Nature has populated the Earth with various animals and birds, insects, plants and other living things. Some of them are quite common and numerous, others are very rare and live only in certain parts of the planet. They are called endemic. They are absolutely on every continent. North America is no exception. In this article, we look at the endemic of North America.
The meaning of the term
Endemics are recognized as such representatives of the animal or plant world, which are found only in a certain place and nowhere else on the planet. As a rule, such exclusivity has been formed over thousands of years of evolution and is often explained by the geographical remoteness of the continent or its individual part. Endemic, for example, are rich in rain forests of South America, the Galapagos Islands. Some plants and animals found in North America are also exceptional species not found anywhere else. Amazing representatives of flora and fauna are amazing. Such shapes and sizes can only be invented and created by nature.
Endemic North America: Plants
- Balfour Pine. It got its name in honor of a botanist from Scotland. The tree reaches a height of 22 meters or more. This is an endemic from the state of California, which is divided into two territorial subspecies, growing at a distance of 500 kilometers from each other.
- Elephant tree (pachycormus). It grows in the border zone and Mexico. It got its name for an interesting shape and size. With a height of 4 to 9 meters, it has a trunk thickness equal to half the height. Spreading tree crowns acquire a bizarre and unearthly shape, giving it a high decorative effect.
- Some species of cacti are also endemic to North America, including Capricorn astrophytum, De Negri oregonium, Reichenbach's echinocereus, etc.
Sequoia - America's National Treasure
Evergreen sequoia has a limited range. It grows on the Pacific coast of the mainland. Its main qualities that surprise you are its size (height - more than 100 meters), an age exceeding one thousand years, and a huge trunk diameter. At a certain period, these trees were subjected to destructive effects from the human side, they were massively cut down, some simply destroyed, for example, cutting through the passage for cars. Now sequoia is evergreen - it is a national treasure.
Endemic animals: examples
- Cougar. It is also very often called a mountain lion or cougar. It lives in the Americas. A fairly large representative of the predators belonging to the cat family. The body length ranges from 100 to 180 centimeters (along with the tail). You can meet them both in the mountains and on the flat terrain. The number is quite large, but still exposed to danger due to the reduction of their habitats and hunting of local residents. Some subspecies are protected at the law level.
- Endemic to North America include forest bison. This is a northern subspecies of a fairly common American bison. Despite some external similarities, they also have significant differences. The subspecies has a small number (mainly due to extermination by humans), and therefore is under protection. Its habitat is the taiga forests of Alaska and several other northern states.
- Striped skunk. The animal is very colorful in appearance and very nasty. Black-and-white color with two large light stripes on the back is very remarkable. Skunk has specific glands that produce an oily liquid. It has an extremely unpleasant, pungent and persistent smell. Skunk in case of danger sprinkles it in the direction of the enemy. Its color is also considered precautionary. The habitat is quite large, but still the species belongs to the endemic of North America, as it is not found anywhere else in the world.
- California condor. This rare species belongs to the family of American vultures. Its habitat is limited to three states (mountains of California, Arizona and Utah), and is also found in Mexico. Its number in the 20th century was reduced to a threatening extinction scale, but, fortunately, it was restored with the help of special programs.