The dugong (Dugong dugon) is one of four living species of the order Sirenia, which also includes three species of manatees. It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest modern relative, Steller's sea cow...
The Arabian oryx (Oryx leucoryx) is amongst the largest desert mammals of the Arab region and throughout history has been an important aspect of its heritage. Once extinct in the wild, it once again inhabits the dry Arabian Peninsula. This species...
The Arabian leopard (Panthera pardus nimr) is a leopard subspecies native to the Arabian Peninsula. It has been listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List since 1996 as fewer than 200 wild individuals were estimated to be alive in 2006....
The ocean sunfish or common mola (Mola mola) is one of the largest bony fish in the world. It was misidentified as the heaviest bony fish, which was actually a different species, Mola alexandrini. Adults typically weigh between 247 and 1,000 kg (545...
The Siberian crane (Leucogeranus leucogeranus) is the world's third most endangered species of crane. Amongst cranes, its serrated bill makes it unique and enables it to easily feed on underground roots and slippery prey items. Among the cranes,...
The Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus) is a small Old World vulture widely distributed from the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa to India. The contrasting underwing pattern and wedge-shaped tail make this bird distinctive in flight as it...
The Eastern imperial eagle (Aquila heliaca) is a large graceful bird of prey that breeds in Eurasia. Like all eagles, the Eastern imperial eagle is a member of the family Accipitridae. Furthermore, its well-feathered legs mark it as a member of the...
The Nubian ibex (Capra nubiana) is a rare desert-dwelling goat species found in mountainous areas of Africa, and the Middle East. It was historically considered to be a subspecies of the Alpine ibex (C. ibex ), but is now considered a distinct...
The saker falcon (Falco cherrug ) is a large species of falcon. This species breeds from central Europe eastwards across the Palearctic to Manchuria. It is mainly migratory except in the southernmost parts of its range, wintering in Ethiopia, the...
The Steppe eagle (Aquila nipalensis) is a large and impressive raptor. Its well-feathered legs illustrate it to be a member of the subfamily Aquilinae, also known as the "booted eagles". The Steppe eagle is in many ways a peculiar species of eagle....
The Greek tortoise (Testudo graeca) is one of five species of Mediterranean tortoises. It is named for the patterns on its shell, which have different colored dots, and the borders of a traditional Greek mosaic. The Greek tortoise is a very...
The long-tailed duck (Clangula hyemalis ), formerly known as oldsquaw, is a medium-sized sea duck that breeds in the tundra and taiga regions of the arctic and winters along the northern coastlines of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. It is the only...
The dorcas gazelle (Gazella dorcas ), also known as the ariel gazelle, is a small and common gazelle. The dorcas gazelle stands about 55–65 cm (1.8–2.1 feet) at the shoulder, with a head and body length of 90–110 cm (3–3.5 feet) and a weight of...
The whale shark (Rhincodon typus) is a slow-moving, filter-feeding carpet shark and the largest known extant fish species. The largest confirmed individual had a length of 18.8 m (61.7 ft). The whale shark holds many records for size in the animal...
The common pochard (; Aythya ferina ) is a medium-sized diving duck. The scientific name is derived from Greek aithuia an unidentified seabird mentioned by authors including Hesychius and Aristotle, and Latin ferina, "wild game", from ferus, "wild".
The northern bald ibis, hermit ibis, or waldrapp (Geronticus eremita ) is a migratory bird found in barren, semi-desert or rocky habitats, often close to running water. This 70–80 cm (28–31 in) glossy black ibis, which, unlike many members of the...
The mountain gazelle or the Palestine mountain gazelle (Gazella gazella ) is a species of gazelle widely but unevenly distributed.
The white-headed duck (Oxyura leucocephala ) is a small diving duck some 45 cm (18 in) long. The male has a white head with black crown, a blue bill, and reddish-grey plumage. The female has a dark bill and rather duller colouring. Its breeding...
The sociable lapwing or sociable plover (Vanellus gregarius ) is a critically endangered wader in the lapwing family of birds. The genus name is Medieval Latin for a lapwing and derives from vannus a winnowing fan. The specific gregarius is Latin...
MacQueen's bustard (Chlamydotis macqueenii ) is a large bird in the bustard family. It is native to the desert and steppe regions of Asia, west from the Sinai Peninsula extending across Kazakhstan east to Mongolia. In the 19th century, vagrants were...
