Tepui

Tepui
Kukenan tepui
Ecoregion territory (in purple)
Ecology
Realm	Neotropical
Biome	tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests
Borders	Guianan Highlands moist forests Guianan piedmont and lowland moist forests, Guianan savanna
Geography
Area	50,675 km2 (19,566 sq mi)
Countries	Venezuela Brazil Guyana Suriname
Conservation
Conservation status	Relatively stable/intact[1]
Protected	37,658 km2 (74%)[2]

A tepui

Tepuis tend to be found as isolated entities rather than in connected ranges, which makes them the host of a unique array of

These

Tepuis range in elevation from 1,000–3,000 metres (3,000–10,000 ft).[5] The total surface area of all 115 tepuis is approximately 5,000 km² (2,000 sq mi).^[6]

Because of their great age, some tepuis exhibit surface features and caves typical of

The tepuis, also known as 'islands above the rainforest', are a challenge for researchers, as they are home to a high number of new species that have yet to be described.[10] A few of these mountains are cloaked by thick clouds for nearly the entire year. Their surfaces could previously only be photographed by helicopter radar equipment.

Many tepuis are in the

Selected tepuis

A few of the most notable of the 60 tepuis:^[11]

• Auyantepui is the largest of the tepuis with a surface area of 700 km² (270 sq mi). Angel Falls
  , the highest waterfall in the world, drops from a cleft in the summit.
• The Lost World about the discovery of a living prehistoric world full of dinosaurs and other primordial creatures. The borders of Venezuela, Brazil, and Guyana
  meet on the top.
• Matawi Tepui, also known as Kukenán, because it is the source of the Kukenán River, is considered the "place of the dead" by the local Pemon Peoples. Located next to Mount Roraima in Venezuela.^{[citation needed}
  ]
• Autana Tepui stands 1,300 m (4,300 ft) above the forest floor. A unique cave runs from one side of the mountain to the other.
• Sarisariñama Tepui, famous for its almost perfectly circular sinkholes that go straight down from the mountain top – the largest such sinkhole is 300 m (1,000 ft) in diameter and depth (purportedly created by groundwater erosion). They harbour an ecosystem composed of unique plant and animal species at the bottom.^[7]
• Ilú-Tramen Massif is the most northerly mountain in the chain that stretches along the Venezuelan-Guyana border from Roraima in the south.

Popular culture

The hypothesis that endemic fauna and flora of tepuis represent remnants of ancient species was an inspiration to

In the 1990 film Arachnophobia, a new species of spider with a highly potent, deadly venom that lives in social colonies and is the implied apex predator of its environment is discovered in a sinkhole enclosed by a tepui in the Venezuelan rainforest, also alluding to the unique ecological conditions of tepuis.

Much of the story of 2009

In the novel The 6th Extinction (2014)[13] by James Rollins, a tepui in the north of Brazil was featured as a secret lair for the villain Dr. Cutter Elwes.

The sinkholes

See also

• Canaima National Park – National park in Venezuela
• Geography of South America – Overview of the geography of South America
• Plateau – Highland area, usually of relatively flat terrain

References

Citations

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Tepui" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (December 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)