The Sonoran Desert is a North American desert and ecoregion that covers large parts of the southwestern United States, as well as the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur. It is the hottest desert in both Mexico and the United States. It has an area of 260,000 square kilometers (100,000 sq mi).
The orthopteran family Rhaphidophoridae of the suborder Ensifera has a worldwide distribution. Common names for these insects include the cave wētā, cave crickets, camelback crickets, camel crickets, spider crickets and sand treaders. Those occurring in New Zealand, Australia, and Tasmania are typically referred to as jumping or cave wētā. Most are found in forest environments or within caves, animal burrows, cellars, under stones, or in wood or similar environments. All species are flightless and nocturnal, usually with long antennae and legs. More than 1100 species of Rhaphidophoridae are described.
Kelso Dunes, also known as the Kelso Dune Field, is the largest field of aeolian sand deposits in the Mojave Desert. The region is protected by the Mojave National Preserve and is located near the town of Baker, San Bernardino County, California, and the Preserve Visitor Center. The dune field covers 45 square miles (120 km2) and includes migrating dunes, vegetation-stabilized dunes, sand sheets, and sand ramps. The tallest dunes rise up to 650 feet (200 m) above the surrounding terrain.
The Coachella Valley fringe-toed lizard is a species of phrynosomatid lizard.
The flat-tail horned lizard is a species of lizard in the family Phrynosomatidae. A species of reptile, it is endemic to the Sonoran desert of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. Its multiple adaptations for camouflage help to minimize its shadow. The species is threatened, with a restricted range under pressure from human activities such as agriculture and development, and is specially protected in the United States.
The Algodones Dunes is a large sand dune field, or erg, located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of California, near the border with Arizona and the Mexican state of Baja California. The field is approximately 45 miles (72 km) long by 6 miles (9.7 km) wide and extends along a northwest-southeast line that correlates to the prevailing northerly and westerly wind directions. The name "Algodones Dunes" refers to the entire geographic feature, while the administrative designation for that portion managed by the Bureau of Land Management is the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area. In 1966, Imperial Sand Hills was designated as a National Natural Landmark by the National Park Service. The Algodones Dunes are split into many different sections. These sections include Glamis, Gordon's Well, Buttercup, Midway, and Patton's Valley. Although the Arabic-derived Spanish word algodones translates to "cotton plants", the origin of the toponym is unknown.
Ammopelmatus kelsoensis, commonly known as the Kelso Jerusalem cricket, is a species of insect in the family Stenopelmatidae. It is endemic to the Kelso Dunes in the United States. Despite intensive collecting, all specimens have only been found at Point Conception.
Ammopelmatus is a genus of insects in the family Stenopelmatidae, one of two genera of large, flightless insects referred to commonly as Jerusalem crickets. They are native to western North America and parts of northwestern Mexico.
Macrobaenetes is a genus of sand-treader crickets in the family Rhaphidophoridae, found in California. There are at least four described species in Macrobaenetes.
Spaniacris deserticola is a species of grasshopper in the family Romaleidae known as the Coachella Valley grasshopper and spanistic desert grasshopper. It is known from a few locations in the deserts of southern California and just across the border in Sonora, Mexico.
Ammopelmatus navajo, commonly known as the Navajo Jerusalem cricket, is a species of nocturnal Jerusalem cricket in the family Stenopelmatidae. It is endemic to the United States, specifically Arizona, and found under rocks in loose soil. It is closely related to A. fuscus and they have nearly identical drumming patterns. They live one to two years as adults, but can die prematurely by parasitic infections, commonly by the horsehair worm.
Ammopelmatus nigrocapitatus, the black-headed Jerusalem cricket, is a species of insect in the family Stenopelmatidae. It is endemic to the United States.
Utabaenetes tanneri, Tanner's black camel cricket, is a species of insect in the family Rhaphidophoridae. It is endemic to the United States.
The Lost Forest Research Natural Area is a designated forest created by the Bureau of Land Management to protect an ancient stand of ponderosa pine in the remote high desert county of northern Lake County, in the south central area of the U.S. state of Oregon. Lost Forest is an isolated area of pine trees separated from the nearest contiguous forest land by forty miles of arid desert. There are no springs or surface water in Lost Forest, and much of the southwest portion of the natural area is covered by large shifting sand dunes that are slowly encroaching on the forest.
Coachella Valley National Wildlife Refuge is a 3,709-acre (15.01 km2) protected area in the Coachella Valley, located east of Palm Springs near Palm Desert, California. The refuge contains the majority of critical habitat for the Coachella Valley Fringe-toed Lizard within the Coachella Valley Preserve and Indio Hills Palms State Reserve.
Macrobaenetes algodonensis, the algodones sand treader cricket, is a species of camel cricket in the family Rhaphidophoridae. It is found in North America.
Ammopelmatus pictus is a species of Jerusalem cricket in the family Stenopelmatidae. It is found in North America.
Stenopelmatinae is a subfamily of in the family Stenopelmatidae. There are about 7 genera and more than 50 described species in Stenopelmatinae.
Ammopelmatus longispina is a species of Jerusalem cricket in the family Stenopelmatidae. It is found in North America.
