In the southwest, the Guánica State Forest and Biosphere Reserve contain over 600 uncommon species of plants and animals, including 48 endangered species and 16 that are endemic to Puerto Rico, and is considered a prime example of the Puerto Rican dry forest ecoregion and the best-preserved dry forest in the Caribbean.Ewel, J.L. & J.L. Whitmore. 1973. The ecological life zones of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. USDA For. Serv. Res. Pap. ITF-18. Other protected dry forests in Puerto Rico can be formed within the Caribbean Islands National Wildlife Refuge complex at the Cabo Rojo, Desecheo, Culebra and Vieques National Wildlife Refuges, and in the Caja de Muertos and Mona and Monito Islands Nature Reserves. Examples of endemic species found in this ecoregion are the higo chumbo (Harrisia portoricensis), the Puerto Rican crested toad (Peltophryne lemur), and the Mona ground iguana (Cyclura stejnegeri), the largest land animal native to Puerto Rico.
In the southwest, the Guánica State Forest and Biosphere Reserve contain over 600 uncommon species of plants and animals, including 48 endangered species and 16 that are endemic to Puerto Rico, and is considered a prime example of the Puerto Rican dry forest ecoregion and the best-preserved dry forest in the Caribbean.Ewel, J.L. & J.L. Whitmore. 1973. The ecological life zones of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. USDA For. Serv. Res. Pap. ITF-18. Other protected dry forests in Puerto Rico can be formed within the Caribbean Islands National Wildlife Refuge complex at the Cabo Rojo, Desecheo, Culebra and Vieques National Wildlife Refuges, and in the Caja de Muertos and Mona and Monito Islands Nature Reserves Examples of endemic species found in this ecoregion are the higo chumbo (Harrisia portoricensis), the Puerto Rican crested toad (Peltophryne lemur), and the Mona ground iguana (Cyclura stejnegeri), the largest land animal native to Puerto Rico.