Northern Zanzibar-Inhambane coastal forest mosaic

Northern Zanzibar-Inhambane coastal forest mosaic is a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion of coastal East Africa.

The ecoregion extends along the East African coast from southern Somalia through Kenya to the Lukuledi river in Tanzania, which forms its southern boundary. It also encompasses the Zanzibar Archipelago, including Unguja (Zanzibar) Pemba, and the surrounding smaller islands. The ecoregion includes a variety of habitats, including forest, savanna and swamps.

The ecoregion is bounded on the east by the Indian Ocean. It transitions to drier open woodlands and shrublands to the north and west: the Somali Acacia-Commiphora bushlands and thickets in the north, the Northern Acacia-Commiphora bushlands and thickets and Southern Acacia-Commiphora bushlands and thickets west of the central portion, and the Eastern Miombo woodlands to the southwest. To the south, it borders the Southern Zanzibar-Inhambane coastal forest mosaic across the Lukuledi River.

Fauna

The ecoregion is home to ten endemic species of birds. Four are restricted to the island of Pemba (Treron pembaensis, Nectarinia pembae, Zosterops vaughani and Otus pembaensis). The remaining six are found on the mainland; one in the lower Tana River of Kenya (Cisticola restrictus), and four in the mainland coastal forest remnants – Erythrocercus holochlorus, Anthus sokokensis, Clarke's Weaver (Ploceus golandi), and Campethera mombassica. Anthus melindae is endemic to the coastal grasslands in Kenya.

See also

• Afrotropic ecozone

References

• Burgess, Neil, Jennifer D’Amico Hales, Emma Underwood (2004). Terrestrial Ecoregions of Africa and Madagascar: A Conservation Assessment. Island Press, Washington DC.

External links

• Eastern Africa Coastal Forests (WWF)
• Northern Zanzibar-Inhambane coastal forest mosaic (Encyclopedia of Earth)