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Altyn-Emel National Park
Altyn-Emel National Park ( kk, Алтынемел саябағы, ''Altynemel saiabağy'' ; rus, Алтын-Эмель национальный парк , ''Altyn-Emel' Natsional'nyy Park'') is a national park in Kazakhstan. It was created in 1996. The park covers about between the Ili River and the Ak-Tau mountain range, near Lake Kapchagai, and consists mostly of desert and rocky terrain. Features Altyn-Emel National Park is located in the Ili River Valley. It comprises various landscapes, including sand desert, mountains, and flora. The park was founded on April 10, 1996, with the objective to preserve a natural park complex, as well as archaeological and historical monuments. It is the largest reserve in Kazakhstan. It consists of two main parts: the plain that adjoins the right Bank of the Ili river and the mountain, and the spurs of the Dzungarian Alatau and the macro-slope of the Altyn-Emel range. Small island mountain ranges are located on the plains. On the territo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Almaty Region
Almaty Region ( kk, Алматы облысы, Almaty oblysy; russian: Алматинская область, Almatinskaya oblast) is a region in Kazakhstan, located in the southeastern part of the country. Its capital, from 1997 to 2022 was the city of Taldykorgan. But with the creation of the new Jetysu Region in 2022, Taldykorgan was chosen to be its capital and the capital of Almaty region was moved to the city of Kunayev. Geography Almaty Region surrounds the city of Almaty. The region borders Kyrgyzstan and Xinjiang in the People's Republic of China. The region also touches three other regions of Kazakhstan: Jambyl Region to the west, Karaganda Region to the northwest, and East Kazakhstan Region to the north. Almaty Region has an area of 224,000 square kilometres. Much of the northwestern border of the region runs along Lake Balkhash, whose main affluent, the Ili River, is the most significant river of the region. In the region's northeast, it shares the four lakes of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tian Shan Foothill Arid Steppe
The Tian Shan foothill arid steppe ecoregion (WWF ID: PA0818) covers the northern and western approaches to the Tian Shan mountains, centered on Lake Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan. This region receives more moisture from Central Asia, thereby supporting more vegetation and diversity of plant and animal species than the deserts to the south. Location and description The ecoregion stretches around the lower altitudes of the Tian Shan mountain ridge, running for approximately 1,000 km from western Kyrgyzstan to a small section inside the western reaches of Xinjiang Province in China. The foothills of the northwestern Tian Shan are a series of ridges and lake basins in this region. Elevations for this ecoregion are 150 - 660 meters. Climate Several different climate classifications are represented in the ecoregion, both semi-arid and humid. The most widespread in the northeast is '' cold semi-arid'' (Köppen climate classification (BSk)). This climate is generally characterized ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sievers Apple
''Malus sieversii'' is a wild apple native to the mountains of Central Asia in southern Kazakhstan. It has recently been shown to be the primary ancestor of most cultivars of the domesticated apple (''Malus domestica''). It was first described as ''Pyrus sieversii'' due to its similarities with pears in 1833 by Carl Friedrich von Ledebour, a German naturalist who saw them growing in the Altai Mountains. ''Malus sieversii'' grows in many different habitats. They prefer high temperatures and short winters, but they are also found in the Tian Shan Mountains with long and harsh winters. They are distributed mainly within the Yili valley as the damp climate is suitable for their growth. It is a deciduous tree growing , very similar in appearance to the domestic apple. Its pollen grains vary in size and are seen to be ovular when dry and spherical when swelled with water. Its fruit is the largest of any species of ''Malus'' except ''domestica'', up to 7 cm in diameter, equal in si ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Haloxylon
''Haloxylon'' is a genus of shrubs or small trees, belonging to the plant family (biology), family Amaranthaceae. ''Haloxylon'' and its species are known by the common name saxaul. According to Dmitry Ushakov, the name borrowed from the Kazakh language, Kazakh "seksevil". In modern Kazakh language, the shrub is called "seksewil". According to the school etymological dictionary, the name ''saksaul'' was borrowed in the 19th century from the Turkic languages. Description The species of genus ''Haloxylon'' are shrubs or small trees (rarely up to ) tall, with a thick trunk and many branches. The branches of the current year are green, from erect to pendant. The leaves are reduced to small scales. The inflorescences are short shoots borne on the stems of the previous year. The flowers are very small, as long or shorter than the bracteoles, bisexual or male. The two Stigma (botany), stigmas are very short. In fruit, the perianth segments develop spreading wings. The fruit with wings is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Przewalski Horse
Przewalski's horse (, , (Пржевальский ), ) (''Equus ferus przewalskii'' or ''Equus przewalskii''), also called the takhi, Mongolian wild horse or Dzungarian horse, is a rare and endangered horse originally native to the steppes of Central Asia. It is named after the Russian geographer and explorer Nikolay Przhevalsky. Once extinct in the wild, it has been reintroduced to its native habitat since the 1990s in Mongolia at the Khustain Nuruu National Park, Takhin Tal Nature Reserve, and Khomiin Tal, as well as several other locales in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Several genetic characteristics of Przewalski's horse differ from what is seen in modern domestic horses, indicating neither is an ancestor of the other. For example, the Przewalski has 33 chromosome pairs, compared to 32 for the domestic horse. Their ancestral lineages split from a common ancestor between 38,000 and 160,000 years ago, long before the domestication of the horse. Przewalski's horse was long ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Turkmenian Kulan
