1.
Atlantic Ocean
–
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the worlds oceans with a total area of about 106,460,000 square kilometres. It covers approximately 20 percent of the Earths surface and about 29 percent of its surface area. It separates the Old World from the New World, the Atlantic Ocean occupies an elongated, S-shaped basin extending longitudinally between Eurasia and Africa to the east, and the Americas to the west. The Equatorial Counter Current subdivides it into the North Atlantic Ocean, in contrast, the term Atlantic originally referred specifically to the Atlas Mountains in Morocco and the sea off the Strait of Gibraltar and the North African coast. The Greek word thalassa has been reused by scientists for the huge Panthalassa ocean that surrounded the supercontinent Pangaea hundreds of years ago. The term Aethiopian Ocean, derived from Ancient Ethiopia, was applied to the Southern Atlantic as late as the mid-19th century, many Irish or British people refer to the United States and Canada as across the pond, and vice versa. The Black Atlantic refers to the role of ocean in shaping black peoples history. Irish migration to the US is meant when the term The Green Atlantic is used, the term Red Atlantic has been used in reference to the Marxian concept of an Atlantic working class, as well as to the Atlantic experience of indigenous Americans. Correspondingly, the extent and number of oceans and seas varies, the Atlantic Ocean is bounded on the west by North and South America. It connects to the Arctic Ocean through the Denmark Strait, Greenland Sea, Norwegian Sea, to the east, the boundaries of the ocean proper are Europe, the Strait of Gibraltar and Africa. In the southeast, the Atlantic merges into the Indian Ocean, the 20° East meridian, running south from Cape Agulhas to Antarctica defines its border. In the 1953 definition it extends south to Antarctica, while in later maps it is bounded at the 60° parallel by the Southern Ocean, the Atlantic has irregular coasts indented by numerous bays, gulfs, and seas. Including these marginal seas the coast line of the Atlantic measures 111,866 km compared to 135,663 km for the Pacific. Including its marginal seas, the Atlantic covers an area of 106,460,000 km2 or 23. 5% of the ocean and has a volume of 310,410,900 km3 or 23. 3%. Excluding its marginal seas, the Atlantic covers 81,760,000 km2 and has a volume of 305,811,900 km3, the North Atlantic covers 41,490,000 km2 and the South Atlantic 40,270,000 km2. The average depth is 3,646 m and the maximum depth, the bathymetry of the Atlantic is dominated by a submarine mountain range called the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. It runs from 87°N or 300 km south of the North Pole to the subantarctic Bouvet Island at 42°S, the MAR divides the Atlantic longitudinally into two halves, in each of which a series of basins are delimited by secondary, transverse ridges. The MAR reaches above 2000 m along most of its length, the MAR is a barrier for bottom water, but at these two transform faults deep water currents can pass from one side to the other
Atlantic Ocean
–
The Atlantic Ocean as seen from the western coast of
Portugal
Atlantic Ocean
–
The Atlantic Ocean, not including
Arctic and
Antarctic regions
Atlantic Ocean
–
The Atlantic Ocean as seen from
Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Atlantic Ocean
–
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina view of the Atlantic Ocean.
2.
Red Sea
–
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait, to the north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez. The Red Sea is a Global 200 ecoregion, the sea is underlain by the Red Sea Rift which is part of the Great Rift Valley. The Red Sea has an area of roughly 438,000 km2, is about 2250 km long and. It has a depth of 2211 m in the central median trench. However, there are also extensive shallow shelves, noted for their marine life, the sea is the habitat of over 1,000 invertebrate species, and 200 soft and hard corals. It is the worlds northernmost tropical sea, the International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Red Sea as follows, On the North. The Southern limits of the Gulfs of Suez and Aqaba, a line joining Husn Murad and Ras Siyyan. Red Sea is a translation of the Greek Erythra Thalassa, Latin Mare Rubrum, Arabic, البحر الأحمر. Al-Baḥr Al-Aḥmar, Somali Badda Cas and Tigrinya Qeyyiḥ bāḥrī, the name of the sea may signify the seasonal blooms of the red-coloured Trichodesmium erythraeum near the waters surface. A theory favored by modern scholars is that the name red is referring to the direction south. The basis of this theory is that some Asiatic languages used color words to refer to the cardinal directions, herodotus on one occasion uses Red Sea and Southern Sea interchangeably. Historically, it was known to western geographers as Mare Mecca. Some ancient geographers called the Red Sea the Arabian Gulf or Gulf of Arabia. C, in that version, the Yam Suph is translated as Erythra Thalassa. The Red Sea is one of four seas named in English after common color terms — the others being the Black Sea, the White Sea and the Yellow Sea. The direct rendition of the Greek Erythra thalassa in Latin as Mare Erythraeum refers to the part of the Indian Ocean. The earliest known exploration of the Red Sea was conducted by ancient Egyptians, one such expedition took place around 2500 BC, and another around 1500 BC. Both involved long voyages down the Red Sea, historically, scholars argued whether these trips were possible
Red Sea
–
Red Sea
Red Sea
–
Tihama on the Red Sea near Khaukha,
Yemen
Red Sea
–
Annotated view of the Nile and Red Sea, with a dust storm
Red Sea
–
Dust storm over the Red Sea
3.
Terrestrial ecozone
–
A biogeographic realm or ecozone is the broadest biogeographic division of the Earths land surface, based on distributional patterns of terrestrial organisms. They are subdivided in ecoregions, which are classified in biomes or habitat types, as such, biogeographic realms designations are used to indicate general groupings of organisms based on their shared biogeography. Biogeographic realms correspond to the kingdoms of botany or zoogeographic regions of zoology. Biogeographic realms are characterized by the history of the organisms they contain. Biomes are characterized by similar climax vegetation, each realm may include a number of different biomes. The biogeographic realms of Udvardy were defined based on taxonomic composition, the rank corresponds more or less to the floristic kingdoms and zoogeographic regions. The usage of the ecozone is more variable. It was used originally in stratigraphy, in Canadian literature, the term was used by Wiken in macro level land classification, with geographic criteria. Later, Schültz would use it with ecological and physiognomical criteria, in the Global 200/WWF scheme, originally the term biogeographic realm in Udvardy sense was used. However, in a scheme of BBC, it was replaced by the term ecozone, in the WWF system, The Australasia realm includes Australia, Tasmania, the islands of Wallacea, New Guinea, the East Melanesian islands, New Caledonia, and New Zealand. The Palearctic and Nearctic are sometimes grouped into the Holarctic realm, the drainage basins of the principal oceans and seas of the world are marked by continental divides. The grey areas are endorheic basins that do not drain to the ocean
Terrestrial ecozone
–
Nearctic
4.
Ecotone
–
An ecotone is a transition area between two biomes. It is where two communities meet and integrate and it may be narrow or wide, and it may be local or regional. An ecotone may appear on the ground as a blending of the two communities across a broad area, or it may manifest itself as a sharp boundary line. The word ecotone was coined from a combination of eco plus -tone, from the Greek tonos or tension – in other words, there are several distinguishing features of an ecotone. First, an ecotone can have a sharp transition, with a distinct line between two communities. For example, a change in colors of grasses or plant life can indicate an ecotone, second, a change in physiognomy can be a key indicator. Scientists look at color variations and changes in plant height, third, a change of species can signal an ecotone. There will be specific organisms on one side of an ecotone or the other, other factors can illustrate or obscure an ecotone, for example, migration and the establishment of new plants. These are known as spatial mass effects, which are noticeable because some organisms will not be able to form self-sustaining populations if they cross the ecotone. Lastly, the abundance of species in an ecotone can reveal the type of biome or efficiency of the two communities sharing space. Because an ecotone is the zone in two communities integrate, many different forms of life have to live together and compete for space. Therefore, an ecotone can create a diverse ecosystem, changes in the physical environment may produce a sharp boundary, as in the example of the interface between areas of forest and cleared land. Elsewhere, a more gradually blended interface area will be found, mountain ranges often create such ecotones, due to the wide variety of climatic conditions experienced on their slopes. They may also provide a boundary between species due to the nature of their terrain. Mont Ventoux in France is an example, marking the boundary between the flora and fauna of northern and southern France. Plants in competition extend themselves on one side of the ecotone as far as their ability to maintain themselves allows, beyond this competitors of the adjacent community take over. As a result, the ecotone represents a shift in dominance, ecotones are particularly significant for mobile animals, as they can exploit more than one set of habitats within a short distance. The ecotone contains not only common to the communities on both sides, it may also include a number of highly adaptable species that tend to colonize such transitional areas
Ecotone
–
Reed beds are a common form of lakeside ecotone. The beds tend to accumulate organic matter which is then colonised by trees, forcing the reeds further in to the lake.
Ecotone
Ecotone
–
General
Ecotone
–
Population ecology
5.
Africa
–
Africa is the worlds second-largest and second-most-populous continent. At about 30.3 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earths total surface area and 20.4 % of its land area. With 1.2 billion people as of 2016, it accounts for about 16% of the human population. The continent includes Madagascar and various archipelagos and it contains 54 fully recognized sovereign states, nine territories and two de facto independent states with limited or no recognition. Africas population is the youngest amongst all the continents, the age in 2012 was 19.7. Algeria is Africas largest country by area, and Nigeria by population, afarensis, Homo erectus, H. habilis and H. ergaster – with the earliest Homo sapiens found in Ethiopia being dated to circa 200,000 years ago. Africa straddles the equator and encompasses numerous climate areas, it is the continent to stretch from the northern temperate to southern temperate zones. Africa hosts a diversity of ethnicities, cultures and languages. In the late 19th century European countries colonized most of Africa, Africa also varies greatly with regard to environments, economics, historical ties and government systems. However, most present states in Africa originate from a process of decolonization in the 20th century, afri was a Latin name used to refer to the inhabitants of Africa, which in its widest sense referred to all lands south of the Mediterranean. This name seems to have referred to a native Libyan tribe. The name is connected with Hebrew or Phoenician ʿafar dust. The same word may be found in the name of the Banu Ifran from Algeria and Tripolitania, under Roman rule, Carthage became the capital of the province of Africa Proconsularis, which also included the coastal part of modern Libya. The Latin suffix -ica can sometimes be used to denote a land, the later Muslim kingdom of Ifriqiya, modern-day Tunisia, also preserved a form of the name. According to the Romans, Africa lay to the west of Egypt, while Asia was used to refer to Anatolia, as Europeans came to understand the real extent of the continent, the idea of Africa expanded with their knowledge. 25,4, whose descendants, he claimed, had invaded Libya, isidore of Seville in Etymologiae XIV.5.2. Suggests Africa comes from the Latin aprica, meaning sunny, massey, in 1881, stated that Africa is derived from the Egyptian af-rui-ka, meaning to turn toward the opening of the Ka. The Ka is the double of every person and the opening of the Ka refers to a womb or birthplace
Africa
–
Map of Africa
Africa
–
Africa
Africa
–
Lucy, an
Australopithecus afarensis skeleton discovered on November 24, 1974, in the
Awash Valley of
Ethiopia 's
Afar Depression
Africa
–
Colossal statues of
Ramesses II at
Abu Simbel, Egypt, date from around 1400 BC.
