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Aravah
The Arabah/Araba () or Aravah/Arava () is a loosely defined geographic area in the Negev Desert, south of the Dead Sea drainage basin, basin, which forms part of the border between Israel to the west and Jordan to the east. The old meaning, which was in use up to around the early 20th century, covered almost the entire length of what today is called the Jordan Rift Valley, running in a north–south orientation between the southern end of the Sea of Galilee and the northern tip of the Gulf of Aqaba of the Red Sea at Aqaba–Eilat. This included the Jordan Valley (Middle East), Jordan River Valley between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea, the Dead Sea itself, and what today is commonly called the Arava Valley. The contemporary use of the term is restricted to this southern section alone. Geography The Arabah is in length, from the Gulf of Aqaba to the southern shore of the Dead Sea. Topographically, the region is divided into three sections. From the Gulf of Aqaba northwa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Water Divide
A drainage divide, water divide, ridgeline, watershed, water parting or height of land is elevated terrain that separates neighboring drainage basins. On rugged land, the divide lies along topographical ridges, and may be in the form of a single range of hills or mountains, known as a dividing range. On flat terrain, especially where the ground is marshy, the divide may be difficult to discern. A triple divide is a point, often a summit, where three drainage basins meet. A ''valley floor divide'' is a low drainage divide that runs across a valley, sometimes created by deposition or stream capture. Major divides separating rivers that drain to different seas or oceans are continental divides. The term ''height of land'' is used in Canada and the United States to refer to a drainage divide. It is frequently used in border descriptions, which are set according to the "doctrine of natural boundaries". In glaciated areas it often refers to a low point on a divide where it is po ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Striped Hyena
The striped hyena (''Hyaena hyaena'') is a species of hyena native to North and East Africa, the Middle East, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Hyaena''. It is listed by the IUCN as near-threatened, as the global population is estimated to be under 10,000 mature individuals which continues to experience deliberate and incidental persecution along with a decrease in its prey base such that it may come close to meeting a continuing decline of 10% over the next three generations. It is the smallest of the bone-cracking hyenas and retains many primitive viverrid-like characteristics lost in larger species, having a smaller and less specialised skull. Though primarily a scavenger, large specimens have been known to kill their own prey, and attacks on humans have occurred in rare instances. The striped hyena is a monogamous animal, with both males and females assisting one another in raising their cubs. A nocturnal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arabian Wolf
The Arabian wolf (''Canis lupus arabs'') is a subspecies of gray wolf native to the Arabian Peninsula—to the west of Bahrain, as well as Oman, southern Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. It is also found in Israel’s Negev and Arava Deserts, Jordan, Palestine, and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. It is the smallest gray wolf subspecies and a specialized xerocole (arid-adapted) animal that normally lives in smaller familial packs. Arabian wolves are omnivorous and opportunistic eaters; they consume small to medium-sized prey, from insects, reptiles and birds to rodents and small ungulates, such as young Nubian ibex and several species of gazelle (Arabian, goitered, Dorcas, and mountain gazelles). Taxonomy Once thought to be synonymous with ''C. l. pallipes'' (the Indian wolf), the Arabian wolf was designated ''Canis lupus arabs'' by the British zoologist Reginald Innes Pocock in 1934. Pocock noted its smaller skull and smaller size. In the third edition of ''Mammal Species of the World'' pub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arabian Gazelle
The Arabian gazelle ''(Gazella arabica)'' is a species of gazelle from the Arabian Peninsula. There are approximately 5,000 – 7,000 mature individuals in the wild.IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group. 2017. ''Gazella arabica''. ''The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species'' 2017: e.T117582065A88018124. . Accessed on 12 March 2023. It is now synonymous with ''Gazella erlangeri'', commonly known as Erlanger's gazelle or Neumann's gazelle. Taxonomy Until recently, it was only known from a single lectotype specimen mistakenly thought to have been collected on the Farasan Islands in the Red Sea in 1825. A 2013 genetic study of the lectotype specimen revealed that skull and skin do not stem from the same individual but belong to two distinct lineages of the mountain gazelle (''Gazella gazella''), necessitating restriction of the lectotype to the skin to conserve nomenclatural stability. A later study formalized the use of ''Gazella arabica'' for the Arabian lineage of the mountain gazelle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Relict (biology)
In biogeography and paleontology, a relict is a population or taxon of organisms that was more widespread or more diverse in the past. A relictual population is a population currently inhabiting a restricted area whose range was far wider during a previous geologic epoch. Similarly, a relictual taxon is a taxon (e.g. species or other lineage) which is the sole surviving representative of a formerly diverse group. Definition A relict (or relic) plant or animal is a taxon that persists as a remnant of what was once a diverse and widespread population. Relictualism occurs when a widespread habitat or range changes and a small area becomes cut off from the whole. A subset of the population is then confined to the available hospitable area, and survives there while the broader population either shrinks or evolves divergently. This phenomenon differs from endemism in that the range of the population was not always restricted to the local region. In other words, the species or group did ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dorcas Gazelle
