Dry limestone forest species include Pisonia albida, Guaiacum sanctum, and Plumeria alba. Trichilia triacantha, a federally listed endangered species, is known only from the dry forest zone in southwestern Puerto Rico. Fauna Puerto Rican dry forest support a diverse avifauna; 185 bird species have been recorded in Guánica Forest including 15 endemic species. The endangered Puerto Rican nightjar is restricted to dry and moist forests in southwestern Puerto Rico. The Puerto Rican crested toad, the only native toad in Puerto Rico, is known from only one remaining population in Guánica Forest. Thirteen species of lizards are known from the southern dry forests including two anole endemic to the dry forest zone- Anolis poncensis and Anolis cooki. The Mona ground iguana is endemic to dry forest on the island of Mona. Non-native mammals in the dry forest zone include rhesus macaques and patas monkeys, both of which have become serious agricultural pests, and the Javan mongoose which was introduced to Puerto Rico in the 1870s. Conservation Although most of the forest was destroyed for agriculture prior to the 1940s, some patches of forest which pre-date that period still exist. Areas that were used for charcoal production or for fence-posts have recovered rapidly - after 50 years forests that had been used for charcoal production recovered to the point where they were indistinguishable from much older forests. In addition, large areas of secondary forest have grown back on abandoned agricultural land. Unlike areas which were only lightly used, these forests on abandoned farmland have far fewer species than do natural forests. Their path to recovery remains uncertain. The best example of dry forests in Puerto Rico are in the Guánica State Forest (Bosque Estatal de Guánica) outside the town of Guánica. This site has also been the focus of the vast majority of studies of dry forests. Other protected dry forests in Puerto Rico include the Cabo Rojo, Culebra, Desecheo and Vieques wildlife refuges (part of the Caribbean Islands National Wildlife Refuge Complex), the Caja de Muertos and the Mona and Monito Islands Natural Reserves, among other smaller protected areas along the southern coast of the island. See also List of ecoregions in the United States (WWF) References External links Go Hiking in Guayanes Dry Forest - Puerto Rico Day Trips Ecoregions of Puerto Rico Ecoregions of the Caribbean Dry Neotropical dry broadleaf forests