The wildlife of Iran include the

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is ''funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as ''Biota (ecology ...

and

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. One of the most famous wildlife of Iran is the critically endangered Asiatic cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus venaticus''), which today survives only in Iran.

History

The wildlife of Iran first been partly described by

Hamdallah Mustawfi Hamdallah Mustawfi Qazvini ( fa, حمدالله مستوفى قزوینی, Ḥamdallāh Mustawfī Qazvīnī; 1281 – after 1339/40) was a Persian official, historian, geographer and poet. He lived during the last era of the Mongol Ilkhanate, and ...

in the 14th century who only referred to animals. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Samuel Gottlieb Gmelin and Édouard Ménétries explored the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia ...

area and the

Talysh Mountains Talysh Mountains ( tly, Tolışə Bandon, script=Latn, fa, کوه‌های تالش, Kuhhâye Tâleš; az, Talış dağları) is a mountain range in far southeastern Azerbaijan and far northwestern Iran within Ardabil Province and Gilan Provin ...

to document Caspian

. Several naturalists followed in the 19th century, including Filippo de Filippi,

William Thomas Blanford William Thomas Blanford (7 October 183223 June 1905) was an English geologist and naturalist. He is best remembered as the editor of a major series on '' The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma''. Biography Blanford was born ...

, and

Nikolai Zarudny Nikolai Alekseyvich Zarudny (russian: Николай Алексеевич Зарудный; rus, Николай Алексеевич Зарудный, r=Nikolay Alekseevich Zarudny. His name has been transliterated a number of other ways; especial ...

who documented mammal,

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

, reptile, amphibian and

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of ...

species.

Flora

More than one-tenth of the country is forested. The most extensive growths are found on the mountain slopes rising from the Caspian Sea, with stands of

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

, ash,

elm Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the flowering plant genus ''Ulmus'' in the plant family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical-montane regions of North ...

, cypress, and other valuable trees. On the plateau proper, areas of scrub oak appear on the best-watered mountain slopes, and villagers cultivate orchards and grow the plane tree, poplar,

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist so ...

walnut A walnut is the edible seed of a drupe of any tree of the genus ''Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. Although culinarily considered a "nut" and used as such, it is not a true ...

, beech,

maple ''Acer'' () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since http ...

, and mulberry. Wild

plants Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclude ...

and

shrubs A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

spring from the barren land in the spring and afford pasturage, but the summer sun burns them away. According to

FAO The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...

reports, the major types of forests that exist in Iran and their respective areas are: # Caspian forests of the northern districts (33,000 km²) #

Limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

mountainous forests in the northeastern districts (''

Juniperus Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arcti ...

'' forests, 13,000 km²) # Pistachio forests in the eastern, southern and southeastern districts (26,000 km²) #

Oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

forests in the central and western districts (100,000 km²) # Shrubs of the

Dasht-e Kavir Dasht-e Kavir ( fa, دشت كوير, lit=Low Plains in classical Persian, from ''khwar'' (low), and ''dasht'' (plain, flatland)), also known as Kavir-e Namak () and the Great Salt Desert, is a large desert lying in the middle of the Iranian Plat ...

districts in the central and northeastern part of the country (10,000 km²) #

Sub-tropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical and climate zones to the north and south of the tropics. Geographically part of the temperate zones of both hemispheres, they cover the middle latitudes from to approximately 35° north a ...

forests of the southern coast (5,000 km²) like the Hara forests. More than 8,200

plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclu ...

species are grown in Iran. The land covered by Iran's natural flora is four times that of the Europe's. File:درخت جنگلی عجیب - panoramio.jpg, A

Persian ironwood ''Parrotia persica'', the Persian ironwood, is a deciduous tree in the family Hamamelidaceae, closely related to the witch-hazel genus ''Hamamelis''. It is native to Iran's Caspian region (where it is called ) and Iranian Azerbaijan (where it i ...

, native to

Northern Iran Northern Iran consists of the southern border of the Caspian Sea and the Alborz mountains. It includes the provinces of Gilan, Mazandaran, and Golestan. (Ancient kingdom of Hyrcania, medieval region of Tabaristan). The major provinces, Gilan ...

