sahara desert animals

The species is native to Mauritania, Chad, and Niger. Here, on our list of "What Animals Live In The Sahara Desert?" The Sahara Desert stretches from the Atlantic Ocean on the West coast of Africa to the Red Sea on the East coast. Some animals cool off under the shade of a large cactus or rock. Temperatures can reach 136 Fahrenheit which is 57 Centigrade. The animals in the list below all live in ‘hot deserts’ such as the Sahara and Kalahari Deserts in Africa, the Sonoran and Mojave Deserts in North America, the Great Victoria Desert in Australia, and the Arabian Desert in the Middle East. What Is The Temperature In The Sahara Desert? Large parts of today’s Sahara Desert were green thousands of years ago. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. However, populations of this bird are estimated to be declining steadily. The word "Sahara" is the Arabic word for desert. The Sahara desert is huge enough all the United States and it means “desert” in Arabic and hence the meaning of “Sahara Desert” would be called as “‘Desert’ Desert”. Other organisms, although adapted more for a Mediterranean or tropical climate than an arid one, have persisted in the Sahara mostly by sticking to its slightly more hospitable highlands and oases. km), it occupies land pertaining to Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Western Sahara, Sudan, and Tunisia. These gazelles are active between dusk to dawn when they forage for leaves, fruits, twigs, and flowers of desert vegetation. Algeria. On your way, you can meet rare animals and birds: herons, camels, lizards, mouses, jerboas, fennec foxes and other inhabitants of the desert. The word ṣaḥrāʾ shares its roots with the Arabic word aṣḥar, which translates to “desert-like” and specifically connotes the yellowish red color that characterizes the Sahara’s sandy expanses. It is a subtropical desert in Northern Africa and the world’s largest non-polar desert. In the central Sahara, the monotony of the plains and plateaus is broken by prominent volcanic massifs—including Mount ʿUwaynat and the Tibesti and Ahaggar mountains. There are three types of jackals in the world. It also finds its place on our list of “What Animals Live In The Sahara Desert?”. Although these industries have introduced potentially high-wage jobs to the Sahara, they are also responsible for the displacement of desert peoples from their traditional modes of existence and have contributed to the increasing overcrowding and poverty in developed regions. The Sahara Desert is usually imagined as a vast, parched, lifeless stretch of sandy landscape with scattered nomadic tribes and their domesticated camels. Mule deer and antelope, 15 species of birds, the Desert Whipsnake and 8 other species of reptiles. The species is now found in only 6 of the 18 countries where it once existed. Setting. The presence of a pair of supraocular "horns" helps to easily distinguish this viper species from others. The Sahara is the world's largest desert; it extends across most of the northern part of Africa. Even after these lakes ceased to exist, humans survived for centuries in the desert using alternative methods: nomadic pastoralists herded goats, sheep, or camels to whatever pasturage could be found; sedentary agriculturalists, confined to oases, harnessed their limited water resources to grow crops such as date palms and barley; and specialists (for example, blacksmiths) traded wares with their agriculturalist and pastoralist neighbors. Outbreaks of infectious diseases, persecution by humans, and habitat destruction are responsible for the decline in African wild dog populations. The Sahara Desert hosts an incredible array of species that are well-adapted to survive in the desert climate. The Sahara Desert is located in the northern portion of Africa and covers over 3,500,000 square miles (9,000,000 sq km) or roughly 10% of the continent. The plateaus of the Sahara, such as the Tademaït Plateau of Algeria, are typically covered with angular, weathered rock. The Sahara Desert hosts an incredible array of species that are well-adapted to survive in the extreme desert climate. It stretches across much of Northern Africa, covering about 31% of the African landmass. Modern economic development has disrupted many of these traditional means of subsistence, however, with many desert dwellers seeking more lucrative opportunities in developed regions and oases. They are well adapted to survive the extremes of the desert habitat in which they live. The Sahara desert has a surface area of 9,400,000 square kilometres (3,600,000 sq mi). Its peak is 11,302 feet above sea level. The dromedary camel, one of the Sahara's most famous animals. Sand sheets and dunes cover approximately 25 percent of the Sahara’s surface. Antelopes are their primary prey. They mainly hunt at night. The Sahara covers large parts of Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania , Mali, Morocco, Niger, Western Sahara, Sudan and Tunisia. Xerocoles include species of insects, reptiles, birds, and mammals. The Sahara Desert is the largest hot desert and third largest desert after Antarctica and the Arctic worldwide. