Petén-Veracruz moist forests

Petén-Veracruz moist forests
Forest surrounding ruins of Tikal, Guatemala
Ecology
Biome	Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forest
Borders	Oaxacan montane forests Veracruz moist forests Veracruz dry forests Mesoamerican Gulf-Caribbean mangroves Sierra de los Tuxtlas Pantanos de Centla Yucatan moist forests Central American Atlantic moist forests Central American pine-oak forests Chiapas montane forests Chiapas Depression dry forests Chimalapas montane forests Sierra Madre de Oaxaca pine-oak forests
Bird species	468
Mammal species	191
Geography
Area	149,100 km2 (57,600 sq mi)
Countries	Mexico, Belize and Guatemala
Conservation
Conservation status	critical/endangered
Habitat loss	23.595%
Protected	24.25%

The Petén-Veracruz moist forests ecoregion, of the Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forest Biome, is found in Belize, Guatemala, and Mexico.

The Petén-Veracruz moist forests cover an area of 149,100 square kilometers (57,600 sq mi), extending from central Veracruz state across portions of the Mexican states of Oaxaca, Tabasco, Chiapas, and Campeche, as well as northern Guatemala and most of Belize. The Petén-Veracruz moist forests mostly occupy a coastal lowland with meandering rivers, and includes the Lacandon Forest of Chiapas and the Petén Basin of Guatemala.

The ecoregion is bounded on the south by a series of mountain ranges and highlands, including the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca, Sierra Madre de Chiapas, Chiapas Plateau, and Guatemalan Highlands, where the lowland Petén-Veracruz forests yield to montane moist forests and pine-oak forests. In central Veracruz, the Veracruz dry forests separate the Petén-Veracruz moist forests from the Veracruz moist forests further north. The western portion of the ecoregion mostly extends to the Gulf of Mexico, although the montane forests of the Sierra de los Tuxtlas and the flooded forests and wetlands of the Pantanos de Centla constitute distinct ecoregions.