, but widely planted elsewhere for aesthetic purposes File:Dashte laleh.jpg, '' Fritillaria imperialis'' of Iran File:Cypress of Abarqu.JPG, 4000-year-old

Cypress of Abarqu The Cypress of Abarkuh ( fa, سرو ابرکوه ''Sarv-e Abarkuh''), also called the Zoroastrian Sarv, is a Persian cypress (''Cupressus sempervirens'') tree in Abarkuh in Yazd Province of Iran. It is protected by the Cultural Heritage Organiza ...

, Iran File:IMG 2asd.jpg, '' Juniperus excelsa polycarpos'' or Persian juniper File:Mangrove forests of Qeshm01.jpg, ''

Avicennia marina ''Avicennia marina'', commonly known as grey mangrove or white mangrove, is a species of mangrove tree classified in the plant family Acanthaceae (formerly in the Verbenaceae or Avicenniaceae). As with other mangroves, it occurs in the interti ...

'' trees (locally known as ''harra'') of the Mangrove forests of Qeshm File:Chahar.jpg, Trees in forests of Mazandaran

Fauna

Iran's living fauna includes 34

bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most ...

species, Indian grey mongoose,

small Indian mongoose The small Indian mongoose (''Urva auropunctata'') is a mongoose species native to Iraq and northern South Asia; it has also been introduced to many regions of the world, such as several Caribbean and Pacific islands. Taxonomy ''Mangusta auropu ...

golden jackal The golden jackal (''Canis aureus''), also called common jackal, is a wolf-like canid that is native to Southeast Europe, Southwest Asia, South Asia, and regions of Southeast Asia. The golden jackal's coat varies in color from a pale creamy ...

Indian wolf The Indian wolf (''Canis lupus pallipes'') is a subspecies of gray wolf that ranges from Southwest Asia to the Indian Subcontinent. It is intermediate in size between the Himalayan wolf and the Arabian wolf, and lacks the former's luxuriant win ...

, foxes, striped hyena, leopard,

Eurasian lynx The Eurasian lynx (''Lynx lynx'') is a medium-sized wild cat widely distributed from Northern, Central and Eastern Europe to Central Asia and Siberia, the Tibetan Plateau and the Himalayas. It inhabits temperate and boreal forests up to an eleva ...

brown bear The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear species found across Eurasia and North America. In North America, the populations of brown bears are called grizzly bears, while the subspecies that inhabits the Kodiak Islands of Alaska is ...

and Asian black bear.

Ungulate Ungulates ( ) are members of the diverse clade Ungulata which primarily consists of large mammals with hooves. These include odd-toed ungulates such as horses, rhinoceroses, and tapirs; and even-toed ungulates such as cattle, pigs, giraffes, ...

species include

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...

urial The urial ( ; ''Ovis vignei''), also known as the arkars or shapo, is a wild sheep native to Central and South Asia. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Characteristics Urial males have large horns, curling outwards from the to ...

Armenian mouflon The Armenian mouflon (''Ovis gmelini gmelini'') is an endangered subspecies of mouflon endemic to Iran, Armenia, Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan, Turkey and Iraq. Taxonomy The Armenian mouflon was first described in 1840 by Edward ...

red deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of we ...

, and goitered gazelle. Domestic ungulates are represented by

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated ...

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...

water buffalo The water buffalo (''Bubalus bubalis''), also called the domestic water buffalo or Asian water buffalo, is a large bovid originating in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Today, it is also found in Europe, Australia, North America, So ...

, donkey and camel. Bird species like

pheasant Pheasants ( ) are birds of several genera within the family Phasianidae in the order Galliformes. Although they can be found all over the world in introduced (and captive) populations, the pheasant genera native range is restricted to Eurasia ...

partridge A partridge is a medium-sized galliform bird in any of several genera, with a wide native distribution throughout parts of Europe, Asia and Africa. Several species have been introduced to the Americas. They are sometimes grouped in the Perd ...