6.
Sahara
–
The Sahara is the largest hot desert and the third largest desert in the world after Antarctica and the Arctic. Its area of 9,200,000 square kilometres is comparable to the area of the United States. The desert comprises much of North Africa, excluding the fertile region on the Mediterranean Sea coast, the Atlas Mountains of the Maghreb, and the Nile Valley in Egypt and Sudan. It stretches from the Red Sea in the east and the Mediterranean in the north to the Atlantic Ocean in the west, where the landscape gradually changes from desert to coastal plains. To the south, it is bounded by the Sahel, a belt of tropical savanna around the Niger River valley. The Sahara can be divided into several regions including, the western Sahara, the central Ahaggar Mountains, the Tibesti Mountains, the Aïr Mountains, the Ténéré desert, the name Sahara is derived from ṣaḥārā, the plural of the Arabic word for desert. The Sahara covers large parts of Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Western Sahara, Sudan and it covers 9 million square kilometres, amounting to 31% of Africa. If all areas with an annual precipitation of less than 250 mm were included. It is one of three physiographic provinces of the African massive physiographic division. The Sahara is mainly rocky hamada, Ergs form only a minor part, wind or rare rainfall shape the desert features, sand dunes, dune fields, sand seas, stone plateaus, gravel plains, dry valleys, dry lakes, and salt flats. Unusual landforms include the Richat Structure in Mauritania, several deeply dissected mountains, many volcanic, rise from the desert, including the Aïr Mountains, Ahaggar Mountains, Saharan Atlas, Tibesti Mountains, Adrar des Iforas, and the Red Sea hills. The highest peak in the Sahara is Emi Koussi, a volcano in the Tibesti range of northern Chad. The central Sahara is hyperarid, with sparse vegetation, the northern and southern reaches of the desert, along with the highlands, have areas of sparse grassland and desert shrub, with trees and taller shrubs in wadis, where moisture collects. In the central, hyperarid region, there are subdivisions of the great desert, Tanezrouft, the Ténéré, the Libyan Desert, the Eastern Desert. These extremely arid areas often receive no rain for years, the northern limit also corresponds to the 100 mm isohyet of annual precipitation. To the south, the Sahara is bounded by the Sahel, the southern limit of the Sahara is indicated botanically by the southern limit of Cornulaca monacantha, or northern limit of Cenchrus biflorus, a grass typical of the Sahel. According to climatic criteria, the limit of the Sahara corresponds to the 150 mm isohyet of annual precipitation. The Sahara is the worlds largest low-latitude hot desert and this steady descending airflow causes a warming and a drying effect in the upper troposphere
Sahara
–
A satellite image of the Sahara by
NASA World Wind.
Sahara
–
Tadrart Acacus desert in western
Libya, part of the Sahara.
Sahara
–
The top image shows the Safsaf Oasis on the surface of the Sahara. The bottom (using
radar) is the rock layer underneath, revealing black channels cut by the meandering of an ancient river that once fed the
oasis.
Sahara
–
A geographical map of Africa, showing the ecological break that defines the Saharan area.
7.
Sudanian Savanna
–
The Sudanian Savanna is a broad belt of tropical savanna that runs east and west across the African continent, from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Ethiopian Highlands in the east. The Sahel, a belt of grasslands and acacia savannas, lies to the north. To the south the forest-savanna mosaic is a zone between the Sudanian Savanna and the Guinean moist forests and Congolian forests that lie nearer the equator. The World Wide Fund for Nature divides the Sudanian Savanna into two ecoregions, separated by the Cameroon Highlands, the West Sudanian Savanna runs from the Atlantic Ocean to eastern Nigeria, and the East Sudanian Savanna runs from the Cameroon Highlands east to the Ethiopian Highlands. The Sudanian Savanna is one of the three physiographic provinces of the larger African Massive division. Physiography divides this province into three physiographic sections, the Niger Basin, the Lake Chad Basin, and the Middle Nile Basin. The Sudanian Savanna is characterized by the coexistence of trees and grasses, dominant tree species are often belonging to the Combretaceae and Caesalpinioideae, some Acacia species are also important. The dominant grass species are usually Andropogoneae, especially the genera Andropogon and Hyparrhenia, on shallow soils also Loudetia, the Sudanian savanna is used by both pastoralists and farmers. Cattle are predominantly the livestock kept, but in areas, sheep. The main crops grown are sorghum and millet which are suited to the low levels of rainfall, with increasing levels of drought since the 1970s, pastoralists have needed to move southwards to search for grazing areas and have come into conflict with more settled agriculturalists. East Sudanian Savanna — ecoregion Neolithic Subpluvial — ancient Green Sahara Sahel Sub-Saharan Africa Sudan Sudd — swamp in South Sudan
Sudanian Savanna
–
Sudanian savanna with bunchgrass tufts of
Andropogon gayanus, Pama reserve,
Burkina Faso.
Sudanian Savanna
–
Sudanian Savanna
vegetation in
Burkina Faso
8.
Sudan region
–
The Sudan is the name given to a geographic region to the south of the Sahara, stretching from Western to eastern Central Africa. The name derives from the Arabic bilād as-sūdān, or the lands of the Blacks, referring to West Africa, the Arabic name was translated as Negroland on older English maps. Historically, the name was understood to denote the western part of the Sahel region, the Sudan region extends in some 5,000 km in a band several hundred kilometers wide across Africa. It stretches from the border of Senegal, through southern Mali, Burkina Faso, southern Niger and northern Nigeria, southern Chad, the western Darfur region of present-day Sudan, and South Sudan. To the north of the lies the Sahel, a more arid Acacia savanna region that in turn borders the Sahara Desert further north. In the southwest lies the West Sudanian Savanna, a wetter, in the center is Lake Chad, and the more fertile region around the lake, while to the south of there are the highlands of Cameroon. To the southeast is the East Sudanian Savanna, another tropical savanna region and this gives way further east to the Sudd, an area of tropical wetland fed by the water of the White Nile. The people of the Sudan region share similar lifestyles, dictated by the geography of the region, the economy is largely pastoral, while sorghum and rice are cultivated in the southern parts of the region. Sub-Saharan Africa Sudanian Savanna East Sudanian Savanna West Sudanian Savanna Readers Digest, Atlas of the World, Rand-McNally ISBN 0-276-42001-2
Sudan region
–
Typical landscape of the Sudan region
9.
Semi-arid climate
–
A semi-arid climate or steppe climate is the climate of a region that receives precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not extremely. There are different kinds of climates, depending on such variables as temperature. Semi-arid climates tend to short or scrubby vegetation, with semi-arid areas usually dominated by either grasses or shrubs. To determine if a location has a climate, the precipitation threshold must first be determined. If the areas precipitation is less than the threshold but more than half the threshold. Hot semi-arid climates tend to be located in the tropics and subtropics and these climates tend to have hot, sometimes extremely hot, summers and warm to cool winters, with some to minimal precipitation. Hot semi-arid climates are most commonly found around the fringes of subtropical deserts, hot semi-arid climates are most commonly found in Africa, Australia and South Asia. In Australia, a portion of the Outback surrounding the central desert regions lies within the hot semi-arid climate regime. Hot semi-arid climates can also be found in North America, primarily in Mexico, areas of Texas near Mexico, cold semi-arid climates tend to be located in temperate zones or elevated portions in subtropical zones. They are typically found in continental interiors some distance from bodies of water. Cold semi-arid climates usually feature warm and dry summers, though their summers are not quite as hot as those of hot semi-arid climates. Unlike hot semi-arid climates, areas with cold semi-arid climates tend to have cold winters and these areas usually see some snowfall during the winter, though snowfall is much lower than at locations at similar latitudes with more humid climates. These large diurnal temperature variations are seen in hot semi-arid climates. Cold semi-arid climates are most commonly found in Asia and North America, however, they can also be found in Northern Africa, South Africa, Europe, sections of South America and sections of interior southern Australia and New Zealand. As a result of this, some areas can have climates that are classified as hot or cold depending on the isotherm used. One such location is San Diego, California, which has cool summers for the due to prevailing winds off the ocean. Arid Forest Research Institute Continental climate Dust Bowl Goyders Line Pallisers Triangle Köppen climate classification Wave height Ustic
Semi-arid climate
–
The semi-arid terrain of
Machakos
Semi-arid climate
–
BSh
Semi-arid climate
–
Northeast Caatinga - semiárido brasileño
Semi-arid climate
–
Extreme weather at
Atacama Large Millimeter Array.
10.
Northern Africa
–
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of Africa. The United Nationss definition of Northern Africa is, Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia, the countries of Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, and Libya are often collectively referred to as the Maghreb, which is the Arabic word for sunset. Egypt lies to the northeast and encompasses part of West Asia, while Sudan is situated on the edge of the Sahel, Egypt is a transcontinental country because of the Sinai Peninsula, which geographically lies in Western Asia. North Africa also includes a number of Spanish possessions, the Canary Islands and Madeira in the North Atlantic Ocean northwest of the African mainland are included in considerations of the region. From 3500 BC, following the abrupt desertification of the Sahara due to changes in the Earths orbit. The Islamic influence in the area is significant, and North Africa is a major part of the Muslim world. Some researchers have postulated that North Africa rather than East Africa served as the point for the modern humans who first trekked out of the continent in the Out of Africa migration. The Atlas Mountains extend across much of Morocco, northern Algeria and Tunisia, are part of the mountain system that also runs through much of Southern Europe. They recede to the south and east, becoming a steppe landscape before meeting the Sahara desert, the sediments of the Sahara overlie an ancient plateau of crystalline rock, some of which is more than four billion years old. Sheltered valleys in the Atlas Mountains, the Nile Valley and Delta, a wide variety of valuable crops including cereals, rice and cotton, and woods such as cedar and cork, are grown. Typical Mediterranean crops, such as olives, figs, dates and citrus fruits, the Nile Valley is particularly fertile, and most of the population in Egypt and Sudan live close to the river. Elsewhere, irrigation is essential to improve yields on the desert margins. The inhabitants of Saharan Africa are generally divided in a manner corresponding to the principal geographic regions of North Africa, the Maghreb, the Nile valley. The edge of the Sahel, to the south of Egypt has mainly been inhabited by Nubians, Ancient Egyptians record extensive contact in their Western desert with people that appear to have been Berber or proto-Berber, as well as Nubians from the south. They have contributed to the Arabized Berber populations, the official language or one of the official languages in all of the countries in North Africa is Arabic. The people of the Maghreb and the Sahara regions speak Berber languages and several varieties of Arabic, the Arabic and Berber languages are distantly related, both being members of the Afroasiatic language family. The Tuareg Berber languages are more conservative than those of the coastal cities. Over the years, Berbers have been influenced by contact with cultures, Greeks, Phoenicians, Egyptians, Romans, Vandals, Arabs, Europeans
Northern Africa
–
Market of
Biskra in Algeria, 1899
Northern Africa
–
Northern Africa (UN subregion)
Northern Africa
–
The
kasbah of
Aït Benhaddou in Morocco
Northern Africa
–
The first
Roman emperor native to North Africa was
Septimius Severus, born in Leptis Magna in present-day Libya.
