What Animal Lives in the Chihuahuan Desert

Agave plant high in the mountains at Big Bend National Park — Agave found in the mountains at Big Bend National Park.
NPS/Ann Wildermuth

A Diverse Desert

Shared by two nations, the Chihuahuan Desert Ecoregion is isolated from side by side arid regions by 2 mount ranges, the Sierra Madre Occidental to the west and the Sierra Madre Oriental to the east. About nine,000 years ago, this area was wetter and the mountain slopes were dominated by forests. As the area became more dry, species experienced isolation, differentiation, and sometimes extinction which led to the unique Chihuahuan flora and fauna of today.

Deserts, by their very proper noun, are seldom regarded every bit important reservoirs of biological diversity, but some deserts are extraordinarily rich in species, rare plants and animals, specialized habits, and unique biological communities. The Chihuahuan Desert is considered the most diverse desert in the Western Hemisphere and i of the most diverse arid regions in the world. Unfortunately, the Chihuahuan Desert Ecoregion is too 1 of the well-nigh endangered regions in the world. Overgrazing, h2o depletion and diversion, changes in the fire regime, urbanization, increases in agricultural and resource extraction activities, invasive exotic species, and overcollecting of native plants and animals are amidst the greatest threats to biodiversity in the Ecoregion.

Location

The Chihuahuan Desert Ecoregion covers about 647,500 square kilometers (250,000 square miles), with over 90% of its area within the nation of United mexican states. It is the largest desert in North America, extending nigh 1,500 km from due south of Albuquerque, New Mexico to 250 km due north of Mexico City. Parts of the Mexican states of the Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Zacatecas, Nuevo León, and San Luis Potosí, as well as the southeastern corner of Arizona and large parts of New Mexico and the Trans-Pecos region of Texas prevarication within the Chihuahuan Desert Ecoregion.

Chihuahuan Desert Ecoregion map — The Chihuahuan Desert is the largest desert in North America.
NPS Photo

Salt playa filled with water at Guadalupe Mountains National Park.
NPS Photo

Climate and Topography

The Chihuahuan desert differs from the Sonoran and Mojave deserts considering information technology receives more summertime rain during monsoon thunderstorms and has colder winters. The climate includes hot summers and cool to common cold, dry winters. Annual precipitation ranges from 150 to 500 mm (approximately 6 to 20 inches), with a big part of the rain falling in the form of monsoonal rains during the summer months. The bowl and range topography of the Chihuahuan Desert consists of broad desert valleys (basins) bordered by terraces, mesas, and mountains (ranges). Table salt lakes or playas can class because rainwater drains internally in these airtight basins. Dune fields composed of quartz or gypsum sand are likewise common.

cluster of small cactus with red flowers — Flowering claret loving cup cactus (Echinocereus coccineus) at Fort Davis National Historic Site
NPS Photograph

Flora and Animal

The eastern purlieus of the Chihuahuan Desert is one of the oldest and richest centers of found evolution on the North American continent. A broad variety of vegetation communities are present in the in the ecoregion, ranging from desert shrublands at lower elevations and conifer woodlands at the highest elevations. The Chihuahuan Desert boasts as many equally three,500 plant species, including nearly a quarter of the world'south cactus species. Approximately 1,000 of the plant species grow only in this ecoregion. Some distinctive habitat types in the Chihuahuan Desert include yucca woodlands, playas, gypsum dunes, and a diverse array of freshwater habitats. Vast desert grasslands and a wide diversity of yuccas and agaves, including many endemic species, also make this desert extremely unique.

Coiled gray-banded kingsnake at Carlsbad Caverns National Park
NPS Photo

The Chihuahuan Desert is home to more than than 170 species of amphibians and reptiles. At least xviii of these species are owned to the Ecoregion. A surprisingly large number of owned fish occur in the Chihuahuan Desert also—nearly half of the 110 fish species in the region are either endemic or of express distribution. Most are relic species constitute in isolated springs in the closed basins.

The Chihuahuan Desert supports a big number of wide-ranging mammals (more than 130 species) such as mule deer, pronghorn, jaguar, javelina, and grey trick. It harbors N America's largest remaining blackness-tailed prairie dog complex on the continent and the only populations of the endemic Mexican prairie dog. Historically, the Chihuahuan Desert was one of the few ecoregions where grizzly bears, wolves, and jaguars could be found at the aforementioned locality. Several sites still retain a complement of larger vertebrates, including mountain lions, jaguars, and golden eagles.

Vermillion flycatcher at Big Bend National Park
NPS/Cookie Ballou

The Ecoregion supports around 400 bird species comprised mostly of widespread and common species with few endemics. The Chihuahuan Desert grasslands serve every bit wintering grounds for a large proportion of North American Great Plains birds including a number of significantly declining species such as mountain plover, ferruginous hawk, and Baird's sparrow. Neotropical migratory birds utilize riparian corridors along the Pecos and Rio Grande rivers.