Wildlife of the Sonoran Desert

When most people think of the desert, they think it's nothing but hot and sandy, with not much living there, but in the case of the Sonoran Desert in the Southwestern United States, this is far from the truth.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/13fdc2c6eb17.jpg[/atsimg]

The Sonoran Desert (sometimes called the Gila Desert after the Gila River or the Low Desert in opposition to the higher Mojave Desert) is a North American desert which straddles part of the United States-Mexico border and covers large parts of the U.S. states of Arizona and California and the northwest Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur. It is one of the largest and hottest deserts in North America, with an area of 311,000 square kilometres (120,000 sq mi). The desert contains a variety of unique plants and animals, such as the saguaro cactus.

Source.

The Sonoran Desert is my new home, and I spend quite a bit of time hiking through it. What strikes me is not how barren it is, but quite the opposite. It is full of life, both flora and fauna. Now allow me to introduce you to some of it's inhabitants...

Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna)
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/07efbb3fa1ab.jpg[/atsimg]Facts about Anna's Hummingbird



Bark Scorpions (Centriroides exilicauda)
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/3dfb07268189.gif[/atsimg]Facts about Bark Scorpions



The Bobcat (Lynx rufus)
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/6c6d10e219f8.jpg[/atsimg]F acts about the Bobcat



The Cactus Wren (Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus)
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/7fae28c6ae09.jpg[/atsimg]Facts about the Cactus Wren



The Collared Lizard (Crotaphytus collaris)
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/cad7c71e06d2.jpg[/atsimg]Facts about the Collared Lizard



The Coyote (Canis latrans)
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/f1f8b8e0bddd.jpg[/atsimg]Fa cts about the Coyote



The Giant Desert Centipede (Scolopendra heros)
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/339140d28d39.jpg[/atsimg]Facts about the Giant Desert Centipede (Scolopendra heros), and the CommonDesert Centipede (Scolopendra polymorpha).



The DesertTortoise (Gopherus agassisii)
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/0f5ce6d898b3.jpg[/atsimg]Facts about the Desert Tortoise



The Western Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox)
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/121ebebf4226.jpg[/atsimg]Facts about the Western Diamondback Rattlesnake



The Elf Owl (Micrathene whitneyi)
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/6f3b7d53de7b.jpg[/atsimg]Facts about the Elf Owl



Gambel's Quail (Callipepla gambelii)
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/fd228ed687cf.jpg[/atsimg]Facts about Gambel's Quail



The Gila Monster (Heloderma suspectum)
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/cd9fd42db9f6.jpg[/atsimg]Facts about the Gila Monster



The Gila Woodpecker (Melanerpes uropygialis)
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/0c50b32409e0.jpg[/atsimg]Facts about the Gila Woodpecker



The Gray Fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus)
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/b83d3299633c.jpg[/atsimg]Facts about the Gray Fox



The Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginainus)
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/9813828b1f2a.jpg[/atsimg]Facts about the Great Horned Owl



The Harris' Antelope Squirrel (Ammospermophilus harrisii)
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/e6f33590612c.jpg[/atsimg]Facts about the Harris' Antelope Squirrel



Harris' Hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus)
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/c8d373f51061.jpg[/atsimg]Facts about the Harris' Hawk



The Black-tailed Jackrabbit (Lepus californicus)
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/85e69ca95774.jpg[/atsimg]Facts about the Black-tailed Jackrabbit



The Javelina (Tayassu tajacu)
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/422e2b4909b7.jpg[/atsimg] Facts about the Javelina



The Desert Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys deserti)
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/41b55e199444.jpg[/atsimg]Fact s about the Kangaroo Rat



The Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus)
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/e64b4d28d461.jpg[/atsimg]Facts about the Mule Deer



The Palo Verde Grub & Root Borer Beetle (Derobrachus germinatus)
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/75cb1df7aa09.jpg[/atsimg]Facts about the Palo Verde Grub & Root Borer Beetle



The Pepsis Wasp (Pepsis formosa)
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/78d2736a1578.jpg[/atsimg]Facts about the Pepsis Wasp



The Ringtail (Bassariscus astutus)
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/41615f8f8b40.jpg[/atsimg] Facts about the Ringtail



The Arizona Blond Tarantula (Aphonopelma chalcodes)
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/42b494bc1efc.jpg[/atsimg]Facts about the Arizona Blond Tarantula



The White-throated Woodrat (Neotoma albigula)
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/fc27c6a9300a.jpg[/atsimg]Facts about the White-throated Woodrat



The White-winged Dove (Zenaida asiatica)
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/87cec713095a.jpg[/atsimg]Facts about the White-winged Dove



The Desert Cottontail (Sylvilagus audubonii)
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/90084ca94738.jpg[/atsimg]Facts about the Desert Cottontail



The Greater Roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus)
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/c8a5b566608b.jpg[/atsimg]Facts about the Greater Roadrunner



This by no means is a complete list of all of the animals that reside in the Sonoran Desert. But it does give you an idea of just how much life lives even in the most inhospitable places in North America.

reply to post by JaxonRoberts


S & F, Jaxon "Sarcasm is my first language" Roberts.

Posts like this are always an absolute delight, and anyone who bothers to post them is a real softy.

Amazing, thank you.

Nice post, always enjoyed studying nature!

But whats the ATS theme here? How we are told deserts are dead places but in reality they also have their flora&fauna?

Maybe this is more of a BTS thread.

Very nice thread Jax

I'm exploring the region from a perspective of paranormal and mystery tonight... Great Minds think alike.

S&F

reply to post by above


Maybe you didn't notice the name of the forum this is posted in... 'Fragile Earth'... And if you study the ecosystem of any desert, it is indeed fragile...

fragile yet beautiful - full of life
albeit often strange life, survivors in a strange land

thanks for all those lovely images of our friends and neighbors!
i live in the high Chihuahuan desert, in SE NM, and we have our own unique and precious collection of flora and fauna.

PEACE

reply to post by JaxonRoberts


We are fragile as well - people tend to overlook that fact because there are so many humans on this planet.

Everything fragile should be handled with care - that includes people.

if you want a really good read, get the book by Jeff Corwin called Living on the Edge, his section about the sonoran desert is fantastic,

I wish to thank all of those who have given input on this thread thus far. I am glad that you have both enjoyed it and found it informational.

And I will see if I can find that book at the library, neX... Thanks for the heads up!