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. Archaeological findings indicate that there were once ancient Saharan lakes, upon the shores of which humans lived, hunted, and fished. The highest point in the desert is the 11,204-foot (3,415-metre) summit of Mount Koussi in the Tibesti Mountains in Chad. The snakes have a length of about 20-35 cm and possess a broad, triangular head and tiny eyes. Chairman, Commission on Arid Lands, International Geographical Union. They are found primarily in the central western parts of the desert. This species can be sighted in many countries of sub-Saharan Africa. These creatures have longer legs than other ants and produce heat shock proteins before exiting their burrows. It grows up to about 9 feet in length, has a pinkish-red neck, black/white plumage in males and gray plumage in females. Sahara, (from Arabic ṣaḥrāʾ, “desert”) largest desert in the world. ... Nocturnal animals, fennec foxes will hide out in burrows during daylight to avoid the hottest portion of the day. A unique animal, the Saharan Silver Ant (Cataglyphis bombycina), remains active for only 10 minutes a day. They prefer sandy deserts and arid regions with desert grasses or scrub vegetation. The dromedary camel or the Arabian camel (Camelus dromedarius), is the second largest camel species after the Bactrian camels. When we speak of “What animals live in the Sahara Desert?” we hardly think of crocodiles. During the rainy season, the crocodiles emerge from their shelter and gather at gueltas. An Exhaustive List of the Animals in the Sahara Desert. The desert is a huge, wide open space, meaning there isn’t much respite from the baking sun. The Sahara desert is located in North Africa. The Sahara Desert is the world's largest hot desert, located in North Africa. The principal types of dunes include tied dunes, which form in the lee of hills or other obstacles; parabolic blowout dunes; crescent-shaped barchans and transverse dunes; longitudinal seifs; and the massive, complex forms associated with sand seas. They feed on grasses and leaves of desert plants and obtain water from their food and dew. For many desert animals, seeking shade is paramount to survival. The Cape Ground Squirrel, native to Africa, uses its bushy tail as a parasol, bringing shade wherever it goes. Hunting for meat and habitat loss threatens the survival of this species. Landscape | Water | Climate. Various hypotheses have been advanced to explain the phenomenon, such as those based upon the piezoelectric property of crystalline quartz, but the mystery remains unsolved. The desert hosts the highly feared deathstalker scorpion, the extremely venomous sand viper, the elegant and fierce cheetah and other equally magnificent species. The name Sahara comes from the Arabic word for desert, sahra. Formed some 250,000 years ago when the Nile River pushed through a low channel near Wadi Tushka, it flooded the eastern Sahara, creating a lake that at its highest level covered more than 42,000 square miles. This animal is a cold-blooded creature and hence goes into hibernation from September to April. Many escape the heat in cool burrows they dig in the ground. The Sahara Desert Landscape, Water and Climate Information. They feed on grass seeds and seeds of growing plants. The Sahara Desert has extreme living conditions for the animal kingdom. Corrections? Only about 250 mature adults of this critically endangered species survive today. Most Sahara Desert inhabitants are nomads. The dorcas gazelle is well-adapted to life in the desert. These camels have been domesticated by the human settlers of the Sahara and are utilized for various purposes like transport and meat. Several pyramidal dunes in the Sahara attain heights of nearly 500 feet, while draa, the mountainous sand ridges that dominate the ergs, are said to reach 1,000 feet. Updates? Some scientists estimate that the Sahara became arid about two to three million years ago, while others contend that it happened before this. Its body is well adapted to the arid habitat, and it is found from Morocco through Egypt as well as down south till northern Niger and east till Kuwait and the Sinai Peninsula. The Sahara Desert Is the World’s Largest Non-Polar Desert Map of the Main Desert Areas