Patagonian mara to the anus. The Patagonian mara is found only in Argentina. It ranges from 28ºS to 50ºS. Maras prefer to live in habitats with lots of shrub cover. However they also inhabit overgrazed and barren soils in the Monte Desert biome. In northwestern Argentina the mara primarily inhabits lowland habitats like forest and creosote bush or "larrea". Maras prefer sandy and low shrub habitat in Valdes Peninsula. It has adapted well to a cursorial lifestyle on the open plains and steppe, with its long legs, reduced clavicle and well-developed sensory organs making it capable of running and communicating in these
Patagonian Desert Desert is the largest of the 40° parallel and is a large cold winter desert, where the temperature rarely exceeds 12 °C and averages just 3 °C. The region experiences about seven months of winter and five months of summer. Frost is not uncommon in the desert but, due to the very dry condition year round, snow is rare. The Andes, to the desert's west, are the primary reason for the Patagonian desert status as they inhibit the westerly flow of moisture from the southern Pacific from reaching inland. This creates a rain shadow that accounts for the formation of