. The long-term effect of the exchange was the extinction of many South American species, mostly by outcompetition by northern species.
Where are temperate forests located?
The temperate forest ecoregions of southwestern South America, including the temperate rain forests of the Valdivian temperate rain forests and Magellanic subpolar forests ecoregions, and the Juan Fernández Islands and Desventuradas Islands, are a refuge for the ancient Antarctic flora, which includes trees like the southern beech ( Nothofagus ), podocarps, the alerce ( Fitzroya cupressoides ), and Araucaria pines like the monkey-puzzle tree ( Araucaria araucana ). These magnificent rainforests are endangered by extensive logging and their replacement by fast-growing non-native pines and eucalyptus .
What is the Nearctic realm?
Nearctic Biogeographic Realm. The Nearctic biogeographic realm covers a total area of 8.8 million square miles, making it the second largest of all the realms. It encompasses the US (including most of Texas and northern Florida), Canada, Greenland, and the highland regions of Mexico. This realm is further divided into 4 ecological regions ...
What is the Afrotropical realm?
The Afrotropical realm covers a total area of 8.5 million square miles and is made up of southwestern Pakistan, southern Iran, the southern regions of the Arabian Peninsula, the area south of the Sahara Desert in Africa, the island of Madagascar, and the islands in the western part of the Indian Ocean.
What is the smallest realm in the world?
The Antarctic biogeographic realm covers a total area of 0.12 million square miles, making it the smallest of all the realms. The Antarctic biogeographic region is located in the Southern Ocean and is comprised of the area surrounding the South Pole, including: Antarctica, the islands above the Antarctic tectonic plate, the ice in the waters, ...
How long ago did the Neotropical Biogeographic realm separate?
This difference in species occurred because of the two realms were physically separated until between 2 and 3 million years ago . Interestingly, the Neotropical biogeographic realm has more tropical rainforest coverage than any other realm. It is further divided into 8 ecological regions.
What is the biogeographic realm?
The term biogeographic realm refers to an area of land that contains relatively similar living organisms. In most cases, the organisms living within these biogeographic realms have been isolated from the rest of the organisms around the world and have, therefore, experienced distinct evolutionary processes.
What is the largest biogeographic realm in the world?
The Palearctic biogeographic realm covers a total area of 20.9 million square, making it the largest of all the realms. It is made up of the area north of the Saharan Desert in Africa, the area north of the Himalayan Mountains in Asia, the northern region of the Arabian Peninsula, and the entire area of Europe. It is further divided into 7 ecoregions, which contain boreal forests, Mediterranean climates, coastal deserts, river basins, and mountainous terrain. The Palearctic is home to several endemic animal families, including: red pandas, mouse-like hamsters, and accentor birds.
What is the Indo-Malayn realm?
The Indo-Malayn biogeographic realm stretches across the southern reaches of East Asia, the greater part of South Asia, and the area known as Southeast Asia. It covers a total area of 2.9 million square miles, which includes: the Indian subcontinent, parts of southern China, Indonesia, and the Phillipines (as well as other locations).
Major Ecological Regions
- The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) divides the Nearctic into four bioregions, defined as "geographic clusters of ecoregions that may span several habitat types, but have strong biogeographic affinities, particularly at taxonomic levels higher than the species level (genus, family)."
History
- Although North America and South America are presently joined by the Isthmus of Panama, these continents were separated for about 180 million years, and evolved very different plant and animal lineages. When the ancient supercontinent of Pangaea split into two about 180 million years ago, North America remained joined to Eurasia as part of the supercontinent of Laurasia, while Sout…
Flora and Fauna
- Flora and fauna that originated in the Nearctic
Mammals originally unique to the Nearctic include: 1. Family Canidae, dogs, wolves, foxes, and coyotes 2. Family Camelidae, camels and their South American relatives including the llama. now extinct in the Nearctic 3. Family Equidae, horses, donkeysand their relatives. now only found in t… - Flora and fauna endemic to the Nearctic
One bird family, the wrentits (Timaliinae), is endemic to the Nearctic region. The Holarctic has four endemic families: divers (Gaviidae), grouse (Tetraoninae), auks (Alcidae), and the waxwings (Bombycillidae). The scarab beetle families Pleocomidae and Diphyllostomatidae (Coleoptera) a…
See Also
- List of ecoregions in Canada (WWF)
- List of ecoregions in Mexico (WWF)
- List of ecoregions in the United States (WWF)
References
- Abell, R.A. et al. (2000). Freshwater Ecoregions of North America: A Conservation Assessment Washington, DC: Island Press, .