of the World. After World War II, prospecting revealed that the Sahara was laden with oil and mineral resources, which have served as a major attractor of international investment since. Sahara Desert The Sahara Desert is the largest non-polar desert in the world. Omissions? The principal topographical features of the Sahara include shallow, seasonally inundated basins (chotts and dayas) and large oasis depressions; extensive gravel-covered plains (serirs or regs); rock-strewn plateaus (hammadas); abrupt mountains; and sand sheets, dunes, and sand seas (ergs). The lowest, 436 feet (133 metres) below sea level, is in the Qattara Depression of Egypt. They have a wide variety of animals and plants . It is also related to the adjective aṣḥar, meaning desertlike and carrying a strong connotation of the reddish colour of the vegetationless plains. The lizards grow up to 1-2 meters in length and have an average lifetime of about eight years in the wild. ... Rare Snowfall Dusts the Sahara Desert. The serirs and regs differ in character in various regions of the desert but are believed to represent Cenozoic depositional surfaces. The Sahara Desert is the largest hot desert in the world and the third largest desert (area wise) falling right after Antarctica and the Arctic. However, the West African crocodile (Crocodylus suchus) inhabits some parts of the desert habitat where it remains in a state of aestivation during periods of drought, hidden away in the safety of caves and burrows. Indiscriminate hunting has wiped out large populations of this animal. In the southern Sahara, downwarping of the African Shield created large basins occupied by Cenozoic lakes and seas, such as the ancient Mega-Chad. The Sahara desert spans the entire northern half of Africa. A critically endangered species, the addax antelope (Addax nasomaculatus) is rarely sighted in the Sahara. Saharan Desert. The Ahaggar Plateau rises from the barren landscape of the Sahara in southern Thus, it is the largest hot desert in the world. — Humor And Animals (@humorandanimals) January 19, 2021. These gazelles feed on leaves, fruits, grasses, and shoots of desert plants. Fennec foxes live in North Africa, throughout the Sahara Desert and east to Sinai and Arabia. They are usually solitary in nature with a semi-nomadic lifestyle. Today, only 39 subpopulations of this canid species exist comprised of 6,600 adults. However, these illustrations only provide a … The name of Sahara Desert paints a picture of a limitless, barren sandy landscape for most of us. Though boasting an extremely low primary productivity, the Sahara does manage to support some life. The North African ostrich (Struthio camelus camelus) is the largest living bird in the world. Sahara - Sahara - People: Although as large as the United States, the Sahara (excluding the Nile valley) is estimated to contain only some 2.5 million inhabitants—less than 1 person per square mile (0.4 per square kilometre). 70 mammalian species, 90 species of birds, 100 species of reptiles, and several species of spiders, scorpions, and other smaller forms of life, call the Sahara Desert their home. The ecosystem provides habitat for a diverse array of plants and animals. THE SAHARA DESERT could be roaming with elephants in the future, as scientists have tipped the barren landscape to turn green. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). It is located in North Africa an is nearly as large as Europe or the United States. The climate of the Sahara, Too extreme. They have a wide variety of animals and plants . The Sahara Desert is very hot! Occasionally, they also hunt hares. Many of the organisms that can survive have been able to do so with adaptations for arid environments: for example, many herbaceous plants found in the Sahara are ephemerals, meaning that almost all of their life cycle—from germination to seed dispersal—occurs in the two- to three-week period after a heavy rain. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. These camels are highly adapted to survive in arid conditions and are mainly nocturnal in nature. But the Sahara wasn’t always a desert. Animals such as the desert snail survive by using estivation, a period of dormancy that some animals can enter when encountering extreme environmental stress. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Animals such as the desert snail survive by using estivation, a period of dormancy that some animals can enter when encountering extreme environmental stress. 