FLORA AND FAUNA OF GUERRERO: MOST REPRESENTATIVE SPECIES - BIOLOGY - 2025

The flora and fauna of Guerrero is represented by species such as the Christmas flower, the oak, the pacific chachalaca and the Gila monster, among others. Guerrero is a state of Mexico, which is located in the south of that country. This region is one of the most mountainous in all of Mexico. However, it is also known for the wide plain, which is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean.

This state is home to a great diversity of fauna and flora, product of the variety of climates and the confluence of natural territories: the Balsas Basin, the Sierra Madre del Sur, the Sierra Norte and the Pacific Coastal Plain.

Christmas flower. Source H. Zell: Chachalaca. Source: Cloned Milkmen from Canada

Flora of Guerrero

Christmas flower (Euphorbia pulcherrima)

This plant, native to Mexico, is part of the Euphorbiaceae family. This species is widely used in gardening. But, its main use is in floriculture, especially at Christmas time, as an indoor plant.

The poinsettia, as the Euphorbia pulcherrima is also known, is a deciduous shrub that could measure up to 4 meters in height. As for the stems, they are smooth and thick. The leaves are ovate or lanceolate, and may have smooth or serrated edges. Likewise, they are simple and venous, presenting alternately.

The inflorescences, which appear at the ends of the stems, are formed by a female flower, devoid of sepals and petals. It is surrounded by individual male flowers, forming part of a structure called cyatus. From each of these a bilabiate structure emerges, in a yellow hue.

Around these inflorescences are long red bracts, which give the flowers an attractive appearance.

Encino (

This monoecious tree belongs to the Fagáceae family. In the Mexican state of Guerrero, it forms one of the botanical groups of greatest utility and environmental importance. This is due to their diversity, the breadth of their use and the extensive surface area they occupy.

Its height can range between 15 and 40 meters. The branches are furrowed and, in the juvenile stage, they could be pubescent. It has scaly buds, formed in the armpits or at the ends of the branches.

The stipules can be subulate or ligulate, in association with the buds. Likewise, they are deciduous, although in some species they could be persistent. In relation to the leaves, they are simple, with the entire margin, crenate or toothed. In addition, they could have mucrones, edges or thorns.

The male inflorescence is racemose and pendant. The flowers are apétalas and measure 1 to 2 millimeters. It has 4 to 12 free stamens, with thin filaments and very short anthers.

As for the female inflorescence, it is also racemose, with hard and woody rachis. It has one or more flowers, with the perianth made up of 6 sections that are fused in different proportions.

Pochote (

This tree, which is part of the Malvaceae family, is found in tropical deciduous forests.

This species has a height that could vary between 4 and 15 meters, although some could be up to 20 meters. The trunk is conical, with a sturdy base. It has a smooth, gray-colored bark, covered with hard thorns, up to 6 centimeters long.

The young branches are smooth or with fine reddish hairs. In addition, they have large numbers of lenticels and often have small, sharp spines. When they are adults, the branches are smooth, reddish and pubescent.

The leaves of the ceiba, as this species is also known, are arranged in a spiral. The leaflets, in number from 5 to 6, can be round, obovate or elliptical. The upper part of the leaf is bright green, while the underside is more opaque.

As for the flowers, they are solitary, although they could be grouped at the apices. They are white in color, turning creamy brown inward. They have an irregularly shaped calyx and the petals are thickly covered on the outside by yellowish-brown hairs.

Guerrero wildlife

Peaceful Chachalaca (

The pacific chachalaca is a galliform bird belonging to the Cracidae family. It is native to Mexico, ranging from the south of the state of Sonora to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, in Chiapas.

This species measures between 58.5 and 68.5 centimeters, weighing around 760 grams. The females are usually a little smaller. They have a long neck and a long, wide tail. The tarsi are robust and gray in color.

Regarding coloration, the upper area of ​​the neck and head are brownish gray. The dorsal region is grayish brown in color. In contrast, the belly and lower chest area are white. The skin surrounding the eyes and the gular sac is devoid of feathers, thus being pink in color.

The rectrices are grayer, with pale and broad tips. These may have a dark yellow hue. On the other hand, the coverts have cinnamon tones. In the juvenile stage, the Ortalis poliocephala presents characteristics similar to the adult, although the rectrices are pointed in shape.

As for their habitat, they are scrublands and subtropical and tropical forests. Their diet is based on seeds, fruits, leaves and flowers.

The Gila monster (

This poisonous lizard is native to the hot and arid regions of northern Mexico and the south-western United States.

The figure of this carnivorous species is stout, reaching between 35 and 59 centimeters long. Its legs are small, with powerful claws. It has a thick and short tail, where it stored fat. This is used as energy in hibernation or when food is scarce.

The skin is rough, with a beaded appearance on the dorsal scales. On the contrary, in the ventral part the scales are smooth.

In terms of coloration, this lizard can have reticulated patterns in shades of black and yellow or pink and black. Although in some species these colors are shown in bands. The head, neck and legs are black.

The head of the Gila monster is large and wide, where there are two small, black eyes, with rounded pupils. The ear is made up of a narrow, ovoid-shaped opening.

The venom is found in glands located in the lower jaw. This flows to the outside through grooves found in the teeth.

Kinkajú (

The kinkajú is a carnivorous mammal of the Procyonidae family. It is distributed in the Central American jungle regions and in South America.

This animal is between 42 and 58 centimeters long, with a tail almost the same size as its body. With this, he can hold onto tree branches, where he spends much of his time. Its weight ranges from 2 to 5 kilograms.

The head has a rounded shape, where there are a pair of large eyes, widely separated from each other. The limbs are small in size, but allow you to hold onto the tree.

As for the coat, it is short and dense. The back is brown and the belly is yellowish. On the head and at the end of the tail, the hair is darker than on the rest of the body.

Cuicuchi, as this species is also called, feeds on shoots, flowers, nuts, eggs, and insects.

References

1. Nations encyclopedia (2019). Warrior. Recovered from nationsencyclopedia.com.
2. Wikipedia (2019). Warrior. Recovered from en.wikipedia.org.
3. Encyclopedia britannica. (2019). Guerrero, state Mexico. Recovered from britannica.com.
4. Michael E. Peterson (2013). Poisonous Lizards. Science direct. Recovered from sciencedirect.com.
5. Tiberio C. Monterrubio-Rico, Juan F. Charre-Medellín, Ali I. Villanueva-Hernández and Livia León-Paniagua (2013). New records of the martucha (Potos flavus) for Michoacán, Mexico, which establish its distribution limit to the north by the Pacific. Recovered from scielo.org.mx.
6. Carlos Almazán – Núñez. (2009). Additional information on the avifauna of the Sierra Norte de Guerrero, Mexico. Recovered from scielo.org.mx.