Editing Neotropical realm (section)

== Endemic animals and plants ==
===Animals===
The Neotropical realm has 31 endemic bird families, which is over twice the number of any other realm. They include [[tanager]]s, [[rhea (bird)|rheas]], [[tinamou]]s, [[curassow]]s, [[antbird]]s, [[ovenbird (family)|ovenbirds]], [[toucan]]s, and [[seriema]]s. Bird families originally unique to the Neotropics include [[hummingbird]]s (family Trochilidae) and [[wren]]s (family Troglodytidae).

[[Mammal]] groups originally unique to the Neotropics include:
* Order ''[[Xenarthra]]'': [[anteater]]s, [[sloth]]s, and [[armadillo]]s
* [[New World monkey]]s
* [[Solenodontidae]], the [[solenodon]]s
* [[Caviomorpha]] [[rodent]]s, including [[capybara]]s, [[guinea pig]]s, [[hutia]]s, and [[chinchilla]]s
* American opossums (order ''[[Didelphimorphia]]'') and shrew opossums (order ''[[Paucituberculata]]'')

The Neotropical realm has 63 endemic [[fish]] families and subfamilies, which is more than any other realm.<ref>van der Sleen, Peter, and James S. Albert, eds. (2018) ''Field Guide to the Fishes of the Amazon, Orinoco, and Guianas''. Princeton University Press, 2017. {{ISBN|9780691170749}}</ref> [[Neotropical fish]]es include more than 5,700 species, and represent at least 66 distinct lineages in continental freshwaters (Albert and Reis, 2011). The well-known [[red-bellied piranha]] is endemic to the Neotropic realm, occupying a larger geographic area than any other piranha species. Some [[fish]] groups originally unique to the Neotropics include:
* Order [[Gymnotiformes]]: Neotropical electric fishes
* Family [[Characidae]]: tetras and allies
* Family [[Loricariidae]]: armoured catfishes
* Subfamily [[Cichlinae]]: Neotropical cichlids
* Subfamily [[Poeciliinae]]: guppies and relatives

Examples of other animal groups that are entirely or mainly restricted to the Neotropical region include:
* [[Caiman]]s
* New World [[coral snake]]s
* [[Poison dart frog]]s
* [[Dactyloidae]] ("anoles")
* [[Rock iguana]]s (''Cyclura'')
* [[Preponini]] and [[Anaeini]] butterflies (including ''[[Agrias]]'')
* [[Brassolini]] and [[Morphini]] butterflies (including ''[[Caligo]]'' and ''[[Morpho (genus)|Morpho]]'')
* [[Callicorini]] butterflies
* [[Heliconiini]] butterflies
* [[Ithomiini]] butterflies
* [[Riodininae]] butterflies
* [[Eumaeini]] butterflies
* [[Firetips]] or firetail skipper butterflies
* [[Euglossini]] bees
* [[Halictinae#Augochlorini|Augochlorini]] bees
* [[Pseudostigmatidae]] ("giant damselflies")
* [[Mantoididae]] (short-bodied mantises)
* [[Canopidae]], [[Megarididae]], and [[Phloeidae]] (pentatomoid bugs)
* [[Aetalionidae]] and [[Melizoderidae]] (treehoppers<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://treehoppers.insectmuseum.org/public/site/treehoppers/home|title=Treehoppers: Aetalionidae, Melizoderidae, and Membracidae (Hemiptera)|website=treehoppers.insectmuseum.org}}</ref>)
* [[Gonyleptidae]] (harvestmen)

=== Plants ===
According to Simberloff. as of 1984 there were a total of 92,128 species of [[flowering plants]] (Angiosperms) in the Neotropics.<ref>{{cite journal | last= Simberloff | first= Daniel | date= March–April 1984 | title= The Next Mass Extinction | journal= Garden | volume= 8 | issue= 2 | pages= 4–5}}</ref>
Plant families endemic and partly subendemic to the realm are, according to Takhtajan (1978), [[Hymenophyllopsidaceae]], [[Marcgraviaceae]], [[Caryocaraceae]], [[Pellicieraceae]], [[Quiinaceae]], [[Peridiscaceae]], [[Bixaceae]], [[Cochlospermaceae]], [[Tovariaceae]], Lissocarpaceae (''[[Lissocarpa]]''), [[Brunelliaceae]], [[Dulongiaceae]], [[Columelliaceae]], [[Julianiaceae]], [[Picrodendraceae]], [[Goupiaceae]], [[Desfontainiaceae]], [[Plocospermataceae]], [[Tropaeolaceae]], Dialypetalanthaceae (''[[Dialypetalanthus]]''), Nolanaceae (''[[Nolana]]''), [[Calyceraceae]], [[Heliconiaceae]], [[Cannaceae]], [[Thurniaceae]] and [[Cyclanthaceae]].<ref>Тахтаджян А. Л. Флористические области Земли / Академия наук СССР. Ботанический институт им. В. Л. Комарова. — Л.: Наука, Ленинградское отделение, 1978. — 247 с. — 4000 экз. [http://herba.msu.ru/shipunov/school/books/takhtajan1978_flor_oblasti_zemli.djvu DjVu], [https://books.google.com/books?id=9gylTK3CsScC Google Books].</ref><ref>Takhtajan, A. (1986). ''Floristic Regions of the World''. (translated by T.J. Crovello & A. Cronquist). University of California Press, Berkeley, [http://www.gbv.de/dms/bs/toc/024192430.pdf PDF], [http://herba.msu.ru/shipunov/school/books/takhtajan1986_flor_regions.djvu DjVu].</ref>

Plant families that originated in the Neotropic include [[Bromeliaceae]], [[Cannaceae]] and [[Heliconiaceae]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Neotropic Ecozone|date=July 2009|url=https://www.redorbit.com/education/reference_library/earth/geography/2582792/neotropic_ecozone/}}</ref>

Plant species with economic importance originally unique to the Neotropic include:{{citation needed|date=December 2016}}
* [[Potato]] (''Solanum tuberosum'')
* [[Tomato]] (''Solanum lycopersicum'')
* [[Theobroma cacao|Cacao]] tree (''Theobroma cacao''), source of [[Cocoa solids|cocoa]] and [[chocolate]]
* [[Maize]] (''Zea mays'')
* [[Passion fruit]] (''Passiflora edulis'')
* [[Guava]] (''Psidium guajava'')
* [[Lima bean]] (''Phaseolus lunatus'')
* Cotton (''[[Gossypium barbadense]]'')
* [[Cassava]] (''Manihot esculenta'')
* [[Sweet potato]] (''Ipomoea batatas'')
* Amaranth (''[[Amaranthus caudatus]]'')
* [[Quinoa]] (''Chenopodium quinoa'')