, stork,

eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, j ...

s and

falcon Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Falcons are widely distributed on all continents of the world except Antarctica, though closely related raptors did occur there in the Eocene. Adult falcons ...

s are also native to Iran. File:Adlerbussard.jpg,

Long-legged buzzard The long-legged buzzard (''Buteo rufinus'') is a bird of prey found widely in several parts of Eurasia and in North Africa. This species ranges from Southeastern Europe down to East Africa to the northern part of the Indian subcontinent. The long ...

File:Erinaceidae in Tehran.jpg,

Long-eared hedgehog The long-eared hedgehog (''Hemiechinus auritus'') is a species of hedgehog native to Central Asian countries and some countries of the Middle East. The long-eared hedgehog lives in burrows that it either makes or finds and is distinguished by it ...

File:چرای گله شتر - حوالی کاروانسرای دیر گچین قم - پارک ملی کویر 25.jpg, A group of camels in Kavir National Park File:A brown bear in Mount Damavand.jpg, Syrian brown bear (''Ursus arctos syriacus'') in

Lar National Park Lar National Park (Persian پارک ملی لار ''park-e melli-e lar'') is a protected area in Mazandaran Province in northern Iran. Geography The park is in the Central Alborz mountain range, at the foot of Mount Damavand. It has been a n ...

, northern Iran

Endangered

As of 2001, 20 of Iran's mammal species and 14 bird species are endangered. Endangered species in Iran include the Baluchistan bear, Asiatic cheetah,

Caspian seal The Caspian seal (''Pusa caspica'', syn. ''Phoca caspica'') is one of the smallest members of the earless seal family and unique in that it is found exclusively in the brackish Caspian Sea. It lives along the shorelines, but also on the many roc ...

Persian fallow deer The Persian fallow deer (''Dama mesopotamica'') is a deer species once native to all of the Middle East, but currently only living in Iran and Israel. It was reintroduced in Israel. It has been listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List since 200 ...

Siberian crane The Siberian crane (''Leucogeranus leucogeranus''), also known as the Siberian white crane or the snow crane, is a bird of the family Gruidae, the cranes. They are distinctive among the cranes: adults are nearly all snowy white, except for their ...

hawksbill turtle The hawksbill sea turtle (''Eretmochelys imbricata'') is a critically endangered sea turtle belonging to the family Cheloniidae. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Eretmochelys''. The species has a global distribution, that is lar ...

green turtle The green sea turtle (''Chelonia mydas''), also known as the green turtle, black (sea) turtle or Pacific green turtle, is a species of large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in the genus ''Chelonia''. Its range exten ...

, Oxus cobra, Latifi's viper,

dugong The dugong (; ''Dugong dugon'') is a marine mammal. It 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 m ...

, '' Panthera pardus tulliana'', Caspian Sea wolf, and

dolphin A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (the ...

. At least 74 species of Iranian wildlife are listed on the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

, a sign of serious threats to the country’s biodiversity. Majlis has been showing disregard for wildlife by passing laws and regulations such as the act that lets the

Ministry of Industries and Mines (Iran) Ministry of Industries and Mines of Iran ( fa, Wezārate Sannāye wa Maādene Irān), was the main organ of Iranian Government in charge of the regulation and implementation of policies applicable to Industrial sector, industrial and Mining, mine ...

exploit mines without the involvement of the Department of Environment (Iran), and by approving large national development projects without demanding comprehensive study of their impact on wildlife habitats. The leopard's main range overlaps with that of bezoar ibex, which occurs throughout

Alborz The Alborz ( fa, البرز) range, also spelled as Alburz, Elburz or Elborz, is a mountain range in northern Iran that stretches from the border of Azerbaijan along the western and entire southern coast of the Caspian Sea and finally runs nort ...

and

Zagros The Zagros Mountains ( ar, جبال زاغروس, translit=Jibal Zaghrus; fa, کوه‌های زاگرس, Kuh hā-ye Zāgros; ku, چیاکانی زاگرۆس, translit=Çiyakani Zagros; Turkish: ''Zagros Dağları''; Luri: ''Kuh hā-ye Zāgr ...

mountain ranges, as well as smaller ranges within the

Iranian Plateau The Iranian plateau or Persian plateau is a geological feature in Western Asia, Central Asia, and South Asia. It comprises part of the Eurasian Plate and is wedged between the Arabian Plate and the Indian Plate; situated between the Zagros ...

