(Ctenomys pontifex). This small rodent is only found in the Argentinian Chaco. All of 60 species of Ctenomys are endemic to South America. The Chacoan peccary (Catagonus wagneri), locally known as tauga, is the largest of the three peccary species found in the area. This species was thought to be extinct by scientists until 1975, when it was recorded by Ralph Wetzel. Due to the climate of the Gran Chaco, herpetofauna are restricted to moist refugia in various places throughout the chaco. Rotting logs, debris piles, old housing settlement, wells, and seasonal farm ponds are examples of such refugia. The black-legged seriema (Chunga burmeisteri), blue-crowned parakeet (Aratinga acuticadauta), Picui ground dove (Columbina picui), guira cuckoo (Guira guira), little thornbird (Phacellodomus sibilatrix), and many-colored Chaco finch (Saltaitricula multicolor) are notable of the 409 bird species that are resident or breed in the Gran Chaco; 252 of these Chaco species are endemic to South America. Conservation issues The Chaco is one of South America's last agricultural frontiers. Very sparsely populated and lacking sufficient all-weather roads and basic infrastructure (the Argentinian part is more developed than the Paraguayan or Bolivian part), it has long been too remote for crop planting. The central Chaco's Mennonite colonies are a notable exception. Two factors may substantially change the Chaco in the near future: low land valuations and the region's suitability to grow fuel crops. Suitability for the cultivation of Jatropha has been proven. Sweet sorghum as an ethanol plant may prove viable, too, since sorghum is a traditional local crop for domestic and feedstock use. The feasibility of switchgrass is currently being studied by Argentina's Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria, as is the Karanda’y palm tree in the Paraguayan Chaco. While advancements in agriculture can bring some improvements in infrastructure and employment for the region, loss of habitat and virgin forest is substantial and will likely increase poverty. Paraguay, after having lost more than 90% of its Atlantic rainforest between 1975 and 2005, is now losing its xerophytic forest (dry forests) in the Chaco at an annual rate of (2008). In mid-2009, a projected law, initiated by the Liberal Party, that would have outlawed deforestation in the Paraguayan Chaco altogether, "Deforestacion Zero en el Chaco" did not get a majority in the parliament. Deforestation in the Argentinian part of the Chaco amounted to an average of per year between 2001 and 2007. According to Fundación Avina,