Tag Middle East

Red-Veined Darter

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The Red-Veined Darter (Sympetrum fonscolombii) is an insect in the Libelludlidae family of dragonflies. It is also known as the Nomad Darter.

The male Red-Veined Darter has a deep-red abdomen with a red-brown thorax. Its eyes are brown above and blue-green below. Its wings have red veins and the base of its hind-wings (back wings) is yellow. The female is similar, but her abdomen is yellow-brown with two black lines along each side. Her wings have yellow veins. Both the male and female have black legs with some yellow markings.

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Northern Bald Ibis and Chick

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The Northern Bald Ibis (Geronticus eremita) is a non-wading bird in the Threskiornithidae family of wading birds. Most ibises are wetland wading birds, living near water sources, but the Northern Bald Ibis is not a wetland wading bird.

It lives and breeds in colonies and flocks of up to 100 individuals. It makes a stick nest high on a cliff ledge to avoid predators. 

The female lays 2-3 eggs. The chicks hatch after about 25 days and gain their feathers within 40-50 days. 

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Indian Crested Porcupine

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The Indian Crested Porcupine (Hystrix indica) is a large rodent mammal in the Hystrididae family. 

The Indian Crested Porcupine is a stocky animal. It is black and covered with multiple layers of hair, called quills. The quills, made of keratin, are brown or black with black and white bands. Each quill has a muscle at its base, which enables it to rise and fall. The quills are not firmly attached, so they can easily come out. When these quills are vibrated, they produce a hiss-like rattle.

The Indian Crested Porcupine has broad feet with long claws that enable it to burrow into the ground. It has four toes on it front feet and five toes on its back feet. Its eyes and ears are small, and its nostrils are large. It has sharp teeth. 

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Arabian Fat-Tailed Scorpion

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The Arabian Fat-Tailed Scorpion (Androctonus crassicauda) is a venomous arachnid. An arachnid, like the spider, has eight legs.

The Arabian Fat-Tailed Scorpion has grasping front claws, called pedipalps, and a thick, segmented tail that curves over its back. At the end of the tail is a venomous stinger called a telson. It is highly venomous to humans. 

The Arabian Fat-Tailed Scorpion is usually reddish-brown in colour, but it can also be brown to black. It does not have an inner skeleton (bones). Instead, like the spider, it has an exo-skeleton – an outer skeleton or shield that protects its body. The exo-skeleton is called the ecdysis. 

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