The Sonoran Desert is a hot desert and ecoregion in North America that covers the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur, as well as part of the Southwestern United States. 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 pink fairy armadillo is the smallest species of armadillo, first described by Richard Harlan in 1825. This solitary, desert-adapted animal is endemic to the deserts and scrub lands of central Argentina. The pink fairy armadillo is closely related to the only other fairy armadillo, the greater fairy armadillo.
Desert ecology is the study of interactions between both biotic and abiotic components of desert environments. A desert ecosystem is defined by interactions between organisms, the climate in which they live, and any other non-living influences on the habitat. Deserts are arid regions that are generally associated with warm temperatures; however, cold deserts also exist. Deserts can be found in every continent, with the largest deserts located in Antarctica, the Arctic, Northern Africa, and the Middle East.
The genus Allactaga contains the five-toed jerboas of Asia. They are small mammals belonging to the order of rodents. They are characteristically known as the hopping rodents of the desert and semi-arid regions. They have long hind feet, short forelimbs, and walk upright. They have large ears in comparison to their body size and a large tail. The tail assists and serves as support when the jerboa is standing upright. The jerboa body length ranges from 5–15 cm and has a tail ranging from 7–25 cm. The "forelimbs of the jerboa serve as a pair of hands for feeding, grooming, etc." Jerboas use their nose to burrow and push the dirt when looking for food. The male jerboa is usually larger in size and weight in comparison to the female jerboa. The pelt of the jerboa is either silky or velvety in texture and light in color, the coloration helps camouflage into surroundings to avoid predators. All members of the genus have five toes.
The deserts of Australia or the Australian deserts cover about 1,371,000 km2 (529,000 sq mi), or 18% of the Australian mainland, but about 35% of the Australian continent receives so little rain, it is practically desert. Collectively known as the Great Australian desert, they are primarily distributed throughout the Western Plateau and interior lowlands of the country, covering areas from South West Queensland, Far West region of New South Wales, Sunraysia in Victoria and Spencer Gulf in South Australia to the Barkly Tableland in Northern Territory and the Kimberley region in Western Australia.
The pale fox is a species of fox found in the band of African Sahel from Senegal in the west to Sudan in the east. It is one of the least studied of all canid species, in part due to its remote habitat and its sandy coat that blends in well with the desert-like terrain. The pale fox is distinguished by its light-colored fur and oversized ears, which enable it to excel in camouflage and survival in harsh environments.
The Thal desert is situated at 31°10’ N and 71°30’ E in the province of Punjab, Pakistan. Located near the Pothohar Plateau, the area falls under the Indomalayan biogeographic realm and stretches for a length of approximately 190 miles (310 km) with a maximum breadth of 70 miles (119 km). It is bound by the piedmont of the northern Salt Range, the Indus River floodplains in the west and the Jhelum and Chenab rivers' floodplains in the east. It is a subtropical sandy desert that resembles the deserts of Cholistan and Thar geographically.
Ord's kangaroo rat is a kangaroo rat native to western North America, specifically the Great Plains and the Great Basin, with its range extending from extreme southern Canada to central Mexico.
The sandhill dunnart is a species of carnivorous Australian marsupial of the family Dasyuridae. It is known from four scattered semi-arid areas of Australia: near Lake Amadeus in Northern Territory, the central and eastern Eyre Peninsula in South Australia, the southwestern and western edges of the Great Victoria Desert in Western Australia, and at Yellabinna in South Australia.
The little broad-nosed bat translates to "Grey’s darkness creeper". Sometimes called Grey’s broad-nosed after the third governor of South Australia, Sir John Edward Grey. It is a species of vesper bat, which is one of the largest and best-known family of bats. They are endemic to Australia, are insectivores and have a broad range within the mainland, mainly in hot arid areas but also found in tropical rainforests.
The Libyan jird is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found in Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Western China. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, intermittent saline lakes, hot deserts, and rural gardens.
The desert spadefoot toad is a species of frog in the family Limnodynastidae. It is endemic to Australia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland, intermittent freshwater marshes, hot deserts, and temperate desert.
The desert kangaroo rat is a rodent species in the family Heteromyidae that is found in desert areas of southwestern North America. It is one of the large kangaroo rats, with a total length greater than 12 inches (300 mm) and a mass greater than 3.2 ounces (91 g).
An extreme environment is a habitat that is considered very hard to survive in due to its considerably extreme conditions such as temperature, accessibility to different energy sources or under high pressure. For an area to be considered an extreme environment, it must contain certain conditions and aspects that are considered very hard for other life forms to survive. Pressure conditions may be extremely high or low; high or low content of oxygen or carbon dioxide in the atmosphere; high levels of radiation, acidity, or alkalinity; absence of water; water containing a high concentration of salt; the presence of sulphur, petroleum, and other toxic substances.
A desert is a landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions create unique biomes and ecosystems. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one-third of the land surface of the Earth is arid or semi-arid. This includes much of the polar regions, where little precipitation occurs, and which are sometimes called polar deserts or "cold deserts". Deserts can be classified by the amount of precipitation that falls, by the temperature that prevails, by the causes of desertification or by their geographical location.
The central netted dragon or central netted ground dragon is a species of agamid lizard occurring in a wide range of arid to semiarid regions of Australia. It is widespread across the continent, commonly found in open, sandy, desert habitats. It is a popular pet and can often be found in zoos.
The southern sandslider is a species of skink or Scincidae. The species is endemic to Australia and widespread across the continent, being most commonly found within sandy termite mounds. This is where they take safe refuge from the harsh Australian climate and various ground predators.
Diplodactylus conspicillatus, also known commonly as the variable fat-tailed gecko or the burrow-plug gecko, is a species of lizard in the family Diplodactylidae. The species is endemic to Australia, where it is found in central and arid inland areas. Widespread across the continent, the variable fat-tailed gecko is most commonly found in sandy desert habitats dominated by spinifex grasses. It has also been bred in captivity by zoos and as pets.
The eastern deserts fat-tailed gecko is a small terrestrial species of gecko in the family Diplodactylidae. The species is endemic to Australia.
Tropical deserts are located in regions between 15 and 30 degrees latitude. The environment is very extreme, and they have the highest average monthly temperature on Earth. Rainfall is sporadic; precipitation may not be observed at all in a few years. In addition to these extreme environmental and climate conditions, most tropical deserts are covered with sand and rocks, and thus too flat and lacking in vegetation to block out the wind. Wind may erode and transport sand, rocks and other materials; these are known as eolian processes. Landforms caused by wind erosion vary greatly in characteristics and size. Representative landforms include depressions and pans, Yardangs, inverted topography and ventifacts. No significant populations can survive in tropical deserts due to extreme aridity, heat and the paucity of vegetation; only specific flora and fauna with special behavioral and physical mechanisms are supported. Although tropical deserts are considered to be harsh and barren, they are in fact important sources of natural resources and play a significant role in economic development. Besides the equatorial deserts, there are many hot deserts situated in the tropical zone.