- Flannery, Tim (2001). The Eternal Frontier: an Ecological History of North America and its Peoples. Grove Press, New York.
- Ricketts, Taylor H., Eric Dinerstein, David M. Olson, Colby J. Loucks, et al. (1999). Terrestrial E…
- Abell, R.A. et al. (2000). Freshwater Ecoregions of North America: A Conservation Assessment Washington, DC: Island Press, .
- Flannery, Tim (2001). The Eternal Frontier: an Ecological History of North America and its Peoples. Grove Press, New York.
- Ricketts, Taylor H., Eric Dinerstein, David M. Olson, Colby J. Loucks, et al. (1999). Terrestrial Ecoregions of North America: a Conservation Assessment. Island Press, Washington DC., .
External Links
- North American wildlifetravel guide from Wikivoyage
- Map of the ecozones
- Nearctica, The Natural World of North America
- "Nearctic Region". New International Encyclopedia. 1905.
Overview
The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone.
Definition
In biogeography, the Neotropic or Neotropical realm is one of the eight terrestrial realms. This realm includes South America, Central America, the Caribbean islands, and southern North America. In Mexico, the Yucatán Peninsula and southern lowlands, and most of the east and west coastlines, including the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula are Neotropical. In the United States southern Florida and coastal Central Florida are considered Neotropical.
Major ecological regions
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) subdivides the realm into bioregions, defined as "geographic clusters of ecoregions that may span several habitat types, but have strong biogeographic affinities, particularly at taxonomic levels higher than the species level (genus, family)."
Laurel forest and other cloud forest are subtropical and mild temperate forest, found in areas wit…
History
South America was originally part of the supercontinent of Gondwana, which included Africa, Australia, India, New Zealand, and Antarctica, and the Neotropic shares many plant and animal lineages with these other continents, including marsupial mammals and the Antarctic flora.
After the final breakup of the Gondwana about 110 million years ago, South America was separated from Africa and drifted north and west. 66 million years ago, the Cretaceous–Paleoge…
Endemic animals and plants
There are 31 bird families that are endemic to the Neotropical realm, over twice the number of any other realm. They include tanagers, rheas, tinamous, curassows, antbirds, ovenbirds, toucans, and seriemas. Bird families originally unique to the Neotropics include hummingbirds (family Trochilidae) and wrens (family Troglodytidae).
Mammal groups originally unique to the Neotropics include:
General bibliography
• Albert, J. S., and R. E. Reis (2011). Historical Biogeography of Neotropical Freshwater Fishes. University of California Press, Berkeley. 424 pp. ISBN 978-0-520-26868-5.
• Bequaert, Joseph C. "An Introductory Study of Polistes in the United States and Canada with Descriptions of Some New North and South American Forms (Hymenoptera; Vespidæ)". Journal of the New York Entomological Society 48.1 (1940): 1-31.
External links
• Map of the ecozones
• Eco-Index, a bilingual searchable reference of conservation and research projects in the Neotropics; a service of the Rainforest Alliance
• NeoTropic
• Acosta, Guillermo et al., 2018. "Climate change and peopling of the Neotropics during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition". Boletín de la Sociedad Geológica Mexicana.
• Map of the ecozones
• Eco-Index, a bilingual searchable reference of conservation and research projects in the Neotropics; a service of the Rainforest Alliance
• NeoTropic
• Acosta, Guillermo et al., 2018. "Climate change and peopling of the Neotropics during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition". Boletín de la Sociedad Geológica Mexicana. doi:10.18268/BSGM2018v70n1a1.
Antarctic Biogeographic Realm
Oceania Biogeographic Realm
Indo-Malayan Biogeographic Realm
Australasian Biogeographic Realm
Neotropical Biogeographic Realm
Afrotropical Biogeographic Realm
Nearctic Biogeographic Realm
- The Nearctic biogeographic realm covers a total area of 8.8 million square miles, making it the second largest of all the realms. It encompasses the US (including most of Texas and northern Florida), Canada, Greenland, and the highland regions of Mexico. This realm is further divided into 4 ecological regions including: eastern, western, southweste...
Palearctic Biogeographic Realm