The Turkmenian kulan (''Equus hemionus kulan''), also called Transcaspian wild ass, Turkmenistani onager or simply the ', is a subspecies of onager (Asiatic wild ass) native to Central Asia. It was declared Endangered in 2016. The species's population had recently been in decline in the country while it slowly increases in reintroduction sites. The Turkmenian kulan has been reintroduced to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, as well as Israel, where the subspecies are hybridizing with Persian onagers in the wild. Previously in 2005, the population was estimated at 1,295-1,345 in Turkmenistan. No other data existed on the condition of the Turkmenistan populations, but hope remained that small groups of animals still resided in inaccessible areas around Badkhyz, and were thriving in the West Kopetdagh (Sumbar-Chandyr Valley) and Ustyurt Plateau around Lake Sarakamish. However, certain fragmented populations of Transcaspian wild ass are currently on the rise to even more than 2,000 individua ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bactrian Deer
The Bactrian deer (''Cervus hanglu bactrianus''), also called the Bukhara deer, Bokhara deer, or Bactrian wapiti, is a lowland subspecies of Central Asian red deer native to Central Asia. It is similar in ecology to the related Yarkand deer (''C. h. yarkandensis'') in occupying riparian corridors surrounded by deserts. The subspecies are separated from one another by the Tian Shan Mountains and probably form a primordial subgroup of the red deer. Description This deer is usually ashy-gray with yellowish sheen, and a grayish white rump patch. It also has a slightly marked dorsal stripe and a white margin of the upper lip, lower lip, and chin. The antlers are light in color. Usually, four tines are present, with the absence of bez tines. The fourth tine is better developed than the third. Full-grown individuals, however, have five tines on each antler with a bend after the third tine that is characteristic of most Central Asian red deer subspecies. In contrast to the Yarkand deer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Asian Barbastelle
The eastern barbastelle or Asian barbastelle (''Barbastella darjelingensis'') is a species of vesper bat found throughout much of Asia, from Afghanistan to Taiwan. Taxonomy It was described by Brian Houghton Hodgson in 1855, and was previously thought to be a subspecies of the Arabian barbastelle (''B. leucomelas''), with ''B. leucomelas'' being previously known as the eastern or Asian barbastelle when it contained ''B. darjelingensis''. However, a 2008 study, and several later genetic analyses, found ''B. leucomelas'' to be a distinct species from ''B. darjelingensis'', and thus split them both. The American Society of Mammalogists, IUCN Red List, and ITIS all follow the results of this study. Further genetic studies indicate that ''B. darjelingensis'' itself contains many cryptic lineages that could represent distinct species, but this is disputed due to all most populations having similar morphology to one another. However, the Caspian barbastelle (''B. caspica'') and Jap ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beech Marten
The beech marten (''Martes foina''), also known as the stone marten, house marten or white breasted marten, is a species of marten native to much of Europe and Central Asia, though it has established a feral population in North America. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List on account of its wide distribution, its large population, and its presence in a number of protected areas. It is superficially similar to the European pine marten, but differs from it by its smaller size and habitat preferences. While the pine marten is a forest specialist, the beech marten is a more generalist and adaptable species, occurring in a number of open and forest habitats. Evolution Its most likely ancestor is ''Martes vetus'', which also gave rise to the pine marten. The earliest ''M. vetus'' fossils were found in deposits dated to the Würm glaciation in Lebanon and Israel. The beech marten likely originated in the Near East or southwestern Asia, and may have arrived in Europe by the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eastern Imperial Eagle
The eastern imperial eagle (''Aquila heliaca'') is a large bird of prey that breeds in southeastern Europe and extensively through West and Central Asia. Most populations are migratory and winter in northeastern Africa, the Middle East and South and East Asia. 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 subfamily Aquilinae. It is a large, dark-colored eagle, with a resemblance to other members of the genus '' Aquila'' but it is usually the darkest species in its range.Forsman, D. (1999). ''The raptors of Europe and the Middle East: a handbook of field identification''. London: T & AD Poyser. This is an opportunistic predator that mostly selects smallish mammals as prey but also a fairly large proportion of birds, reptile and other prey types, including carrion. Compared to other ''Aquila'' eagles, it has a strong preference for the interface of tall woods with plains and other op ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black Stork
The black stork (''Ciconia nigra'') is a large bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his ''Systema Naturae''. Measuring on average from beak tip to end of tail with a wingspan, the adult black stork has mainly black plumage, with white underparts, long red legs and a long pointed red beak. A widespread but uncommon species, it breeds in scattered locations across Europe (predominantly in Portugal and Spain, and central and eastern parts), and east across the Palearctic to the Pacific Ocean. It is a long-distance migrant, with European populations wintering in tropical Sub-Saharan Africa, and Asian populations in the Indian subcontinent. When migrating between Europe and Africa, it avoids crossing the Mediterranean Sea and detours via the Levant in the east or the Strait of Gibraltar in the west. An isolated, non-migratory, population occurs in Southern Africa. Unlike the closely related white stork, the black sto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Siberian Toad
The Mongolian toad (''Strauchbufo raddei''), also known commonly as the piebald toad or the Siberian sand toad, is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. The species is endemic to northeastern Asia. It was formerly placed in the genus ''Bufo'', then for a few years in '' Pseudepidalea'' until finally moved to its own genus ''Strauchbufo''. Etymology The specific name, ''raddei'', is in honor of German naturalist Gustav Radde. Geographic range ''S. raddei'' ranges through much of northern China, Mongolia, and the Russian Far East, and is also found in North Korea. It is particularly common in the Amur River basin of China and Russia. Description The Mongolian toad is relatively small, with adults not exceeding a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of . Habitat ''S. raddei'' ranges through a wide range of habitats and is often found in dry regions, preferring sandy soil. It was first described based on specimens from the Alashan desert. The species does not occur above , nor be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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