. The leopard population is very sparse, due to loss of habitat, loss of natural prey, and

population fragmentation Population fragmentation is a form of population segregation. It is often caused by habitat fragmentation. Causes of Fragmentation Fragmentation can be the cause of natural forces or human actions, although in modern times, human activity is th ...

. Apart from bezoar ibex, wild sheep, boar, deer, and domestic livestock constitute leopard prey in Iran.

Extinct

* Aurochs (unknown date). * The Syrian elephant roamed southern Iran, before vanishing there in ancient times. *The

Asiatic lion The Asiatic lion is a population of '' Panthera leo leo'' that today survives in the wild only in India. Since the turn of the 20th century, its range has been restricted to Gir National Park and the surrounding areas in the Indian state of Gujar ...

was recorded only in Iran's Khuzestan and Fars Provinces. The last sighting occurred in 1957 in the

Dez River The Dez River ( fa, دز), the ancient Coprates (;James Knowles (1835) ''A Pronouncing and Explanatory Dictionary of the English Language'' el, Κοπράτης or Κοπράτας), is a tributary of the Karun River and is 400 km long. It ...

valley. In the 1970s, Arzhan National Park was considered as a site for its reintroduction. * The

Caspian tiger The Caspian tiger was a ''Panthera tigris tigris'' population native to eastern Turkey, northern Iran, Mesopotamia, the Caucasus around the Caspian Sea, Central Asia to northern Afghanistan, and the Xinjiang region in western China. Until the M ...

used to occur in the northern region around the

, and in the Trans-Caucasian and Turkestani regions of the

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

, before 1960. The last tiger in Iran was reportedly sighted in

Golestan National Park Golestan National Park ( fa, پارک ملی گلستان), commonly known as the Golestan Jungle (), is an Iranian National Park in Golestan Province, northeastern Iran. Geography The park is located in the eastern Alborz (Elburs) Mountains ra ...

in 1958. File:Elephants relief Taq-e Bustan V.jpg, Sasanian Empire relief of boar-hunting on domestic elephants,

Taq-e Bostan Taq-e Bostan ( fa, طاق بستان, ) is a site with a series of large rock reliefs from the era of the Sassanid Empire of Persia (Iran), carved around the 4th century CE. This example of Persian Sassanid art is located 5 km from the ...

, Iran File:Antoin Sevruguin 7 Men with live lion.jpg, Men with a live lion in Persia, photographed by

Antoin Sevruguin Antoin Sevruguin ( fa, آنتوان سورگین; 1851–1933) was an Iranian photographer of Armenian- Georgian descent, in Persia during the reign of the Qajar dynasty (1785–1925). Early life Born into a Russian family of Armenian- Georgian o ...

(1830s – 1933) File:38 Chardin Rhinoceros in Iran 1670s.jpg, Rhinoceros in Iran, 1670s. Drawing by

Jean Chardin Jean Chardin (16 November 1643 – 5 January 1713), born Jean-Baptiste Chardin, and also known as Sir John Chardin, was a French jeweller and traveller whose ten-volume book ''The Travels of Sir John Chardin'' is regarded as one of the finest ...

File:Caspian tiger, north iran.jpg, A Caspian tiger killed in northern Iran in the early 1940s.

References

External links

Fauna of Persia
Encyclopædia Iranica
Department of Environment of Iran

* ttp://www.persian-leopard.com/ Asian Leopard Specialist Society, Iran: Research, Conservation and Management
Iranian Wildlife Reference Resource

Flora of Iran by Pr Ahmad GHAHREMAN

Flora of Iran

Iran-zoo, a private website

Status of the Persian Leopard in Iran

Skin of a Persian lioness, belonging to an endangered subspecies of lions, brought to Dublin by King Edward VII in 1902.
;Videos
Wild Iran
- Documentary (2014) {{DEFAULTSORT:Wildlife Of Iran

Biota of Iran