Fauna and flora of Paraguay

With 5 great ecoregions in its territory, Paraguay is the habitat of a Huge wealth of flora and fauna. While some species are typical of each ecoregion, many are present in more than one of them. And then better understand the Paraguayan biodiversitythen we will briefly describe your ecoregions.

• DRY CHACO: It covers the entire north of the country and, for its few annual rainfall, constitutes the most dry ecoregion of the entire Paraguayan territory. There you can see xerophytic forests and thickets.
• Marshland: Towards the northeast limit of the country, throughout its extension it is accompanied by the Paraguay River and is the ecoregion with the lowest surface of the country. It presents two marked stations, a rainy, wet and one rather dry. The most prominent environments are flood forests and wetlands.
• Wet Chaco: It extends from the center to the south, on the western limit of the country, covering a wide surface. In reference to its name, the weather is wet with rains greater than 1,000 millimeters per year. Esteros, Saturdays, wetlands and gallery forests are present in this ecoregion.
• Closed: On the east end of the country, it is an ecoregion formed by a set of environments: savannas, dry forests, grasslands and wetlands.
• Atlantic forest of Alto Paraná: It is possibly the wettest region of the Paraguayan territory and is located southwest of the country. It stands out for its lush jungles of humid subtropical climate.

Now it is time to learn about the fauna of Paraguay, made up of a vast plurality of species that are shared between the different ecoregions of Paraguay as well as with the bordering countries. Therefore, in this section, we will develop some of the best known species of Paraguay animals.

Giant armadillo

This kind of armadillo (Maximus prixes) It is possible to find it both in dried Chacho and Wet Chaco. It is characterized by being a robust body mammal and short legs, with a shell formed by plaques ordered in rows. It is nocturnal and feeds on insects, worms and ants.

Yacutinga Pantanera

The Pantanera Yacutinga (Pipile Jacutinga) It is a great endemic bird from South America, whose distribution covers parts of Brazil and the eco -region of the Pantanal and the Atlantic forest in Paraguay. Its plumage is bright black, with a white crest and the reddish buche.

Ant-eater

Also known as Yurumí or Flag Bear (Myrmecophaga Tridactyla) is a huge native mammal of South America that is present throughout the Paraguayan territory. It has an elongated snout and, curiously, it lacks teeth. Instead it presents an extensive language adherent to which it captures its food, formed exclusively by ants.

Anaconda Verde

Being one of the species of constrictor snake, the green anaconda (Eunectes Murinus) It is found throughout South America and its populations are distributed throughout Paraguay. Its coloration is dark green, hence its name, but it has dark and ocher spots.

Yellow lizard of the closed

As the name implies, in Paraguay the yellow lizard (Salvator Duseni) It is in the ecoregion of the closed. It is often confused with the colored lizard (Salvator Rufescens) with whom it is evolutionarily related.

Here we will mention the species of in danger of extinction in Paraguay.

• Steel of the swamp (Blasterus said).
• Pecarí del Chaco (Catagonus Wagneri).
• Giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis).
• Tapir (Tapirus terrestris).
• MUITU (Crax Fasciolata).
• Blue macaw (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus).
• Bird bell (Procnias nudicollis).

After knowing this information about Paraguay’s fauna, here we indicate more cases of animals in danger of extinction in Paraguay.

Now that we learned about the ecoregions of Paraguay and its peculiarities and also about the animals of Paraguay, we are ready to get into what is the Paraguayan flora. To do this, we will mention the most emblematic plant species of the Ecoregions of Paraguay.

White flower drunk stick

This species (Ceiba Chodatii), is a native of the dry Chaco, although it is also possible to find it in the humid Chaco. It is a medium -sized tree, with a blunt trunk covered with conical stingers. Its leaves are composed and expired and its flowers, as its name, whitish color.

Caranday

The Caranday Palm (Copernicia Alba), is typically found in the savannas of the humid Chaco. It can reach 20 meters high and its wood is frequently used for the production of posts, as well as its leaves, with which handicrafts are performed.

Aratiku Ñu

This fruit plant (Annona Crassiflora) is native to the ecoregion of the closed, in Paraguay and also in Brazil. Its use is very widespread in the Paraguayan culture since its fruit has a fleshy pulp, with a sweet taste and pleasant aroma.

Cachí

The cachí (Cyathea Atravirens) It is an arborescent fern found in the ecoregion of the Atlantic forest of Alto Paraná. This species is currently considered as vulnerable to extinction, due to the strong deterioration of its habitat.

Here you can learn more vegetation from this country and, specifically, some plants in danger of extinction in Paraguay.

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