70 mammalian species, 90 species of birds, 100 species of reptiles, and several species of spiders, scorpions, and other smaller forms of life, call the Sahara Desert their home. It produces a lethal cocktail of neurotoxins that might trigger excruciating pain in an adult human when bitten by this scorpion. Its sandy color well camouflages it in the desert, making it difficult to be detected.The Rüppell's fox (Vulpes rueppellii) is a small fox with a sandy coat and an omnivorous diet. 2. Designated as vulnerable by the IUCN, only 35,000-40,000 of these animals exist today. Prehistoric engravings of giraffes and crocodiles testify to this, as does a stone-age cave painting in the desert that even shows swimming humans. There are also indigenous names for particular areas—such as the Tanezrouft region of southwestern Algeria and the Ténéré region of central Niger—which are often of Berber origin. https://www.britannica.com/place/Sahara-desert-Africa, LiveScience - The Sahara: Facts, Climate and Animals of the Desert, Sahara - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11), Sahara - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). Related: Top 10 Incredibly Adaptive Sahara Desert Animals. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. These animals usually take shelter inside rock crevices and come out at the time of foraging. Beneath the sands of the Sahara Desert scientists have discovered evidence of a prehistoric megalake. It is a resident bird of dry savanna regions of Africa bordering the Sahara Desert. According to Wikipedia, Sahara is the largest hot desert in the world. The boundaries of the desert are the Red Sea to the east, the Mediterranean Sea to the north, […] The desert monitor feeds primarily on rodents, fish, and eggs but it might also feed on birds, small mammals, and other creatures if the opportunity arises. However, the Sahara holds much more life than that. The Sahara Desert covers an incredible 9.2 million km², which is almost the same size as China, and a total of 8% of the earth’s land area. (Image credit: Shutterstock) Flora and fauna. Filling nearly all of northern Africa, it measures approximately 3,000 miles (4,800 km) from east to west and between 800 and 1,200 miles from north to south and has a total area of some 3,320,000 square miles (8,600,000 square km); the actual area varies as the desert expands and contracts over time. The name Sahara derives from the Arabic noun ṣaḥrāʾ, meaning desert, and its plural, ṣaḥārāʾ. People have lived in the Sahara long before recorded history, at certain times in regions that are now too arid for human inhabitance. Deserts land surfaces are various – examples are stones, sand dunes and snow . Currently, the bird is classified as Least Concern because of its widespread distribution. 70 mammalian species, 90 species of birds, 100 species of reptiles, and other smaller forms of life are found in the Sahara Desert. The Sahara sits atop the African Shield, which is composed of heavily folded and denuded Precambrian rocks. Hunting for food, capture for farming, loss of habitat, etc., has led to the rapid decline of the population of this ostrich. It stretches across many countries in north Africa including Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco covering an … With fewer than 2,500 individuals of the rhim gazelle (Gazella leptoceros) left in the wild, this species has been declared to be endangered by IUCN. The fennec fox, for example, is native to the Sahara Desert. It can go without drinking for its entire lifetime, but when water is available, it does drink water. Animals in the Sahara Desert include gazelle, deer, hyenas, ostriches, owls, crocodiles, lizards and cobras. The largest hot desert is the Sahara desert, in northern Africa, covering 9 million square kilometers. At first look, golden jackal resembles a small wolf. Apart from the dromedary camel and goats, the desert hosts the highly feared deathstalker scorpion, the extremely venomous sand viper, the elegant and fierce cheetah, the graceful gazelles, the swift-footed red-necked ostrich and other unique and magnificent species. Its surface area of 9,200,000 square kilometers (3,600,000 square miles) including the Libyan Desert and covers about 1/4 of the African continent. An unusual phenomenon associated with desert sands is their “singing” or booming. credit of image : Profberger at English Wikipedia . It occupies an area of 9,400,000 square km that is comparable to the size of the United States. It feeds on birds, insects, and rodents. These animals are highly social, living and hunting in large packs. It is inhabited by 2.5 million people, who survives by domesticating livestock and migrating to places with water and vegetation, as stated in Britannica Encyclopedia. The Sahara Desert in Africa covers over 3.3 million square miles. The Sahara Desert hosts an incredible array of species that are well-adapted to