11.
Senegal
–
Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is a country in West Africa. Senegal is bordered by Mauritania in the north, Mali to the east, Guinea to the southeast, and Guinea-Bissau to the southwest. Senegal also borders The Gambia, a country occupying a narrow sliver of land along the banks of the Gambia River, Senegal also shares a maritime border with Cape Verde. Senegals economic and political capital is Dakar and it is the westernmost country in the mainland of the Old World, or Afro-Eurasia, and owes its name to the Senegal River, which borders it to the east and north. The name Senegal comes from the Wolof Sunuu Gaal, which means Our Boat, Senegal covers a land area of almost 197,000 square kilometres and has an estimated population of about 15 million. The climate is Sahelian, but there is a rainy season, the territory of modern Senegal has been inhabited by various ethnic groups since prehistory. Organized kingdoms emerged around the century, and parts of the country were ruled by prominent regional empires such as the Jolof Empire. The present state of Senegal has its roots in European colonialism, which began during the mid-15th century, the establishment of coastal trading posts gradually led to control of the mainland, culminating in French rule of the area by the 19th century, albeit amid much local resistance. Senegal peacefully attained independence from France in 1960, and has since been among the politically stable countries in Africa. Senegals economy is centered mostly on commodities and natural resources, major industries are fish processing, phosphate mining, fertilizer production, petroleum refining, construction materials, and ship construction and repair. As in most African nations, agriculture is a sector, with Senegal producing several important cash crops, including peanuts, sugarcane, cotton, green beans, tomatoes, melons. Owing to its stability, tourism and hospitality are also burgeoning sectors. A multiethnic and secular nation, Senegal is predominantly Sunni Muslim with Sufi, French is the official language, although many native languages are spoken and recognized. Since April 2012 Senegals president has been Macky Sall, Senegal has been a member of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie since 1970. Senegal is named after the Senegal River, the etymology of which is contested, one popular theory is that it stems from the Wolof phrase sunu gaal, which means our canoe, resulting from a miscommunication between 15th-century Portuguese sailors and Wolof fishermen. The our canoe theory has been embraced in modern Senegal for its charm. It is frequently used in appeals to national solidarity, frequently heard in the media, modern historians believe the name probably refers to the Sanhaja, Berbers who lived on the northern side of the river. A competing theory is that it derives from the town of Sanghana
Senegal
–
Slave traders in
Gorée, 18th century.
Senegal
–
Flag
Senegal
–
Colonial
Saint Louis c. 1900. Europeans and Africans on the Rue Lebon.
Senegal
–
Macky Sall, current president of Senegal (2012 until now)
12.
Mauritania
–
Mauritania /mɔːrɪˈteɪniə/, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a country in the Maghreb region of western Africa. The country derives its name from the ancient Berber Kingdom of Mauretania, approximately 90% of Mauritanias land is within the Sahara and consequently the population is concentrated in the south, where precipitation is slightly higher. The capital and largest city is Nouakchott, located on the Atlantic coast, the government was overthrown on 6 August 2008, in a military coup détat led by General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz. On 16 April 2009, Aziz resigned from the military to run for president in the 19 July elections, about 20% of Mauritanians live on less than US$1.25 per day. Mauritania suffers from several human rights issues, including slavery, as at least 4% of the population are enslaved against their will, the Bafours were primarily agriculturalist, and among the first Saharan people to abandon their historically nomadic lifestyle. With the gradual desiccation of the Sahara, they headed south, many of the Berber tribes claimed Yemeni origins. There is little evidence to such claims, but a 2000 DNA study of Yemeni people suggested there might be some ancient connection between the peoples. Other peoples also migrated south past the Sahara to West Africa, in 1076, Moorish Islamic warrior monks attacked and conquered the large area of the ancient Ghana Empire. Over the next 500 years, Arabs overcame fierce resistance from the population to dominate Mauritania. The Char Bouba war was the final effort of the peoples to repel the Yemeni Maqil Arab invaders. The invaders were led by the Beni Hassan tribe, the descendants of the Beni Hassan warriors became the upper stratum of Moorish society. Hassaniya, a Berber-influenced Arabic dialect that derives its name from the Beni Hassan, berbers retained a niche influence by producing the majority of the regions marabouts, those who preserve and teach Islamic tradition. Imperial France gradually absorbed the territories of present-day Mauritania from the Senegal River area and upwards, in 1901, Xavier Coppolani took charge of the imperial mission. Through a combination of strategic alliances with Zawiya tribes, and military pressure on the Hassane warrior nomads, he managed to extend French rule over the Mauritanian emirates. Trarza, Brakna and Tagant quickly submitted to treaties with the colonial power, Adrar was finally defeated militarily in 1912, and incorporated into the territory of Mauritania, which had been drawn up and planned in 1904. Mauritania was part of French West Africa from 1920, French rule brought legal prohibitions against slavery and an end to inter-clan warfare. During the colonial period, 90% of the population remained nomadic, many sedentary peoples, whose ancestors had been expelled centuries earlier, began to trickle back into Mauritania. After gaining independence, larger numbers of indigenous Sub-Saharan African peoples entered Mauritania, educated in French language and customs, many of these recent arrivals became clerks, soldiers, and administrators in the new state
Mauritania
–
The
Dutch trading post of
Arguin in 1665
Mauritania
Mauritania
–
Chinguetti was a center of Islamic scholarship in West Africa.
Mauritania
–
Road from Nouakchott to the Mauritanian–Senegalese border
13.
Mali
–
Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali is the eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of just over 1,240,000 square kilometres, the population of Mali is 14.5 million. The countrys economy centers on agriculture and fishing, some of Malis prominent natural resources include gold, being the third largest producer of gold in the African continent, and salt. About half the population lives below the poverty line of $1.25 a day. A majority of the population are Muslims, present-day Mali was once part of three West African empires that controlled trans-Saharan trade, the Ghana Empire, the Mali Empire, and the Songhai Empire. During its golden age, there was a flourishing of mathematics, astronomy, literature, at its peak in 1300, the Mali Empire covered an area about twice the size of modern-day France and stretched to the west coast of Africa. In the late 19th century, during the Scramble for Africa, France seized control of Mali, French Sudan joined with Senegal in 1959, achieving independence in 1960 as the Mali Federation. Shortly thereafter, following Senegals withdrawal from the federation, the Sudanese Republic declared itself the independent Republic of Mali. After a long period of one-party rule, a coup in 1991 led to the writing of a new constitution and the establishment of Mali as a democratic, multi-party state. In January 2012, a conflict broke out in northern Mali, in which Tuareg rebels took control of by April and declared the secession of a new state. The conflict was complicated by a coup that took place in March. In response to Islamist territorial gains, the French military launched Opération Serval in January 2013, a month later, Malian and French forces recaptured most of the north. Presidential elections were held on 28 July 2013, with a second round held on 11 August. The name Mali is taken from the name of the Mali Empire, the name was originally derived from the Mandinka or Bambara word mali, meaning “hippopotamus”, but it eventually came to mean the place where the king lives. The word carries the connotation of strength, D. Niane suggests in Sundiata, An Epic of Old Mali that it is not impossible that Mali was the name given to one of the capitals of the emperors. 14th century Moroccan traveller Ibn Battuta reported that the capital of the Mali Empire was indeed called Mali and this name could have formerly been that of a city. In old Mali there is one village called Malikoma which means “New Mali. ”Another theory suggests that Mali is a Fulani pronunciation of the name of the Mande peoples. It is suggested that a sound shift led to the change, whereby in Fulani the alveolar segment /nd/ shifts to /l/, Mali was once part of three famed West African empires which controlled trans-Saharan trade in gold, salt, slaves, and other precious commodities
Mali
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The pages above are from
Timbuktu Manuscripts written in Sudani script (a form of
Arabic) from the
Mali Empire showing established knowledge of astronomy and mathematics. Today there are close to a million of these manuscripts found in
Timbuktu alone.
Mali
Mali
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Griots of
Sambala, king of Médina (
Fula people, Mali), 1890.
Mali
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Cotton being processed in
Niono into 180 kg (400 lb) bales for export to other parts of Africa and to France, c. 1950.
14.
