Rio Grande Plains
| Tamaulipan mezquital | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Ecology | |
| Biome | Deserts and xeric shrublands |
| Bird species | 340 |
| Mammal species | 90 |
| Geography | |
| Area | 141,500 km2 |
| Countries | United States and Mexico |
| Conservation | |
| Habitat loss | 18.449% |
| Protected | 0.68% |
The Tamaulipan mezquital ecoregion, in the deserts and xeric shrublands biome, is located in the southern United States and northeastern Mexico. It covers an area of 141,500 km2 (54,600 sq mi), encompassing a portion of the Gulf Coastal Plain in southern Texas, northern Tamaulipas, northeastern Coahuila, and part of Nuevo León.
The Sierra Madre Oriental range to the west separates the Tamaulipan mezquital from the drier Chihuahuan Desert. The Tamaulipan matorral is a transitional ecoregion between the mezquital and the Sierra Madre Oriental pine-oak forests to the west and the Veracruz moist forests to the south. The Western Gulf coastal grasslands, known as the Tamaulipan pastizal south of the border, fringe the Gulf of Mexico. The Edwards Plateau savannas lie to the north, and the East Central Texas forests and Texas blackland prairies to the northeast.
Mezquital is characterized by honey mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa) and curly mesquite grass (Hilaria belangeri). Prior to disturbance, the most common shrubs were probably lotebush (Ziziphus obtusifolia) and whitebrush (Aloysia gratissima).
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Wikipedia