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Flora Of Armenia
The wildlife of Armenia includes the wild boar, crested porcupine, various lizards, snakes and numerous species of birds and plants. Endangered species in Armenia are the bear, wild goat, Armenian mouflon and the leopard. Fauna Fauna in Armenia is diverse given the country's relatively small size, owing to the varied habitats created by the area's mountainous terrain. Armenia is an important area for migratory animals, about 350 different bird species were recorded in the country. Many of the world's domesticated animals originated in or near Armenia, and the mouflon, the ancestor of domesticated sheep, is present there. Research suggests that about a quarter of the animal species in Armenia are internationally endangered. The mouflon is suffering a great population decline due to poaching and habitat loss, and the Sevan trout, which once made up thirty percent of the fish in Lake Sevan, have virtually disappeared. Southern and south-western Armenia remains the last strongh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endangered
An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, invasive species, and climate change. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List lists the global conservation status of many species, and various other agencies assess the status of species within particular areas. Many nations have laws that protect conservation-reliant species which, for example, forbid hunting, restrict land development, or create protected areas. Some endangered species are the target of extensive conservation efforts such as captive breeding and habitat restoration. Human activity is a significant cause in causing some species to become endangered. Conservation status The conservation status of a species indicates the likelihood that it will become extinct. Multiple factors are c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Common Spoonbill
The Eurasian spoonbill (''Platalea leucorodia''), or common spoonbill, is a wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family Threskiornithidae, native to Europe, Africa and Asia. The species is partially migratory with the more northerly breeding populations mostly migrating south for the winter. Taxonomy The Eurasian spoonbill was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his ''Systema Naturae'' under the current binomial name ''Platalea leucorodia''. Linnaeus cited works by earlier authors including the description and illustration by the English naturalist Eleazar Albin that was published in 1734. Linnaeus specified the type locality as Europe but restricted it to Sweden in 1761. The genus name ''Platalea'' is Latin and means "broad", referring to the distinctive shape of the bill; the specific epithet ''leucorodia'' is from Ancient Greek ''leukerodios'' meaning "spoonbill", itself derived from ''leukos'', "white" and ''erodios'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caucasian Badger
The Caucasian badger (''Meles canescens'') or Southwest Asian badger is a species of badger native to Western Asia and some islands in the Mediterranean Sea. Taxonomy The Caucasian badger was formerly thought to be a subspecies of the European badger (''M. meles''), along with the other subspecies also classified within it. However, a 2013 study found significant genetic divergence between both species. It is thought that both diverged during the Pleistocene, between 2.37 million years ago to 450,000 years ago. The American Society of Mammalogists recognises it as a distinct species. Description This species is smaller than the European badger, with a dirty-greyish back and brown highlights; its head is identical to the European badger, though with weaker crests; its upper molars are elongated in a similar way as the Asian badger's. Its fur can be distinguished from the Asian and Japanese badgers by its facial mask, which resembles that of the European badger. Distribution ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caucasian Squirrel
The Caucasian squirrel (''Sciurus anomalus'') or Persian squirrel, is a tree squirrel in the genus ''Sciurus'' found in temperate broadleaf and mixed forests in south-western Asia. The species is traditionally said to have first been described in 1778 by Johann Friedrich Gmelin in the 13th edition of ''Systema Naturae'', and named ''Sciurus anomalus''. However, this work was actually published in 1788, so the true first description was made by Johann Anton Güldenstädt in 1785. Gmelin made reference to this in the 1788 work, citing Güldenstädt as the author. Description Caucasian squirrels are small tree squirrels, with a total length of , including the tail, and weighing . The color of the upper body fur ranges from greyish brown to pale grey, depending on the subspecies, while that of the underparts is rusty brown to yellowish, and that of the tail, yellow brown to deep red. The claws are relatively short, compared with those of other tree squirrels, and females have either ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caucasian Bear
The Syrian brown bear (''Ursus arctos syriacus'' or ''Ursus arctos arctos'') is a medium-sized and endangered subspecies of Eurasian brown bear native to the Middle East and West-Central Asia, particularly around the Caucasus Mountains. Characteristics The Syrian brown bear's fur is usually very light brown and straw-coloured. The hair on the withers is longer, with a grey-brown base, and is often a different shade from the rest of the body, seen in some individuals as a dark stripe running across the back. The lighter colors usually appear at higher altitudes. Their legs are commonly darker than the rest of their body. It is the only known bear in the world to have white claws. It is a rather small bear. Adult males have skulls measuring approximately . The Syrian brown bear weighs up to , and measures from from nose to tail. Populations in the Caucasus were thought to belong to ''Ursus arctus syriacus'', and to overlap parts of the Eurasian brown bear's range. Eurasian brow ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beech Marten