Burkina Faso
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Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in Africa around 274,200 square kilometres in size. It is surrounded by six countries, Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, in 2014 its population was estimated at just over 17.3 million. Burkina Faso is a country and French is an official language of government. Formerly called the Republic of Upper Volta, the country was renamed Burkina Faso on 4 August 1984 by then-President Thomas Sankara, residents of Burkina Faso are known as Burkinabé. Before the conquest of what is now Burkina Faso by the French, after gaining independence from France in 1960, the country underwent many governmental changes. Blaise Compaoré was the most recent president and ruled the country from 1987 until he was ousted from power by the popular youth upheaval of 31 October 2014 and this resulted in a semi-presidential republic which lasted from October 2014 to September 2015. On 17 September 2015 the provisional government was in turn toppled by an apparent military coup carried out by the Regiment of Presidential Security. On 24 September 2015, after pressure from the African Union, ECOWAS, and the forces, the military junta agreed to step down. Formerly called the Republic of Upper Volta, the country was renamed Burkina Faso on 4 August 1984 by then-President Thomas Sankara, the bé suffix added onto Burkina to form the demonym Burkinabé comes from the Fula language and means men or women. The northwestern part of todays Burkina Faso was populated by hunter-gatherers between 14,000 and 5000 BC and their tools, including scrapers, chisels and arrowheads, were discovered in 1973 through archeological excavations. Agricultural settlements were established between 3600 and 2600 BC, the Bura culture was an Iron-Age civilization centered in the southwest portion of modern-day Niger and in the southeast part of contemporary Burkina Faso. Iron industry, in smelting and forging for tools and weapons, had developed in Sub-Saharan Africa by 1200 BC, historians began to debate about the exact dates when Burkina Fasos many ethnic groups arrived to the area. During the Middle Ages the Mossi established several kingdoms including those of Tenkodogo, Yatenga, Zandoma. Sometime between 1328 and 1338 Mossi warriors raided Timbuktu but the Mossi were defeated by Sonni Ali of Songhai at the Battle of Kobi in Mali in 1483, during the early 16th century the Songhai conducted many slave raids into what is today Burkina Faso. During the 18th century the Gwiriko Empire was established at Bobo Dioulasso and ethnic groups such as the Dyan, Lobi, starting in the early 1890s a series of British, French and German military officers made attempts to claim parts of what is today Burkina Faso. At times these colonialists and their armies fought the local peoples, at times they forged alliances with them, the colonialist officers and their home governments also made treaties amongst themselves. Through a complex series of events what is Burkina Faso eventually became a French protectorate in 1896, the eastern and western regions, where a standoff against the forces of the powerful ruler Samori Ture complicated the situation, came under French occupation in 1897. By 1898, the majority of the corresponding to Burkina Faso was nominally conquered, however
Burkina Faso
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The cavalry of the
Mossi Kingdoms were experts at raiding deep into enemy territory, even against the formidable
Mali Empire.
Burkina Faso
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Flag
Burkina Faso
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Resistance to the French invasion at
Bobo-Dioulasso in 1892.
Burkina Faso
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The capital,
Ouagadougou, in 1930
15.
Algeria
–
Algeria, officially the Peoples Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a sovereign state in North Africa on the Mediterranean coast. Its capital and most populous city is Algiers, located in the far north. With an area of 2,381,741 square kilometres, Algeria is the tenth-largest country in the world, the country is a semi-presidential republic consisting of 48 provinces and 1,541 communes. Abdelaziz Bouteflika has been President since 1999, Berbers are the indigenous inhabitants of Algeria. Algeria is a regional and middle power, the North African country supplies large amounts of natural gas to Europe, and energy exports are the backbone of the economy. According to OPEC Algeria has the 16th largest oil reserves in the world, Sonatrach, the national oil company, is the largest company in Africa. Algeria has one of the largest militaries in Africa and the largest defence budget on the continent, most of Algerias weapons are imported from Russia, with whom they are a close ally. Algeria is a member of the African Union, the Arab League, OPEC, the countrys name derives from the city of Algiers. The citys name in turn derives from the Arabic al-Jazāir, a form of the older Jazāir Banī Mazghanna. In the region of Ain Hanech, early remnants of hominid occupation in North Africa were found, neanderthal tool makers produced hand axes in the Levalloisian and Mousterian styles similar to those in the Levant. Algeria was the site of the highest state of development of Middle Paleolithic Flake tool techniques, tools of this era, starting about 30,000 BC, are called Aterian. The earliest blade industries in North Africa are called Iberomaurusian and this industry appears to have spread throughout the coastal regions of the Maghreb between 15,000 and 10,000 BC. Neolithic civilization developed in the Saharan and Mediterranean Maghreb perhaps as early as 11,000 BC or as late as between 6000 and 2000 BC and this life, richly depicted in the Tassili nAjjer paintings, predominated in Algeria until the classical period. The amalgam of peoples of North Africa coalesced eventually into a native population that came to be called Berbers. These settlements served as market towns as well as anchorages, as Carthaginian power grew, its impact on the indigenous population increased dramatically. Berber civilization was already at a stage in which agriculture, manufacturing, trade, by the early 4th century BC, Berbers formed the single largest element of the Carthaginian army. In the Revolt of the Mercenaries, Berber soldiers rebelled from 241 to 238 BC after being unpaid following the defeat of Carthage in the First Punic War. They succeeded in obtaining control of much of Carthages North African territory, the Carthaginian state declined because of successive defeats by the Romans in the Punic Wars
Algeria
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Ancient
Roman Empire ruins of
Timgad. Street leading to the Arch of Trajan.
Algeria
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Flag
Algeria
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Ancient Roman theatre in Djémila
Algeria
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Numidia along with Egypt, Rome, and Carthage 200 BCE
16.
Niger
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Niger, officially the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. Niger is bordered by Libya to the northeast, Chad to the east, Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, and Algeria to the northwest. Niger covers a area of almost 1,270,000 km2, making it the largest country in West Africa. The countrys predominantly Islamic population of about 19 million is mostly clustered in the far south, the capital city is Niamey, located in the far-southwest corner of Niger. Niger is a country, and is consistently one of the lowest-ranked in the United Nations Human Development Index. Much of the portions of the country are threatened by periodic drought. The economy is concentrated around subsistence and some export agriculture clustered in the fertile south. Nigerien society reflects a diversity drawn from the long independent histories of its ethnic groups and regions. Historically, what is now Niger has been on the fringes of large states. Since independence, Nigeriens have lived under five constitutions and three periods of military rule, following a military coup in 2010, Niger has become a democratic, multi-party state. A majority live in areas, and have little access to advanced education. Early human settlement in Niger is evidenced by archaeological remains. In prehistoric times, the climate of the Sahara was wet and provided favorable conditions for agriculture, in 2005–06, a graveyard in the Tenere desert was discovered by Paul Sereno, a paleontologist from the University of Chicago. His team discovered 5, 000-year-old remains of a woman and two children in the Tenere Desert, the evidence along with remains of animals that do not typically live in desert are among the strongest evidence of the green Sahara in Niger. It is believed that progressive desertification around 5000 BCE pushed sedentary populations to the south and south-east. By at least the 5th century BCE, Niger became an area of trade, led by the Berber tribes from the north. This trade has made Agadez a pivotal place of the trans-Saharan trade and this mobility, which would continue in waves for several centuries, was accompanied with further migration to the south and interbreeding between southern black and northern white populations. It was also aided by the introduction of Islam to the region at the end of the 7th century, several empires and kingdoms also flourished during this era up to the beginning of colonization in Africa
Niger
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Ancient rock engraving showing herds of giraffe, ibex, and other animals in the southern Sahara near Tiguidit, Niger.
Niger
–
Flag
Niger
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Overlooking the town of
Zinder and the Sultan's Palace from the French fort (1906). The arrival of the French spelled a sudden end for precolonial states like the
Sultanate of Damagaram, which carried on only as ceremonial "chiefs" appointed by the colonial government.
Niger
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The
Kaouar escarpment, forming an oasis in the
Ténéré desert.
17.
Chad
–
Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east and it is the fifth largest country in Africa in terms of area. Chad has several regions, a zone in the north, an arid Sahelian belt in the centre. Lake Chad, after which the country is named, is the largest wetland in Chad, the capital NDjamena is the largest city. Chads official languages are Arabic and French, Chad is home to over 200 different ethnic and linguistic groups. The religions of Chad are Islam, followed by Christianity, beginning in the 7th millennium BC, human populations moved into the Chadian basin in great numbers. France conquered the territory by 1920 and incorporated it as part of French Equatorial Africa, in 1960, Chad obtained independence under the leadership of François Tombalbaye. Resentment towards his policies in the Muslim north culminated in the eruption of a civil war in 1965. In 1979 the rebels conquered the capital and put an end to the souths hegemony, however, the rebel commanders fought amongst themselves until Hissène Habré defeated his rivals. He was overthrown in 1990 by his general Idriss Déby, since 2003 the Darfur crisis in Sudan has spilt over the border and destabilised the nation, with hundreds of thousands of Sudanese refugees living in and around camps in eastern Chad. Unsustainable high birth rates and a lack of agriculture let the country persist in poverty, while many political parties are active, power lies firmly in the hands of President Déby and his political party, the Patriotic Salvation Movement. Chad remains plagued by violence and recurrent attempted coups détat. Chad is one of the poorest and most corrupt countries in the world, since 2003 crude oil has become the countrys primary source of export earnings, superseding the traditional cotton industry. In the 7th millennium BC, ecological conditions in the half of Chadian territory favored human settlement. Some of the most important African archaeological sites are found in Chad, mainly in the Borkou-Ennedi-Tibesti Region, for more than 2,000 years, the Chadian Basin has been inhabited by agricultural and sedentary people. The region became a crossroads of civilizations, the earliest of these were the legendary Sao, known from artifacts and oral histories. The Sao fell to the Kanem Empire, the first and longest-lasting of the empires that developed in Chads Sahelian strip by the end of the 1st millennium AD, two other states in the region, Baguirmi and Wadai Empire emerged in the 16th and 17th centuries. The power of Kanem and its successors was based on control of the trade routes that passed through the region
Chad
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Group of Kanem-Bu warriors. The
Kanem-Bornu Empire controlled almost all of what is today Chad.
Chad
–
Flag
Chad
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A Chadian soldier fighting for
Free France during
World War II. The Free French Forces included 15,000 soldiers from Chad.
Chad
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Chad is divided into three distinct zones, the
Sudanese savanna in the south, the
Sahara Desert in the north, and the
Sahelian belt in Chad's center.
18.