survive in the desert climate. Uniquely, it is the females of this species that leaves the pack when sexually mature instead of the males. The Sahara used to be a lush region with many plants and animals. Actually, it is a highly adaptive member of Canidae, the family of dogs. Sand dunes in the Sahara, near Merzouga, Morocco. Little Sahara Recreation Area Moves to Phase II May 21, 2020. However, these Sahara Desert animals learned to adapt well to the harsh environment of the region. It began to dry up around 4000 years ago due to a gradual change in the tilt of the Earth's orbit. The Sahara (/ s ə ˈ h ɑːr ə /, / s ə ˈ h ær ə /; Arabic: الصحراء الكبرى ‎, aṣ-ṣaḥrāʼ al-kubrá, 'the Greatest Desert') is a desert on the African continent.With an area of 9,200,000 square kilometres (3,600,000 sq mi), it is the largest hot desert in the world and the third largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the Arctic. Know about these animals and do your part in preserving them for the future generations. These gazelles possess a pale coat color that reflects sunlight and enlarged hooves that allow them to walk smoothly in the desert sand. 10 Golden Jackal. The critically endangered species of gazelle, the dama gazelle (Nanger dama) is today found only in Niger, Chad, and Mali though earlier it had a more widespread distribution. Thus, they are found in extremely arid conditions, regions receiving less than 100 mm of annual rainfall. Here the list of 10 amazingly adaptive Sahara desert animals. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. The Sahara desert is the largest hot desert on Earth. Author of. The potent hemotoxin produced by this viper kills its prey almost immediately. The southern reaches of the Sahara end in the Sahel, a semiarid buffer zone that separates the desert from the more temperate savanna biomes beyond. Certain groups have long relied on traveling and trading along caravan routes to obtain their livelihood, journeying by camel to oases and population centers all over the Sahara. Oil, natural gas, and coal reserves have been discovered all over northern Africa and particularly have been exploited by various countries, such as Egypt, Libya, and Algeria. It was a rare sight in the Sahara Desert this week as the temperature dropped to 27 degrees Fahrenheit and snow began to fall, leaving a glistening pattern of ice on the dunes. What Was The Sahara Before It Was A Desert? Small, thickset, herbivorous mammals, the rock hyrax (Procavia capensis) is found across sub-Saharan Africa. It is characterized by its long, twisted horns and pale coat color which also lends it the name of white antelope. One of the least studied species of fox, the pale fox’s habitat stretches from Senegal to Sudan. The largest hot desert is the Sahara desert, in northern Africa, covering 9 million square kilometers. There are also a lot of different snakes and insects. The black-faced firefinch (Lagonosticta larvata) is a common bird belonging to the estrildid finch family of Africa. The adaptations of the wildlife and plants to the treacherous environment are fascinating, and the cultural history of this geographic crossroads complex and involved. The Sahara Desert is home to the Marathon des Sables 150-mile footrace. The climatic and geographical conditions makes it one of the very harsh and inhabitable regions on the planet. Because of the stability of the shield, subsequently deposited Paleozoic formations have remained horizontal and relatively unaltered. Although the fact is true to some extent as there are extensive patches of the Sahara that are completely devoid of life, other parts of the desert do have a significant diversity of flora and fauna that are well-adapted to survive in the extreme conditions that the desert has to offer. Location. The Sahara Desert is the world's largest hot, non-polar desert and is located in North Africa.It stretches from the Red Sea to the Atlantic Ocean.The vast desert encompasses several ecologically distinct regions. These cheetahs have a pale colored coat and less visible spots and tear stripes than other African cheetahs. Animals that have adapted to a desert environment are called xerocoles. A prominent feature of the plains is the dark patina of ferromanganese compounds, called desert varnish, that forms on the surfaces of weathered rocks. Around 2.5 million people call the Sahara Desert home. Among the top predatory animals that live in the Sahara Desert is the Saharan cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus hecki). The Sahara is bordered in the west by the Atlantic Ocean, in the north by the Atlas Mountains and Mediterranean Sea, in the east by the Red Sea, and in the south by the Sahel—a semiarid region that forms a transitional zone between the Sahara to the north and the belt of humid savannas to the south. Over much of the Sahara, these formations were covered by Mesozoic deposits—including the limestones of Algeria, southern Tunisia, and northern Libya, and the Nubian sandstones of the Libyan Desert—and many of the important regional aquifers are identified with them. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Both these adaptations help them survive the extreme heat of the desert. Another species of venomous viper, the Cerastes cerastes also lives in the Sahara. The Sahara Desert is the largest hot desert in the world, and the third largest overall after the Antarctica and the Arctic. The African silverbill (Euodice cantans) is a bird that lives in arid landscapes. The people of the Sahara also keep domesticated goats for milk and meat. Professor of Geography, University of Bristol, England, 1957–77. An endangered species, the African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) is native to sub-Saharan Africa. A venomous species of snake, the viper Cerastes vipera inhabits the Sahara Desert. While there, he was asked to drive a Peugeot 504 in the Paris-Dakar Rally (now known simply as the Dakar Rally), which was then a relatively new race in the Sahara Desert… They have a single hump unlike the two humps of the Bactrian species. Burrowing The Sahara is the largest non-polar desert in the world. Children, the aged, and the sock individuals are also at risk of dying by envenomation in extreme cases of deathstalker bites. Both the camels and the goats were at one time found in the wild, but currently, wild populations of these animals are quite rare. The Sahara is the world's largest hot desert, and is located in North Africa. Some xerocoles avoid the sun by resting in scarce shade. The deathstalker scorpion (Leiurus quinquestriatus) is the most poisonous scorpion species in the world. The desert monitor (Varanus griseus) is a carnivorous lizard species found in the Sahara Desert. The highest point in the Sahara Desert is the volcano Emi Koussi in Chad. They feed on antelopes like the addax and the gazelles. Covering approximately 3.5 million square miles (9,064,958 sq. The Sahara Desert is the world's largest hot desert, covering much of North Africa. The addax antelopes are highly adapted to live in the harsh desert conditions and can sustain themselves without water for indefinite periods of time. we present some of the most iconic species of the Sahara Desert. All maps, graphics, flags, photos and original descriptions © 2021 worldatlas.com, The Sahara Sea: A Hypothetical Project To Create A Sea In The Sahara Desert. The Sahara exhibits great climatic variability within its borders, with two major climatic regimes differentiating along a north-south axis: the desert’s northern latitudes are arid subtropical and have two rainy seasons, while the southern ones, although also arid, are more tropical and have only one rainy season. In Arabic the Sahara is called Al-Ṣaḥrāʾ al-Kubrā, or “the Great Desert.” The Arabic word ṣaḥrāʾ simply means “desert,” and its plural form, ṣaḥārāʾ, is where the northern African desert gets its Anglicized name. The dorcas gazelle (Gazella dorcas), a small gazelle species, inhabits the Sahara Desert and surrounding grasslands. In the northern Sahara, these formations are also associated with a series of basins and depressions extending from the oases of western Egypt to the chotts of Algeria. Deserts land surfaces are various – examples are stones, sand dunes and snow . By Callum Hoare … The Fennec fox (Vulpes zerda) is the smallest canid species with unusually large ears that help dissipate heat. Other noteworthy formations include the Ennedi Plateau of Chad, the Aïr Massif of Niger, the Iforas Massif of Mali, and the outcroppings of the Mauritanian Adrar region. Small mammals, birds, and lizards are their usual prey. It’s an unforgiving expanse of sand and rock that doesn’t lend itself to human habitation. The African silverbill is a sociable bird that perch atop trees in large flocks often huddled close together for long periods of time. They live in big groups of 10-80 animals and forage together. It stretches over 3,000 miles, all the way across the northern part of the continent!Temperatures there can approach, and even exceed, a blistering 130°F (54.4°C).It can also go below freezing! A number of other factors affect climatic variability within the Sahara as well: topography does so, as do ocean currents, the latter of which are responsible for the slightly cooler and more humid conditions found on the desert’s western margins.

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