Animal Info - Argentina

Threatened Species, Environmental and Social Data (Mammals, Biodiversity/Ecosystems, Population, Area/Land Use, Protected Lands, Economy, Education), References and Links

Threatened Species

Threatened Species: The following list includes all mammals which occur in Argentina and are rated as Critically Endangered (CR), Endangered (EN) or Vulnerable (VU) in the 2004 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals.

Critically Endangered:
- Short-tailed Chinchilla (Chinchilla brevicaudata).
Endangered:
- Andean Cat (Oreailurus jacobita).
- Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus).
- Chacoan Peccary (Catagonus wagneri).
- Fin Whale (Balaenoptera physalus).
- Giant Armadillo (Priodontes maximus).
- Giant Otter (Pteronura brasiliensis).
- Lesser Pichi Ciego (Pink Fairy Armadillo) (Chlamyphorus truncatus). (Endemic to Argentina.)
- Marine Otter (Lontra felina).
- Sei Whale (Balaenoptera borealis).
- South Andean Deer (or Chilean Huemul) (Hippocamelus bisulcus).
- Southern River Otter (Lontra provocax).
Vulnerable:
- Andean Hairy Armadillo (Chaetophractus nationi).
- Azara's Agouti (Dasyprocta azarae).
- Blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra). (Occurs here in introduced populations.)
- Brown Howler (Alouatta guariba (=fusca)).
- Bush Dog (Speothos venaticus).
- Fossorial Giant Rat (Kunsia fronto).
- Giant Anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla).
- Greater Pichi Ciego (Burmeister's Fairy Armadillo) (Chlamyphorus retusus).
- Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae).
- Kodkod (Chilean Cat) (Oncifelis guigna).
- Long-tailed Chinchilla (Chinchilla lanigera).
- Magellanic Tuco-tuco (Ctenomys magellanicus).
- Marsh Deer (Blastocerus dichotomus).
- Monito del Monte (Marsupial) (Dromiciops gliroides).
- Olrog's Chaco Mouse (Andagalomys olrogi). (Endemic to Argentina.)
- Patagonian Opossum (Lestodelphys halli). (Endemic to Argentina.)
- Red Myotis (Bat) (Myotis ruber).
- Red Vizcacha Rat (Tympanoctomys barrerai).(Endemic to Argentina.)
- Shrewish Short-tailed Opossum (Monodelphis sorex).
- Southern Myotis (Bat) (Myotis aelleni). (Endemic to Argentina.)
- Southern Pudu (Pudu pudu).
- Spectacled Bear (Tremarctos ornatus).
- Sperm Whale (Physeter catodon).

Environmental and Social Data

Mammals

Total number of species: 320 (Groombridge & Jenkins 1994)
Number of endemic species: 47 (Groombridge & Jenkins 1994)
Number of threatened species: 1996 and 2000: 35 (11 % of total species) (IUCN 1996, IUCN 2000)

Biodiversity/Ecosystems

Argentina contains portions of the Atlantic Forest, Andean Yungas, Valdivian Temperate Rainforests, Patagonian Steppe & Grasslands, Upper Parana River, High Andean Lakes, Southwest Atlantic Coast Marine Ecosystems, and Magellanic Marine Ecosystems Global 200 Ecoregions (Olson & Dinerstein 1998, Olson & Dinerstein 1999)
Argentina contains portions of the Atlantic Forest Region Global Biodiversity Hotspot (Cons. Intl. 1999a)

Population

Population in 1995: 34,587,000 (Natl. Geog. Soc. 1995)
Population density in 1995: 12.5 people/sq km (32.4 people/sq mi) (Natl. Geog. Soc. 1995)
Population in 1998: 36,265,463 (World Almanac 1999)
Average population growth rate, 1980 - 1990: 1.3 % (World Bank 1992)

Area/Land Use

Area: 2,766,890 sq km (1,068,302 sq mi) (Natl. Geog. Soc. 1995)
Percentages of primary world ecosystem types:

Other Coastal Aquatic: 3 %
Major Wetland: 6 %
Desert and Semi-desert: 26 %
Polar and Alpine: 2 %
Grass and Shrub: 23 %
Crop and Settlements: 19 %
Interrupted Woods: 17 %
Major Forests: 4 %

(Groombridge 1992)

Percent of land area classified as the following degree of human disturbance: Low: 37 %; Medium: 47 %; High: 17 % (WRI 1994)

Protected Lands

Area: 93,950 sq km (36,265 sq mi) (Groombridge 1992)
Percent of land protected: 1.42 % totally protected; 1.96 % partially protected; 3.38 % totally or partially protected (Groombridge 1992)

Economy

Per capita GNP ($ U.S.) (1991): $3,966 (WRI 1994)
Per capita GDP ($ U.S.) (1996): $8,600 (World Almanac 1999)

Education

Percent of females in secondary education (1989): 78 % (World Bank 1992)
Percent adult literacy: Female: 95 % (1990), 92 % (1970); Male: 96 % (1990), 94 % (1970) (WRI 1994)

References and Links

References: Cons. Intl. 1999a, Groombridge 1992, Groombridge & Jenkins 1994, IUCN 1994, IUCN 1996, IUCN 2000, IUCN 2004, Natl. Geog. Soc. 1995, Olson & Dinerstein 1998, Olson & Dinerstein 1999, World Almanac 1999, World Bank 1992, WRI 1994

General Links (After you get to one of these sites, click on the link for Argentina): CIA World Factbook, Foreign Embassies of Washington, D.C., Library of Congress - Country Studies, University of Texas - Country Maps, Washington Post - Countries, World Resources Institute - Country Profiles; Links for Argentina: Marsupials of Argentina, Secretaria de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sustentable, United Nations Development Program: Argentina (Spanish)

Top of Page | Search This Site

Last modified: February 19, 2006;