Sudan
–
Sudan, also known as North Sudan since South Sudans independence and officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northern Africa. It is the third largest country in Africa, the River Nile divides the country into eastern and western halves. Before the Sudanese Civil War, South Sudan was part of Sudan, Sudan was home to numerous ancient civilizations, such as the Kingdom of Kush, Kerma, Nobatia, Alodia, Makuria, Meroë and others, most of which flourished along the Nile. During the pre-dynastic period Nubia and Nagadan Upper Egypt were identical, by virtue of its proximity to Egypt, the Sudan participated in the wider history of the Near East inasmuch as it was Christianized by the 6th century, and Islamized in the 15th. As a result of Christianization, the Old Nubian language stands as the oldest recorded Nilo-Saharan language, Sudan was the largest country in Africa and the Arab world until 2011, when South Sudan separated into an independent country, following an independence referendum. Sudan is now the third largest country in Africa and also the third largest country in the Arab world and its capital is Khartoum, the political, cultural and commercial centre of the nation. It is a representative democratic federal republic. The politics of Sudan are regulated by an organization called the National Assembly. The Sudanese legal system is based on Islamic law, the countrys place name Sudan is a name given to a geographical region to the south of the Sahara, stretching from Western Africa to eastern Central Africa. The name derives from the Arabic bilād as-sūdān, or the lands of the Blacks, during the fifth millennium BC migrations from the drying Sahara brought neolithic people into the Nile Valley along with agriculture. The population that resulted from this cultural and genetic mixing developed social hierarchy over the centuries become the Kingdom of Kush at 1700 BC. The Kingdom of Kush was an ancient Nubian state centered on the confluences of the Blue Nile and White Nile, and the Atbarah River and it was established after the Bronze Age collapse and the disintegration of the New Kingdom of Egypt, centered at Napata in its early phase. After King Kashta invaded Egypt in the eighth century BC, the Kushite kings ruled as pharaohs of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt for a century before being defeated and driven out by the Assyrians. At the height of their glory, the Kushites conquered an empire that stretched from what is now known as South Kordofan all the way to the Sinai, pharaoh Piye attempted to expand the empire into the Near East, but was thwarted by the Assyrian king Sargon II. Sennacheribs successor Esarhaddon went further, and invaded Egypt itself, deposing Taharqa, Taharqa fled back to his homeland where he died two years later. Egypt became an Assyrian colony, however, king Tantamani, after succeeding Taharqa, Esarhaddon died while preparing to leave the Assyrian capital of Nineveh in order to eject him. However, his successor Ashurbanipal sent an army into southern Egypt and routed Tantamani. During Classical Antiquity, the Nubian capital was at Meroë, in ancient Greek geography, the Meroitic kingdom was known as Ethiopia
Sudan
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The large mud brick temple, known as the shrek or Western Deffufa, in the ancient city of
Kerma
Sudan
–
Flag
Sudan
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Nubian pyramids in
Meroë.
Sudan
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Ruins of
Old Dongola.
19.
South Sudan
–
South Sudan, officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in northeastern Africa that gained its independence from Sudan in 2011. Its current capital is Juba, which is also its largest city and it was planned that the capital city would be changed to the more centrally located Ramciel in the future before civil war broke out. It includes the vast swamp region of the Sudd, formed by the White Nile, following the First Sudanese Civil War, the Southern Sudan Autonomous Region was formed in 1972 and lasted until 1983. A second Sudanese civil war soon developed and ended with the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2005, later that year, southern autonomy was restored when an Autonomous Government of Southern Sudan was formed. South Sudan became an independent state on 9 July 2011, following a referendum passed with 98. 83% of the vote. It is a United Nations member state, a state of the African Union, of the East African Community. In July 2012, South Sudan signed the Geneva Conventions, South Sudan has suffered ethnic violence and has been in a civil war since 2013, as of 2016 it has the second highest score on the Fragile States Index. The Nilotic people of South Sudan—the Acholi, Anyuak, Bari, Dinka, Nuer, Shilluk, Kaligi, Zande, the Azande, Mundu, Avukaya and Baka, who entered South Sudan in the 16th century—established the regions largest state of Equatoria Region. The Dinka are the largest, Nuer the second largest and Azande are the third-largest ethnic group in South Sudan while the Bari are fourth-largest. They are found in the Maridi, Yambio, and Tombura districts in the tropical rainforest belt of Western Equatoria, in the 18th century, the Avungara sib rose to power over the rest of Azande society and this domination continued into the 20th century. The major reasons include the history of British policy preference toward developing the Arab north. After Sudans first independent elections in 1958, the ignoring of the south by Khartoum led to uprisings, revolt. As of 2012, peoples include Acholi, Anyuak, Azande, Baka, Balanda Bviri, Bari, Boya, Didinga, Dinka, Jiye, Kaligi, Kuku, Lotuka, Mundari, Murie, Nilotic, Nuer, Shilluk, Toposa and Zande. Slavery had been an institution of Sudanese life throughout history, the slave trade in the south intensified in the 19th century and continued after the British had suppressed slavery in much of sub-Saharan Africa. Annual Sudanese slave raids into non-Muslim territories resulted in the capture of thousands of southern Sudanese. In the 19th century, the Azande fought the French, the Belgians, Egypt, under the rule of Khedive Ismail Pasha, first attempted to control the region in the 1870s, establishing the province of Equatoria in the southern portion. Egypts first governor was Samuel Baker, commissioned in 1869, followed by Charles George Gordon in 1874, the Mahdist Revolt of the 1880s destabilized the nascent province, and Equatoria ceased to exist as an Egyptian outpost in 1889. Important settlements in Equatoria included Lado, Gondokoro, Dufile and Wadelai, european colonial maneuverings in the region came to a head in 1898, when the Fashoda Incident occurred at present-day Kodok, Britain and France almost went to war over the region
South Sudan
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John Garang de Mabior led the
Sudan People's Liberation Army until his death in 2005.
South Sudan
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Flag
South Sudan
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A South Sudanese girl at independence festivities
South Sudan
–
Salva Kiir Mayardit, the first President of South Sudan. His trademark
hat was a gift from United States President
George W. Bush.
20.
Eritrea
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Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. With its capital at Asmara, it is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, the northeastern and eastern parts of Eritrea have an extensive coastline along the Red Sea. The nation has an area of approximately 117,600 km2. Its toponym Eritrea is based on the Greek name for the Red Sea, Eritrea is a multi-ethnic country, with nine recognized ethnic groups in its population of around six million. Most residents speak languages from the Afroasiatic family, either of the Ethiopian Semitic languages or Cushitic branches, among these communities, the Tigrinya make up about 55% of the population, with the Tigre people constituting around 30% of inhabitants. In addition, there are a number of Nilo-Saharan-speaking Nilotic ethnic minorities, most people in the territory adhere to Christianity or Islam. In medieval times much of Eritrea fell under the Medri Bahri kingdom, the creation of modern-day Eritrea is a result of the incorporation of independent, distinct kingdoms and sultanates eventually resulting in the formation of Italian Eritrea. In 1947 Eritrea became part of a federation with Ethiopia, the Federation of Ethiopia, subsequent annexation into Ethiopia led to the Eritrean War of Independence, ending with Eritrean independence following a referendum in April 1993. Hostilities between Eritrea and Ethiopia persisted, leading to the Eritrean–Ethiopian War of 1998–2000 and further skirmishes with both Djibouti and Ethiopia, Eritrea is a one-party state in which national legislative elections have been repeatedly postponed. According to Human Rights Watch, the Eritrean governments human rights record is considered among the worst in the world, the Eritrean government has dismissed these allegations as politically motivated. The compulsory military service requires lengthy, indefinite conscription periods, which some Eritreans leave the country in order to avoid, since all local media is state-owned, Eritrea was also ranked as having the least press freedom in the global Press Freedom Index. Eritrea is a member of the African Union, the United Nations, and IGAD, during the Middle Ages, the Eritrea region was known as Medri Bahri. The name Eritrea is derived from the ancient Greek name for the Red Sea and it was first formally adopted in 1890, with the formation of Italian Eritrea. The territory became the Eritrea Governorate within Italian East Africa in 1936, Eritrea was annexed by Ethiopia in 1953 and an Eritrean Liberation Front formed in 1960. Eritrea gained independence following the 1993 referendum, and the name of the new state was defined as State of Eritrea in the 1997 constitution. At Buya in Eritrea, one of the oldest hominids representing a link between Homo erectus and an archaic Homo sapiens was found by Italian scientists. Dated to over 1 million years old, it is the oldest skeletal find of its kind, during the last interglacial period, the Red Sea coast of Eritrea was occupied by early anatomically modern humans. It is believed that the area was on the out of Africa that some scholars suggest was used by early humans to colonize the rest of the Old World
Eritrea
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Excavation of archaeological site outside of
Sembel.
Eritrea
–
Flag
Eritrea
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Pre-Axumite monolithic columns in
Qohaito.
Eritrea
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Map of the Kingdom of
D'mt in Eritrea and northern
Ethiopia, circa 400 BC.
21.
Cameroon
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Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Cameroons coastline lies on the Bight of Biafra, part of the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean. French and English are the languages of Cameroon. The country is referred to as Africa in miniature for its geological and cultural diversity. Natural features include beaches, deserts, mountains, rainforests, the country is well known for its native styles of music, particularly makossa and bikutsi, and for its successful national football team. Early inhabitants of the territory included the Sao civilisation around Lake Chad, portuguese explorers reached the coast in the 15th century and named the area Rio dos Camarões, which became Cameroon in English. Fulani soldiers founded the Adamawa Emirate in the north in the 19th century, Cameroon became a German colony in 1884 known as Kamerun. After World War I, the territory was divided between France and the United Kingdom as League of Nations mandates, the Union des Populations du Cameroun political party advocated independence, but was outlawed by France in the 1950s, leading to the Cameroonian Independence War. It waged war on French and UPC militant forces until 1971, in 1960, the French-administered part of Cameroon became independent as the Republic of Cameroun under President Ahmadou Ahidjo. The southern part of British Cameroons federated with it in 1961 to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon, the federation was abandoned in 1972. The country was renamed the United Republic of Cameroon in 1972, Cameroon enjoys relatively high political and social stability. This has permitted the development of agriculture, roads, railways, nevertheless, large numbers of Cameroonians live in poverty as subsistence farmers. Power lies firmly in the hands of the president since 1982, Paul Biya. The English-speaking territories of Cameroon have grown increasingly alienated from the government, politicians and civil society in English-speaking regions have called for greater decentralization and even complete separation or independence from the former French-governed territories. The territory of present-day Cameroon was first settled during the Neolithic Era, the longest continuous inhabitants are groups such as the Baka. From here, Bantu migrations into eastern, southern, and central Africa are believed to have originated about 2,000 years ago, the Sao culture arose around Lake Chad c. AD500 and gave way to the Kanem and its successor state, kingdoms, fondoms, and chiefdoms arose in the west. Portuguese sailors reached the coast in 1472 and they noted an abundance of the ghost shrimp Lepidophthalmus turneranus in the Wouri River and named it Rio dos Camarões, which became Cameroon in English
Cameroon
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Bamum script
Cameroon
–
Flag
Cameroon
–
Former president
Ahmadou Ahidjo ruled from 1960 until 1982.
Cameroon
–
A statue of a chief in
Bana, West Region.
22.
