A formal definition of the biogeographic Paramo-Punan subregion and its provinces, based mainly on animal taxa

Resumen

The Paramo-Punan subregion comprises the Andean highlands between western Venezuela and central western Argentina. It comprises five provinces: North Andean Paramo (high peaks of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and northern Peru, above 3000 m), Coastal Peruvian Desert (narrow strip along the Pacific Ocean coast, from northern Peru to northern Chile), Puna (southern Bolivia, northern Chile, northern Argentina, and southern Peru), Atacama (northern Chile), and Prepuna (central western Argentina, from Jujuy to northern Mendoza). The subregion and its provinces are defined and characterized by endemic taxa, specially animals