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Cerrado Hotspot

The Cerrado hotspot in Brazil is spread over an area of 2,031,990 sq km. Vegetation types include tree and scrub savanna, grassland with scattered trees and patches of dry closed canopy forests.

The hotspot has 10,000 plant, 195 mammal, 607 bird, 225 reptile, 186 amphibian and 800 freshwater fish species. Plants here display a number of adaptations to fire and are drought resistant as well. Endemic bird species found here include the blue-eyed ground dove (Columbina cyanopis), the Minas Gerais tyrannulet (Phylloscartes roquettei) and the Brasília tapaculo (Scytalopus novacapitalis). Distinctive mammals in the region include the maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus), giant armadillo (Priodontes maximus), anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla), Brazilian tapir (Tapirus terrestris), ocelot (Felis pardalis), jaguar (Panthera onca) and jaguarondi (Felis yagouaroundi). One of the best known reptiles here is the giant worm lizard (Amphisbaena alba). The Canastra snouted tree frog (Scinax canastrensis) and the Zagaia tree frog (Hyla sazimai) are two of the amphibian species unique to this region. The hotspot also has a high population of invertebrates-as much as 10,000 species of Neotropical butterflies and moths, 440 species of Neotropical termites, 550 species of Neotropical social wasps and over 800 species of bees are found here.

Cerrado region's forests are fast disappearing threatened by clearing of forest land for commercial agriculture, pastures, setting up hydroelectric dams, charcoal production and construction of highways. About 111,051 sq km or 5.5% of the total land area is under some form of official protection. Very few international conservation organisations are working in the region; some efforts by Conservation International along with local non-governmental organisations and universities have been done for conservation.

[The information has been sourced from the Conservation International website on biodiversity hotspots (www.biodiversityhotspots.org). Accessed in February 2008.]

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