Central African Republic
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The Central African Republic is a landlocked country in Central Africa. The CAR covers a area of about 620,000 square kilometres and had an estimated population of around 4.7 million as of 2014. Most of the CAR consists of Sudano-Guinean savannas, but the country includes a Sahelo-Sudanian zone in the north. Two thirds of the country is within the Ubangi River basin, while the third lies in the basin of the Chari. Ange-Félix Patassé became president, but was removed by General François Bozizé in the 2003 coup. As of 2015, according to the Human Development Index, the country had the lowest level of human development and this Agricultural Revolution, combined with a Fish-stew Revolution, in which fishing began to take place, and the use of boats, allowed for the transportation of goods. Products were often moved in ceramic pots, which are the first known examples of artistic expression from the regions inhabitants, the Bouar Megaliths in the western region of the country indicate an advanced level of habitation dating back to the very late Neolithic Era. Ironworking arrived in the region around 1000 BC from both Bantu cultures in what is today Nigeria and from the Nile city of Meroë, the capital of the Kingdom of Kush. Bananas arrived in the region and added an important source of carbohydrates to the diet, production of copper, salt, dried fish, and textiles dominated the economic trade in the Central African region. During the 16th and 17th centuries slave traders began to raid the region as part of the expansion of the Saharan, in the mid 19th century, the Bobangi people became major slave traders and sold their captives to the Americas using the Ubangi river to reach the coast. During the 18th century Bandia-Nzakara peoples established the Bangassou Kingdom along the Ubangi River, in 1875 the Sudanese sultan Rabih az-Zubayr governed Upper-Oubangui, which included present-day CAR. The European penetration of Central African territory began in the late 19th century during the Scramble for Africa, Europeans, primarily the French, Germans, and Belgians, arrived in the area in 1885. France created Ubangi-Shari territory in 1894, in 1911 at the Treaty of Fez, France ceded a nearly 300,000 km² portion of the Sangha and Lobaye basins to the German Empire which ceded a smaller area to France. After World War I France again annexed the territory, in 1920 French Equatorial Africa was established and Ubangi-Shari was administered from Brazzaville. The concessionary companies forced local people to harvest rubber, coffee, between 1890, a year after the French first arrived, and 1940, about half of the population died as a result. New forms of forced labor were also introduced and a number of Ubangians were sent to work on the Congo-Ocean Railway. Many of these laborers died of exhaustion, illness, or the poor conditions which claimed between 20% and 25% of the 127,000 workers. In 1928, an insurrection, the Kongo-Wara rebellion or war of the hoe handle, broke out in Western Ubangi-Shari
Central African Republic
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Charles de Gaulle in Bangui, 1940.
Central African Republic
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Flag
Central African Republic
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Rebel militia in the northern countryside, 2007.
Central African Republic
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Eland armoured car of the Central African Multinational Force patrols the streets of Bangui in December 2013.
23.
Ethiopia
–
Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north and northeast, Djibouti and Somalia to the east, Sudan and South Sudan to the west, and Kenya to the south. With nearly 100 million inhabitants, Ethiopia is the most populous landlocked country in the world and it occupies a total area of 1,100,000 square kilometres, and its capital and largest city is Addis Ababa. Some of the oldest evidence for modern humans has been found in Ethiopia. It is widely considered as the region from modern humans first set out for the Middle East. According to linguists, the first Afroasiatic-speaking populations settled in the Horn region during the ensuing Neolithic era, tracing its roots to the 2nd millennium BC, Ethiopia was a monarchy for most of its history. During the first centuries AD, the Kingdom of Aksum maintained a unified civilization in the region, subsequently, many African nations adopted the colors of Ethiopias flag following their independence. It was the first independent African member of the 20th-century League of Nations, Ethiopias ancient Geez script, also known as Ethiopic, is one of the oldest alphabets still in use in the world. The Ethiopian calendar, which is seven years and three months behind the Gregorian calendar, co-exists alongside the Borana calendar. A slight majority of the population adheres to Christianity, while around a third follows Islam, the country is the site of the Migration to Abyssinia and the oldest Muslim settlement in Africa at Negash. A substantial population of Ethiopian Jews, known as Bete Israel, resided in Ethiopia until the 1980s, Ethiopia is a multilingual nation with around 80 ethnolinguistic groups, the four largest of which are the Oromiffa, Amhara, Somali, and Tigrayans. Most people in the country speak Afroasiatic languages of the Cushitic or Semitic branches, additionally, Omotic languages are spoken by ethnic minority groups inhabiting the southern regions. Nilo-Saharan languages are spoken by the nations Nilotic ethnic minorities. Ethiopia is the place of origin for the coffee bean which originated from the place called Kefa and it is a land of natural contrasts, with its vast fertile West, jungles, and numerous rivers, and the worlds hottest settlement of Dallol in its north. The Ethiopian Highlands are Africas largest continuous mountain ranges, and Sof Omar Caves contain Africas largest cave, Ethiopia has the most UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Africa. Ethiopia is one of the members of the UN, the Group of 24, the Non-Aligned Movement, G-77. In the 1970s and 1980s, Ethiopia suffered from civil wars, the country has begun to recover recently however, and now has the largest economy in East Africa and Central Africa. According to Global Fire Power, Ethiopia has the 42nd most powerful military in the world, the origin of the word Ethiopia is uncertain
Ethiopia
–
Coins of the
Axumite king
Endybis, 227–235 AD, at the
British Museum. The inscriptions in
Ancient Greek read "AΧWMITW BACIΛEYC" ("King of Axum") and "ΕΝΔΥΒΙC ΒΑCΙΛΕΥC" ("King Endybis").
Ethiopia
–
Flag
Ethiopia
–
Dawit II (Lebna Dengel),
Ethiopia (nəgusä nägäst) (Emperor) of Ethiopia and a member of the
Solomonic dynasty.
Ethiopia
–
King Fasilides' Castle.
24.
Sudan (region)
–
The Sudan is the name given to a geographic region to the south of the Sahara, stretching from Western to eastern Central Africa. The name derives from the Arabic bilād as-sūdān, or the lands of the Blacks, referring to West Africa, the Arabic name was translated as Negroland on older English maps. Historically, the name was understood to denote the western part of the Sahel region, the Sudan region extends in some 5,000 km in a band several hundred kilometers wide across Africa. It stretches from the border of Senegal, through southern Mali, Burkina Faso, southern Niger and northern Nigeria, southern Chad, the western Darfur region of present-day Sudan, and South Sudan. To the north of the lies the Sahel, a more arid Acacia savanna region that in turn borders the Sahara Desert further north. In the southwest lies the West Sudanian Savanna, a wetter, in the center is Lake Chad, and the more fertile region around the lake, while to the south of there are the highlands of Cameroon. To the southeast is the East Sudanian Savanna, another tropical savanna region and this gives way further east to the Sudd, an area of tropical wetland fed by the water of the White Nile. The people of the Sudan region share similar lifestyles, dictated by the geography of the region, the economy is largely pastoral, while sorghum and rice are cultivated in the southern parts of the region. Sub-Saharan Africa Sudanian Savanna East Sudanian Savanna West Sudanian Savanna Readers Digest, Atlas of the World, Rand-McNally ISBN 0-276-42001-2
Sudan (region)
–
Typical landscape of the Sudan region
25.
Guinea (region)
–
Guinea is a traditional name for the region of the West coast of Africa that lies along the Gulf of Guinea. It is a naturally moist tropical forest or savanna that stretches along the coast, the etymology of Guinea is uncertain. The term Guinea is extensively used in the 1453 chronicle of Gomes Eanes de Zurara, king John II of Portugal took up the title of Senhor da Guiné from 1483. It is believed the Portuguese borrowed Guineus from the Berber term Ghinawen meaning the burnt people, the Berber terms aginaw and Akal n-Iguinawen mean black and land of the blacks, respectively. A competing theory, first forwarded by Leo Africanus in 1526, claims that Guinea is derived from Djenné, Djenné dominated the gold and salt trade across West Africa, from the 11th century until the 13th century. It is during the period of Djenné dominance that the term Genewah really comes forward into usage in Arab sources, other theories try to connect Guinea to Ghana, but this is less certain. The Ghana Empire is named after the Medieval trading city of Ghanah mentioned already by 11th-century Arab geographers, conversely, it remains possible that both Ghana and Djenné themselves owe their original city names to the Berber appellation for the blacks that lived there. A possible reconciliation of the theories is that the Berber Ghinawen was the source of the Djenné, which in turn gave rise to the Arabic Genewah, historically, the Guinea region was one of the first parts of sub-Saharan Africa to trade with Europeans. In 1478, a Castilian armada of 35 caravels and a Portuguese fleet fought the battle of Guinea in the waters off Elmina, for the hegemony of the Guinea trade. The war ended both with a Portuguese naval victory and the recognition by the Catholic Monarchs of the Portuguese sovereignty over most of the African territories in dispute. This was the first colonial war among European powers, after the Portuguese and Castilians, came the Dutch, French and British. The extensive trade in ivory, gold, and slaves made the region wealthy and these were much smaller than the large states of the wide-open Sahel, but they had far higher population densities and were more centralized politically. The cohesion of these caused the region to show more resistance to European incursions than other areas of Africa. Such resistance, combined with an environment hostile to Europeans. Guinea is often subdivided into Lower Guinea and Upper Guinea, Lower Guinea is one of the most densely populated regions of Africa, covering southern Nigeria, Benin, Togo and stretching into Ghana. It includes the regions as well as the interior. Upper Guinea is far less populated and stretches from Côte dIvoire to Senegal. Within the Republic of Guinea, Lower Guinea refers to the coastal plain
Guinea (region)
–
"
Negroland and Guinea with the European Settlements",
Herman Moll, 1727.
26.