The European turtle dove (Streptopelia turtur) is a member of the bird family Columbidae, the doves and pigeons. It breeds over a wide area of the south western Palearctic including north Africa but migrates to northern sub-Saharan Africa to winter.
The Egyptian spiny-tailed lizard (Uromastyx aegyptia) is a species of lizard found only in North Africa and the Middle East. It has a patchy distribution and is rare in most parts of its range.
The Eurasian carp or European carp (Cyprinus carpio), widely known as the common carp, is a widespread freshwater fish of eutrophic waters in lakes and large rivers in Europe and Asia. The native wild populations are considered vulnerable to...
The marbled duck, or marbled teal (Marmaronetta angustirostris ) is a medium-sized species of duck from southern Europe, northern Africa, and western and central Asia. The scientific name, Marmaronetta angustirostris, comes from the Greek marmaros,...
The sooty falcon (Falco concolor ) is a medium-sized falcon breeding from northeastern Africa to the southern Persian Gulf region.
The Arabian sand gazelle (Gazella marica ) or reem (Arabic: ريم) is a species of gazelle native to the Middle East, specifically the Arabian and Syrian Deserts.
The common bent-wing bat (Miniopterus schreibersii ), also known as the Schreibers's long-fingered bat or Schreibers's bat, is a species of insectivorous bat. They appear to have dispersed from a subtropical origin and distributed throughout the...
The European eel (Anguilla anguilla) is a species of eel. They are critically endangered due to overfishing by fisheries on coasts for human consumption and parasites.
The long-fingered bat (Myotis capaccinii ) is a carnivorous species of vesper bat. It is native to coastal areas around the Mediterranean Sea, as well as a few patches of land in western Iran. Due to the fact that its population is in decline, it is...
The scalloped hammerhead (Sphyrna lewini) is a species of hammerhead shark in the family Sphyrnidae. It was originally known as Zygaena lewini. The Greek word sphyrna translates into "hammer" in English, referring to the shape of this shark's head,...
The Syrian serin (Serinus syriacus ) is a brightly coloured small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae.
Mehely's horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus mehelyi ) is a species of insectivorous bat in the family Rhinolophidae found in Southern Europe and parts of the Middle East. It is distributed in a narrow band around the Mediterranean Sea from North-Western...
Telescopus hoogstraali, common names of which include Hoogstraal's cat snake and the Sinai cat snake, is an endangered species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to the Middle East.
Hippocampus kuda is a species of seahorse, also known as the common seahorse, estuary seahorse, yellow seahorse or spotted seahorse. The common name sea pony has been used for populations formerly treated as the separate species Hippocampus fuscus,...
The Indo-Pacific sailfish (Istiophorus platypterus) is a sailfish native to the Indian and Pacific Oceans and is naturalized in the Atlantic where it has entered the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal as a Lessepsian migrant. It is dark blue on...
The pelagic thresher (Alopias pelagicus) is a species of thresher shark, family Alopiidae; this group of sharks is characterized by the greatly elongated upper lobes of their caudal fins. The pelagic thresher occurs in the tropical and subtropical...
The camouflage grouper (Epinephelus polyphekadion), also known as the blue-tailed cod, camouflage rockcod, small-toothed rockcod, smooth flowery rock-cod, snout-spot grouper or snout-spot rock-cod, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grouper...
Thelenota ananas, also known as pineapple sea cucumber, oloturia ananas, tripang, prickly skin cucumber, pointed teat sea cucumber, armoured sea cucumber, giant sea cucumber, sand fish or prickly redfish, is a species of sea cucumber found in...
Blue coral (Heliopora coerulea) is a species of colonial coral. It is the only octocoral known to produce a massive skeleton. This skeleton is formed of aragonite, similar to that of scleractinia. Individual polyps live in tubes within the skeleton...
Phoenicolacerta kulzeri is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is endemic to Western Asia.
Chalcides guentheri, or Günther's cylindrical skink, is a species of skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to the Near East.
The tawny nurse shark (Nebrius ferrugineus) is a species of carpet shark in the family Ginglymostomatidae, and the only extant member of the genus Nebrius.It is found widely along coastlines in the Indo-Pacific, preferring reefs, sandy flats, and...
