The Area

Species in the Valdivian Ecoregion

The Valdivian Ecoregion is a narrow band of forest that runs along the western shore of the continent, separated for millions of years from other forests by the Pacific Ocean, the Andes mountain range, the Patagonian Steppe, and the Atacama Desert. These forests originated on the ancient supercontinent of Gondwanaland some 20 million years ago, and are thus more similar to their counterparts in New Zealand and Tasmania than to other forests in South America.

The isolated "island" quality and the ancient habitats of the Valdivian Ecoregion are reflected in the peculiarity of the species that still live here today. This rich fauna includes the Magellanic Woodpecker (Campephilus magellanicus), the largest woodpecker in the world, and many others.

Rare species in danger of extinction

Currently, a large percentage of the fauna found in the ecoregion is at risk of extinction. The huillín (Lontra provocax) or river otter, for example, has been identified by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) as the most endangered carnivore in the Southern Hemisphere, and its distribution has been reduced to just a small fraction of what it was. Other threatened species include almost all native freshwater fish, whose historical populations have dropped drastically, and the marsupial monito del monte (Dromiciops gliroides).

Endangered species in the ecoregion include 14 species of mammals like Huemul (Hippocamelus bisulcus), Huillín (Lontra provocax) Guigna (Oncifelis guigna) and Pudú (Pudu pudu), 10 species of birds, like Carpintero Magallánico (Campephilus magellanicus), and at least 4 species of amphibians like Challhuaco Frog (Atelognathus nitoi), and 5 species of Freshwater fish, in Argentina and Chile.