Bamako
–
Bamako is the capital and largest city of Mali, with a population of 1.8 million. In 2006, it was estimated to be the fastest growing city in Africa and it is located on the Niger River, near the rapids that divide the upper and middle Niger valleys in the southwestern part of the country. Bamako is the administrative center. The city proper is a cercle in its own right, bamakos river port is located in nearby Koulikoro, along with a major regional trade and conference center. Bamako is the seventh-largest West African urban center after Lagos, Abidjan, Kano, Ibadan, Dakar, locally manufactured goods include textiles, processed meat, and metal goods. Commercial fishing occurs on the Niger River, the name Bamako comes from the Bambara word meaning crocodile tail. The area of the city has evidence of settlements since the Palaeolithic era, the early inhabitants traded gold, ivory, kola nuts, and salt. By the 11th century, the Empire of Ghana became the first kingdom to dominate the area, Bamako had become a major market town, and a centre for Islamic scholars, with the establishment of two universities and numerous mosques in medieval times. The Mali Empire grew during the early Middle Ages and replaced Ghana as the dominant kingdom in west Africa, dominating Senegal, Gambia, Guinea, in the 14th century, the Mali Empire became increasingly wealthy because of the trade of cotton, gold and salt. By the late 19th century, the French dominated much of western Africa, and in 1883, present-day Mali became part of the colony of French Sudan, cotton and rice farming was encouraged through large irrigation projects and a new railroad connected Mali to Dakar on the Atlantic coast. Mali was annexed then into French West Africa, a federation which lasted from 1895 to 1959, Mali gained independence from France in April 1960, and the Republic of Mali was later established. At this time, Bamako had a population of around 160,000, during the 1960s, the country became socialist and Bamako was subject to Soviet investment and influence. However, the economy declined as state enterprises collapsed and unrest was widespread, eventually, Moussa Traoré led a successful coup and ruled Mali for 23 years. However his rule was characterised by severe droughts and poor government management, in the late 1980s the people of Bamako and Mali campaigned for a free-market economy and multiparty democracy. In 1990, the National Congress for Democratic Initiative was set up by the lawyer Mountaga Tall, and these with the Association des élèves et étudiants du Mali and the Association Malienne des Droits de lHomme aimed to oust Moussa Traoré. Under the old constitution, all unions had to belong to one confederation. When the leadership of the UNTM broke from the government in 1990, students, even children, played an increasing role in the protest marches in Bamako, and homes and businesses of those associated with the regime were ransacked by crowds. On 22 March 1991, a large-scale protest march in central Bamako was violently suppressed, four days later, a military coup deposed Traoré
Bamako
–
Bamako on the Niger River
Bamako
–
French Fort of Bammakou 1883
Bamako
–
Pont des Martyrs
Bamako
–
Taxi vans in Bamako
27.
Kayes
–
Kayes is a city in western Mali on the Sénégal River, with a population of 127,368 at the 2009 census. Kayes is the capital of the region of the same name. The name Kayes comes from the Soninké word karré, which describes a low humid place that floods in rainy season, the city is located 420 kilometres northwest of the capital Bamako. Prior to French colonial expansion, Kayes was a small village and its location on the path of the future Dakar-Niger Railway, and the French need for trade centers, led to the creation of the Kayes market town in 1881. It remains a hub, primarily for Senegalese trade, to this day. Kayes lies on the Route Nationale 1 highway and is 612 km by road from Bamako and 96 km from the border with Senegal. The town has an airport, and lies on the Dakar-Niger Railway which offered regional passenger train service to Bamako three times a week via Kati and Diamou as of 2013. The area is rich in gold and iron, the climate is subject to the West African Monsoon with all the rainfall occurring between June and October. There is almost no rainfall during the seven months of the year. The total annual rainfall is around 650 mm. Kayes is nicknamed the pressure cooker of Africa due to its extreme heat, the town has been described as the hottest continuously inhabited town in Africa. The average daily temperature in the city is 37 °C. Colonial history of Kayes, from Web Site of Dr. Jim Jones, African History Since 1875, view of Sénégal River Bridge at Kayes, Kidira Border Crossing into Mali, December 16,2004 by NKOverland
Kayes
–
Men cross a busy street in Kayes, 2006.
Kayes
–
Baobab tree.
28.
Adansonia digitata
–
Adansonia digitata is the most widespread of the Adansonia species, and is native to the African continent. The long-lived pachycauls are typically found in dry, hot savannahs of sub-Saharan Africa, where they dominate the landscape, and reveal the presence of a watercourse from afar. Their growth rate is determined by water or rainfall, and their maximum age. They have traditionally been valued as sources of food, water, health remedies or places of shelter and are steeped in legend, explorers of old were inclined to carve their names on baobabs, and many are defaced by modern graffiti. Common names for the baobab include dead-rat tree, monkey-bread tree, upside-down tree, the vernacular name baobab is derived from Arabic بو حِباب, which means father of many seeds. The scientific name Adansonia refers to the French explorer and botanist, Michel Adanson, when Théodore Monod searched the island in the 20th century, the tree was not to be found however. Adanson concluded that the baobab, of all the trees he studied, “is probably the most useful tree in all. ”He consumed baobab juice twice a day and he remained convinced that it maintained his health for him. Digitata refers to the digits of the hand, the baobabs compound leaves with normally five leaflets are akin to a hand. The trees usually grow as solitary individuals, and are large, some large individuals live to well over a thousand years of age. All baobab trees are deciduous, losing their leaves in the dry season and they can grow to between 5–25 m in height. They are in fact known both for their height and trunks girth, the trunk tends to be bottle-shaped and can reach a diameter of 10–14 m. The span of the roots actually exceed the height, a factor that enables it to survive in a dry climate. Many consider the tree to be due to the trunk likeness to a taproot. The trunk is smooth and shiny and can range from being reddish brown to grey, the branches are thick and wide and very stout compared to the trunk. During the early summer the tree bears very large, heavy and these are 12 cm across and open during the late afternoon to stay open for one night. The pendulous, showy flowers have a large number of stamens. They have a sweet scent but later emit a smell, especially when they turn brown. Researchers have shown that they appear to be pollinated by fruit bats of the subfamily Pteropodinae
Adansonia digitata
–
Adansonia digitata
Adansonia digitata
–
Specimen in Epupa gorge, Namibia-Angola border
Adansonia digitata
–
Each leaf comprises five leaflets.
Adansonia digitata
–
With full leaves in
Bagamoyo,
Tanzania
29.
Azawakh
–
The Azawakh is a sighthound livestock guardian breed of dog from West Africa. It is also used as a dog, though relegated to a secondary function due to the lack of game in the region. With ancient origins, it is raised throughout the Sahelian zone of Mali, Niger and this region includes the Azawagh Valley for which the breed is named. While commonly associated with the nomadic Tuareg people, they are bred and owned by other ethnic groups such as the Peulh, Bella. The Azawakh is more related to the Sloughi than it is to the Saluki, morphology is very similar to that of the Middle Eastern and South Indian sight hounds, all swift, high-bred coursing hounds, although there are several obvious differences. For example, a short, flat back combined with long legs place the hips higher than the withers, the Azawakh is almond eyed and thin. It moves with a distinctly feline gait and can be found in a variety of colors as well as varying degrees of refinement, the standards call for a hound from 33 to 55 pounds, its height is 24 to 29 inches. The coat is short and almost absent on the belly. Its bone structure shows clearly through the skin and musculature and its muscles are dry, meaning that they are quite flat, unlike the Greyhound and Whippet. In this respect it is similar in type to the Saluki, in Africa, Azawakh are found in a variety of colors such as red, blue fawn, grizzle, and, rarely, blue and black. The Azawakh in its native land also comes with white markings including Irish marked. Because of this color variation in the native population, the American standard used by the AKC and UKC allows any color combination found in Africa. In the United States, the FCI standard is modified to have no restrictions at a minimum. Colors permitted by the FCI breed standard are clear sand to dark fawn/brown, red and brindle, with white bib, tail tip, currently, white stockings that go above the elbow joint are considered disqualifying features in France, as is a white collar or half collar. The Azawakhs light, supple, lissome gait is a breed characteristic. Azawakhs are an incredibly sound coursing hound, the dogs heal very quickly from injury. Azawakh have no incidence of hip dysplasia. There is an occurrence of adult-onset idiopathic epilepsy in the breed
Azawakh
–
Typical Azawakh female
Azawakh
–
Azawakh
Azawakh
Azawakh
30.
Ecoregion
–
An ecoregion is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than an ecozone. All three of these are less or greater than an ecosystem. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, the biodiversity of flora, fauna and ecosystems that characterise an ecoregion tends to be distinct from that of other ecoregions. Three caveats are appropriate for all bio-geographic mapping approaches, firstly, no single bio-geographic framework is optimal for all taxa. Ecoregions reflect the best compromise for as many taxa as possible, secondly, ecoregion boundaries rarely form abrupt edges, rather, ecotones and mosaic habitats bound them. Thirdly, most ecoregions contain habitats that differ from their assigned biome, biogeographic provinces may originate due to various barriers. Some physical, some climatic and some ocean chemical related, the history of the term is somewhat vague as it was used in many contexts, forest classifications, biome classifications, biogeographic classifications, etc. The concept of ecoregion of Bailey gives more importance to ecological criteria, while the WWF concept gives more importance to biogeography, there is significant, but not absolute, spatial correlation among these characteristics, making the delineation of ecoregions an imperfect science. Such transition zones are called ecotones, Ecoregions can be categorized using an algorithmic approach or a holistic, “weight-of-evidence” approach where the importance of various factors may vary. An example of the approach is Robert Bailey’s work for the U. S. The intended purpose of ecoregion delineation may affect the method used, according to WWF, the boundaries of an ecoregion approximate the original extent of the natural communities prior to any major recent disruptions or changes. WWF has identified 867 terrestrial ecoregions, and approximately 450 freshwater ecoregions across the Earth, the use of the term ecoregion is an outgrowth of a surge of interest in ecosystems and their functioning. In particular, there is awareness of issues relating to spatial scale in the study and it is widely recognized that interlinked ecosystems combine to form a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. The Global 200 is the list of ecoregions identified by WWF as priorities for conservation, Terrestrial ecoregions are land ecoregions, as distinct from freshwater and marine ecoregions. In this context, terrestrial is used to mean of land, WWF ecologists currently divide the land surface of the Earth into 8 major ecozones containing 867 smaller terrestrial ecoregions. The WWF effort is a synthesis of previous efforts to define. Many consider this classification to be decisive, and some propose these as stable borders for bioregional democracy initiatives. The eight terrestrial ecozones follow the major floral and faunal boundaries, identified by botanists and zoologists, ecozone boundaries generally follow continental boundaries, or major barriers to plant and animal distribution, like the Himalayas and the Sahara
Ecoregion
–
A map location of the
Amazon rainforest ecoregions. The yellow line encloses the ecoregions per the World Wide Fund for Nature.
Ecoregion
–
A map of North America's Bioregions
Ecoregion
–
The
Ötztal Alps, a
mountain range in the central
Alps of
Europe, are part of the
Central Eastern Alps, and can both be termed as ecoregions.
Ecoregion
–
A conifer forest in the
Swiss Alps (
National Park).
31.