The beech marten (''Martes foina''), also known as the stone marten, house marten or white breasted marten, is a species of marten native to much of Europe and Central Asia, though it has established a feral population in North America. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List on account of its wide distribution, its large population, and its presence in a number of protected areas. It is superficially similar to the European pine marten, but differs from it by its smaller size and habitat preferences. While the pine marten is a forest specialist, the beech marten is a more generalist and adaptable species, occurring in a number of open and forest habitats. Evolution Its most likely ancestor is ''Martes vetus'', which also gave rise to the pine marten. The earliest ''M. vetus'' fossils were found in deposits dated to the Würm glaciation in Lebanon and Israel. The beech marten likely originated in the Near East or southwestern Asia, and may have arrived in Europe by th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brown Bear
The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear native to Eurasia and North America. Of the land carnivorans, it is rivaled in size only by its closest relative, the polar bear, which is much less variable in size and slightly bigger on average. The brown bear is a sexually dimorphic species, as adult males are larger and more compactly built than females. The fur ranges in color from cream to reddish to dark brown. It has evolved large hump muscles, unique among bears, and paws up to wide and long, to effectively dig through dirt. Its teeth are similar to those of other bears and reflect its Dietary biology of the brown bear, dietary plasticity. Throughout the brown bear's range, it inhabits mainly forest, forested habitats in elevations of up to . It is omnivorous, and consumes a variety of plant and animal species. Contrary to popular belief, the brown bear derives 90% of its diet from plants. When hunting, it will target animals as small as insects and rodents to thos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
African Wildcat
The African wildcat (''Felis lybica'') is a small wildcat species with sandy grey fur, pale vertical stripes on the sides and around the face. It is native to Africa, West and Central Asia, and is distributed to Rajasthan in India and Xinjiang in China. It inhabits a broad variety of landscapes ranging from deserts to savannas, shrublands and grasslands. The African wildcat is the ancestor of the domestic cat (''F. catus''). Some African wildcats were domesticated about 10,000 years ago in the Near East. Interspecific hybrids between both species are common where their ranges overlap. Taxonomy ''Felis lybica'' was the scientific name proposed in 1780 by Georg Forster who based his description on a specimen from Gafsa on the Barbary Coast that had the size of a domestic cat, but a reddish fur, short black tufts on the ears, and a ringed tail. Between the late 18th and 20th centuries, several naturalists and curators of natural history museums described and proposed new nam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Armenian Rock Lizard
''Darevskia armeniaca'', commonly known as the Armenian lizard or the Armenian rock lizard, is a parthenogenetic (unisexually breeding) species (or form) of ''Darevskia'', a genus of lizards belonging to the family Lacertidae, the wall lizards. ''Darevskia armeniaca'' is native to the Armenian Highland. Geographic range It is found in northeastern Turkey, northern and northwestern Armenia, southern Georgia, and western Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by .... Gallery File:Armenischegebirgseidechse-01.jpg, Armenian rock lizard References Further reading * Méhelÿ, Lajos von. 1909. ''Materialien zu einer Systematik und Phylogenie der muralis-änlichen Lacerten. Annales historico-naturales Musei nationalis Hungarici, Budapest'' 7 (2): 409–621. (''Lace ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Armenian Gull
__NOTOC__ The Armenian gull (''Larus armenicus'') is a large gull found in the Caucasus and the Middle East. It was formerly classified as a subspecies of the European herring gull (''L. argentatus''), but is now generally considered to be a separate species, although BirdLife International lumps it with the yellow-legged gull (''L. michahellis''). Description The Armenian gull is a fairly large gull species, though it is on average the smallest of the "herring gull" complex. It can range from , from across the wings, and weighs from . Among standard measurements, its wing chord is , its bill is and its tarsus is .''Gulls of North America, Europe, and Asia'' by Klaus Malling Olsen & Hans Larsson. Princeton University Press (2004). . They are superficially similar to yellow-legged gulls but are slightly smaller with a slightly darker grey back and dark eyes. The area of black on the wingtips is more extensive with smaller white spots. The bill is short with a distinctive blac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caucasus
The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have conventionally been considered as a natural barrier between Europe and Asia, bisecting the Eurasian landmass. Mount Elbrus, Europe's highest mountain, is situated in the Western Caucasus area of Russia. On the southern side, the Lesser Caucasus includes the Javakheti Plateau and the Armenian highlands. The Caucasus is divided into the North Caucasus and South Caucasus, although the Western Caucasus also exists as a distinct geographic space within the North Caucasus. The Greater Caucasus mountain range in the north is mostly shared by Russia and Georgia as well as the northernmost parts of Azerbaijan. The Lesser Caucasus mountain range in the south is mostly located on the territory of sout ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