The dorcas gazelle (''Gazella dorcas''), also known as the ariel gazelle, is a small and common gazelle. The dorcas gazelle stands about at the shoulder, with a head and body length of and a weight of . The numerous subspecies survive on vegetation in grassland, steppe, wadis, mountain desert and in semidesert climates of Africa and Arabia. About 35,000–40,000 exist in the wild. Taxonomy and evolution The scientific name of the dorcas gazelle is ''Gazella dorcas'', the name coming from Ancient Greek (''dorkas''), which referred to a roe deer, gazelle or antelope. It is a member of the genus '' Gazella'' and the family Bovidae. The species was first described by Swedish zoologist Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'' in 1758. Although zoologist Theodor Haltenorth considered ''G. d. pelzelnii'' to be an independent species, the following six subspecies are identified: *''G. d.'' subsp. ''beccarii'' De Beaux, 1931 – Eritrean dorcas gazelle *''G. d. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Onager
The onager (, ) (''Equus hemionus''), also known as hemione or Asiatic wild ass, is a species of the family Equidae native to Asia. A member of the subgenus ''Asinus'', the onager was Scientific description, described and given its binomial name by German zoologist Peter Simon Pallas in 1775. Six subspecies are accepted. The onager is reddish-brown or yellowish-brown and has a broad dorsal stripe on the middle of the back. It weighs about and reaches about head-body length. It is among the Fastest animals#Mammals, fastest mammals, capable of running . The onager had a wider range from southwest and central to northern Asia including the Levant region, Arabian Peninsula, Afghanistan and Siberia; the prehistoric European wild ass subspecies ranged through Europe until the Bronze Age. During the early 20th century, it lost most of its range in the Middle East and Eastern Asia and lives today in Iran, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, India, Mongolia and China. It inhabits de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arabian Oryx
The Arabian oryx or white oryx (''Oryx leucoryx'') is a medium-sized antelope with a distinct shoulder bump, long, straight horns, and a tufted tail. It is a bovid, and the smallest member of the genus '' Oryx'', native to desert and steppe areas of the Arabian Peninsula. The Arabian oryx was extinct in the wild by the early 1970s, but was saved in zoos and private reserves, and was reintroduced into the wild starting in 1980. In 1986, the Arabian oryx was classified as endangered on the IUCN Red List, and in 2011, it was the first animal to revert to vulnerable status after previously being listed as extinct in the wild. It is listed in CITES Appendix I. In 2016, populations were estimated at 1,220 individuals in the wild, including 850 mature individuals, and 6,000–7,000 in captivity worldwide. Etymology The taxonomic name ''Oryx leucoryx'' is from the Greek ' (gazelle or antelope) and ' (white). The Arabian oryx is also called the white oryx in English, ' in Hebrew, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nubian Ibex
The Nubian ibex (''Capra nubiana'') is a desert-dwelling goat species (Genus ''Capra (genus), Capra'') found in mountainous areas of North Africa, northern and Horn of Africa, northeast Africa, and the Middle East. It was historically considered to be a subspecies of the Alpine ibex (''C. ibex''), but is now considered a distinct species. The wild population is estimated at 4,500 mature individuals, and it is classified as Vulnerable species, vulnerable. Taxonomy Classification The Nubian ibex was first identified in History of science, modern science by Frédéric Cuvier in his 1825 ''Histoire naturelle des mammifères: avec des figures originales, coloriées, dessinées d'aprèsdes animaux vivans'', in which he illustrated the animal with the label "Bouc sauvage de la Haute-Égypte" ("Wild goat of Upper Egypt"). It was initially classified as ''Capra ibex nubiana'', a subspecies of the Alpine ibex (''C. ibex''), which had been previously identified by Carl Linnaeus in 1758 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vachellia
''Vachellia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae, commonly known as thorn trees or acacias. It belongs to the subfamily Mimosoideae. Its species were considered members of genus '' Acacia'' until 2009. ''Vachellia'' can be distinguished from other acacias by its capitate inflorescences and spinescent stipules. Before discovery of the New World, Europeans in the Mediterranean region were familiar with several species of ''Vachellia'', which they knew as sources of medicine, and had names for them that they inherited from the Greeks and Romans. The wide-ranging genus occurs in a variety of open, tropical to subtropical habitats, and is locally dominant. In parts of Africa, ''Vachellia'' species are shaped progressively by grazing animals of increasing size and height, such as gazelle, gerenuk, and giraffe. The genus in Africa has thus developed thorns in defence against such herbivory . Nomenclature By 2005, taxonomists had decided that '' Acacia s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Acacia
''Acacia'', commonly known as wattles or acacias, is a genus of about of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa, South America, and Australasia, but is now reserved for species mainly from Australia, with others from New Guinea, Southeast Asia, and the Indian Ocean. The genus name is Neo-Latin, borrowed from Koine Greek (), a term used in antiquity to describe a preparation extracted from '' Vachellia nilotica'', the original type species. Several species of ''Acacia'' have been introduced to various parts of the world, and two million hectares of commercial plantations have been established. Description Plants in the genus ''Acacia'' are shrubs or trees with bipinnate leaves, the mature leaves sometimes reduced to phyllodes or rarely absent. There are 2 small stipules at the base of the leaf, but sometimes fall off as the leaf matures. The flowers are borne in spik ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
