First contribution on the mammals of the Patía Valley (Cauca - Nariño)

Abstract

The geographic valley of the Patía River is one of the most xerophytic enclosures in western Colombia and, therefore, its biota is of great interest for a better understanding of the ecological and biogeographical relationships of this region. Separated from the very humid Pacific coast by the Cordillera Occidental, it represents a dry rain shadow that precipitates as the humid air rises and, freed from its moisture load, warms up, creating semi-desert ecological conditions with a north-south orientation. These dry conditions predominate from the Hoz de Minamá in the south, where the river pierces the Cordillera Occidental at an elevation of 500 meters and turns westward, seeking its exit to the sea, to further north of the town of El Bordo at an elevation of 1000 meters. Above this elevation, relatively more humid conditions are found on the flanks of the two Cordilleras and the xerophytic vegetation is replaced by the sub-Andean forests typical of these heights.