Aristida is a very nearly cosmopolitan genus of plants in the grass family. Aristida is distinguished by having three awns (bristles) on each lemma of each floret. The genus includes about 300 species found worldwide, often in arid warm regions. This genus is among those colloquially called three-awnswiregrasses, speargrasses and needlegrasses. The name Aristida is derived from the Latin "arista", meaning "awn".
The Socotra cormorant is a threatened species of cormorant that is endemic to the Persian Gulf and the south-east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is also sometimes known as the Socotran cormorant or, more rarely, as the Socotra shag. Individuals occasionally migrate as far west as the Red Sea coast. Despite its name, it was only confirmed in 2005 that it breeds on the Socotra islands in the Indian Ocean.
Chapmannia gracilis is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae. It is endemic to north-central and northeastern Socotra in Yemen. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests.
Chapmannia tinireana is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae. It is endemic to north-central Socotra in Yemen. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Crotalaria socotrana is a species of plant in the family Fabaceae. It is endemic to north-central Socotra in Yemen. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests.
Dichrostachys dehiscens is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae. It is endemic to north-central and central Socotra in Yemen. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests.
Indigofera marmorata is a species of legume in the family Fabaceae. It is endemic to north-central Socotra in Yemen. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland.
Aristida guayllabambensis is a species of grass found only in Ecuador.
Hypericum balfourii is a species of flowering plant in the family Hypericaceae. It is endemic to Socotra, an island archipelago that is part of Yemen. It grows in mountain shrubland dominated by Cephalocroton. It is usually found on granite terrain above 600 meters in elevation.
Hypericum fieriense is a species of flowering plant in the St. John's wort family Hypericaceae. It is endemic to Socotra, an island archipelago that is part of Yemen. It grows in mountain shrubland dominated by Cephalocroton, where it can be found with the endemic tree Dracaena cinnabari. It is rarer than other local shrubby Hypericum species. It can be distinguished from them by its pubescent herbage.
Hypericum scopulorum is a species of flowering plant in the family Hypericaceae. It is endemic to Socotra, an island archipelago that is part of Yemen. It is a common plant in shrubland habitat, and it is a dominant species in some areas along with Cephalocroton and another local endemic, Libinhania rosulata.
Leucas hagghierensis is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae. It endemic to the central and western Hajhir Mountains on the island of Socotra in Yemen. Its natural habitat is dense submontane semi-deciduous thicket around granite pinnacles from 1,050 to 1,500 metres elevation.
The Socotra starling is a species of starling in the family Sturnidae. It is endemic to Socotra island, which is off the southeast coast of Yemen.
Euphorbia arbuscula is a species of plant in the spurge family (Euphorbiaceae). It is endemic to the archipelago of Socotra in Yemen. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland.
Graderia fruticosa is a species of plant in the family Orobanchaceae. It is a shrub endemic to the island of Socotra in Yemen. It grows in shrubland on rocky slopes and ridges in the high Hajhir Mountains of central Socotra from 700 to 1,300 metres elevation.
Lycium sokotranum is a species of flowering plant in the nightshade family, Solanaceae, that is endemic to the Socotra archipelago in the Indian Ocean (Yemen). It is a spiny, much-branched shrub that is <2 m tall. It is widespread and often abundant on coastal plains and limestone plateaus of Socotra and on the central plains of Abd al Kuri.
Aristida purpurea is a species of grass native to North America which is known by the common name purple three-awn.
The Socotra golden-winged grosbeak or Socotra grosbeak is a finch endemic to Socotra, an island in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Yemen. R. socotranus is by some authorities held to be the only species of the then-monotypic genus Rhynchostruthus, including all other golden-winged grosbeaks therein as subspecies. But in recent times the three populations are usually considered a distinct species, with R. socotranus being limited to the Socotra population, the Arabian golden-winged grosbeak becoming R. percivali, and the Somali golden-winged grosbeak R. louisae.
The wildlife of Yemen is substantial and varied. Yemen is a large country in the southern half of the Arabian Peninsula with several geographic regions, each with a diversity of plants and animals adapted to their own particular habitats. As well as high mountains and deserts, there is a coastal plain and long coastline. The country has links with Europe and Asia, and the continent of Africa is close at hand. The flora and fauna have influences from all these regions and the country also serves as a staging post for migratory birds.
The Socotran pipistrelle or Lanza's pipistrelle is an endangered species of vesper bat in the family Vespertilionidae. It is endemic to Socotra Island in Yemen, and is the only mammal thought to be endemic to the island.