Savanna
–
A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland grassland ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to support a herbaceous layer consisting primarily of grasses. Savannas maintain an open canopy despite a high tree density and it is often believed that savannas feature widely spaced, scattered trees. However, in savannas, tree densities are higher and trees are more regularly spaced than in forests. Savanna covers approximately 20% of the Earths land area, the word originally entered English in 1555 as the Latin Zauana, equivalent in the orthography of the times to zavana. Peter Martyr reported it as the name for the plain around Comagre. The accounts are inexact, but this is placed in present-day Madugandí or at points on the nearby Guna Yala coast opposite Ustupo or on Point Mosquitos. These areas are now given over to modern cropland or jungle. The common usage meaning to describe vegetation now conflicts with a simplified yet widespread climatic concept meaning, the divergence has sometimes caused areas such as extensive savannas north and south of the Congo and Amazon Rivers to be excluded from mapped savanna categories. Barrens has been used almost interchangeably with savanna in different parts of North America, sometimes midwestern savanna were described as grassland with trees. Different authors have defined the limits of savanna tree coverage as 5–10%. Two factors common to all environments are rainfall variations from year to year. In the Americas, e. g. in Belize, Central America, savanna vegetation is similar from Mexico to South America, savannas are subject to regular wildfires and the ecosystem appears to be the result of human use of fire. For example, Native Americans created the Pre-Columbian savannas of North America by periodically burning where fire-resistant plants were the dominant species, pine barrens in scattered locations from New Jersey to coastal New England are remnants of these savannas. Aboriginal burning appears to have responsible for the widespread occurrence of savanna in tropical Australia and New Guinea. The maquis shrub savannas of the Mediterranean region were created and maintained by anthropogenic fire. These fires are usually confined to the layer and do little long term damage to mature trees. However, these either kill or suppress tree seedlings, thus preventing the establishment of a continuous tree canopy which would prevent further grass growth
Savanna
–
Typical tropical savanna in Northern
Australia demonstrating the high tree density and regular spacing characteristic of many savannas.
Savanna
–
Prescribed burn; Wisconsin
bur oak savanna
Savanna
–
Oak savanna,
United States
Savanna
–
Acacia savanna,
Taita Hills Wildlife Sanctuary,
Kenya.
32.
Steppe
–
In South Africa they are referred to as Veld. The prairie is an example of a steppe, though it is not usually called such and it may be semi-desert, or covered with grass or shrubs or both, depending on the season and latitude. The term is used to denote the climate encountered in regions too dry to support a forest. The soil is typically of chernozem type, steppes are usually characterized by a semi-arid and continental climate. Extremes can be recorded in the summer of up to 45 °C and in winter, besides this huge difference between summer and winter, the differences between day and night are also very great. In the highlands of Mongolia,30 °C can be reached during the day with sub-zero °C readings at night, the mid-latitude steppes can be summarized by hot summers and cold winters, averaging 250–510 mm of precipitation per year. Precipitation level alone is not what defines a steppe climate, potential evapotranspiration must also be taken into account, the Eurasian Grass-Steppe of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands had a role in the spread of the horse, the wheel, and the Indo-European languages. The Indo-European expansion and diverse invasions of horse archer civilizations of the steppe eventually led to, the Pannonian Plain is another steppe region in eastern Europe, primarily Hungary. Another large steppe area is located in the central United States, western Canada, the shortgrass prairie steppe is the westernmost part of the Great Plains region. The Channeled Scablands in Southern British Columbia and Washington State is an example of a region in North America outside of the Great Plains. In South America, cold steppe can be found in Patagonia, relatively small steppe areas can be found in the interior of the South Island of New Zealand. In Asia, a subtropical steppe can be found in semi-arid lands that fringe the Thar Desert of the Indian subcontinent, in Australia, subtropical steppe can be found in a belt surrounding the most severe deserts of the continent and around the Musgrave Ranges. Ecology and Conservation of Steppe-land Birds by Manuel B. Morales, Santi Mañosa, Jordi Camprodón, international Symposium on Ecology and Conservation of steppe-land birds
Steppe
–
The
Eurasian Steppe Belt (in red on the map), a path of passage for cultures - a possible origin for the
Indo-European languages, the
domesticated horse, and the
wheel and
chariot.
Steppe
–
Steppe in
Ukraine
Steppe
–
Steppe in
Kazakhstan
Steppe
–
Steppe in
Mongolia
33.
Cenchrus biflorus
–
Cenchrus biflorus is a species of annual grass in the Poaceae family. In the francophone countries of the Sahel, it is referred to as cram-cram. Cenchrus biflorus is a grass of the Poaceae family with culms between 4-90 cm high and spikelets that are 1-3 per bur and 3.6 to 6 mm long. Seeds dispersal is through the attachment of burs to passing cars, animals, the burs of the plant can be harmful to animals because it adheres to animal skin and may cause ulcers in mouths of animals. It is common in the Sahel savannas of Africa, south of the Sahara, according to a botanical criteria of geographer Robert Capot-Rey, the northern limit of Cenchrus biflorus defines the southern boundary of the Sahara. It is also found in India, where the seeds are used in Rajasthan and its Marwar region to make bread, a traditional food plant in Africa, this little-known grain has potential to improve nutrition, boost food security, foster rural development and support sustainable landcare. Cenchrus biflorus in West African plants – A Photo Guide
Cenchrus biflorus
–
Cenchrus biflorus
34.
Aristida
–
Aristida is a very nearly cosmopolitan genus of plants in the grass family. Aristida is distinguished by having three awns on each lemma of each floret, the genus includes about 300 species found worldwide, often in arid warm regions. This genus is among those colloquially called three-awns wiregrasses, speargrasses and needlegrasses, Aristida stems are ascending to erect, with both basal and cauline leaves. The leaves may be flat or inrolled, and the leaves may be tufted. The inflorescences may be either panicle-like or raceme-like, with spiky branches, the glumes of a spikelet are narrow lanceolate, usually without any awns, while the lemmas are hard, three-veined, and have the three awns near the tip. The awns may be long, in A. purpurea var. longiseta they may be up to 10 cm. They are characteristic of semiarid grassland, the Wiregrass Region of North America is named for A. stricta. Local increases in the abundance of wiregrasses is an indicator of overgrazing. Aristida adscensionis L. Aristida anaclasta Aristida basiramea – fork-tipped three-awn, Aristida beyrichiana Aristida burkei – bohlanya-ba-pere Aristida californica Aristida calycina R. Br. – Shinners three-awn, poverty grass Aristida divaricata Aristida granitica Aristida guayllabambensis Aristida hygrometrica R. Br, Aristida junciformis Aristida longespica – slim-spiked three-awn Aristida longespica var. geniculata – red three-awn Aristida longespica var. longespica Aristida mutabilis Aristida oligantha Michx. – prairie three-awn Aristida pallens Cav, the Jepson Manual - Higher Plants of California, 1234-1235
Aristida
–
wiregrass speargrass needlegrass kerosene grass
Aristida
–
purple three-awn (Aristida purpurea) flowers
Aristida
–
pineland three-awn (A. stricta) flowers
35.
Acacia
–
Acacia, commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs, lianas and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australia, controversy erupted in the early 2000s when it became evident that the genus as it stood was not monophyletic, and that several divergent lineages needed to be placed in separate genera. It turned out that one lineage comprising over 900 species mainly native to Australia was not closely related to the mainly African lineage that contained A. nilotica—the first and this meant that the Australian lineage would need to be renamed. Botanist Les Pedley named this group Racosperma, which was inconsistently adopted and this was officially adopted, but many botanists from Africa and elsewhere disagreed that this was necessary. A number of species have been introduced to parts of the world. The heterogeneous group varies considerably in habit, from mat-like subshrubs to canopy trees in forest, the genus was first described from Africa by C. F. P. von Martius in 1829. Several hundred combinations in Acacia were published by Pedley in 2003, the genus of 981 species, Acacia s. l. in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae is monophyletic. All but 10 of its species are native to Australia, where it constitutes the largest plant genus, following a controversial decision to choose a new type for Acacia in 2005, the Australian component of Acacia s. l. now retains the name Acacia. At the 2011 International Botanical Congress held in Melbourne, the decision to use the name Acacia, other Acacia s. l. taxa continue to be called Acacia by those who choose to consider the entire group as one genus. Australian species of the genus Paraserianthes s. l. are deemed its closest relatives, the origin of wattle may be an Old Teutonic word meaning to weave. From around 700 A. D. watul was used in Old English to refer to the branches and sticks which formed fences, walls. Since about 1810 it refers to the Australian legumes that provide these branches, acacias in Australia probably evolved their fire resistance about 20 million years ago when fossilised charcoal deposits show a large increase, indicating that fire was a factor even then. With no major mountain ranges or rivers to prevent their spread and they began to form dry, open forests with species of the genera Casuarina, Eucalyptus and Callitris. The southernmost species in the genus are Acacia dealbata, Acacia longifolia, Acacia mearnsii and they are present in all terrestrial habitats, including alpine settings, rainforests, woodlands, grasslands, coastal dunes and deserts. In drier woodlands or forest they are an important component of the understory, elsewhere they may be dominant, as in the Brigalow Belt, Myall woodlands and the eremaean Mulga woodlands. Several of its species bear vertically oriented phyllodes, which are green, broadened leaf petioles that function like leaf blades, some phyllodinous species have a colourful aril on the seed. A few species have rather than leaves. Aborigines of Australia have traditionally harvested the seeds of species, to be ground into flour
Acacia
–
Acacia
Acacia
36.
Acacia tortilis
–
Vachellia tortilis tends to grow in areas where temperatures vary from 0 to 50 degree Celsius and rainfall is anywhere from about 100–1,000 mm per year. In extremely arid conditions, it may occur as a small and it grows up to 21 m in height. The tree carries leaves that grow to approx,2.5 cm in length with between 4 and 10 pair of pinnae each with up to 15 pairs of leaflets. Flowers are small and white, highly aromatic, and occur in tight clusters, seeds are produced in pods which are flat and coiled into a springlike structure. The plant is known to tolerate high alkalinity, drought, high temperatures, sandy & stony soils, strongly sloped rooting surfaces, also, plants older than 2 years have been observed to be somewhat frost resistant. Timber from the tree is used for furniture, wagon wheels, fence posts, cages, vachellia wood was also used exclusively by the Israelites in the Old Testament in the building of the tabernacle and the tabernacle furniture, including the Ark of the Covenant. The pods and foliage, which grow prolifically on the tree, are used as fodder for grazing animals. The bark is used as a string medium in Tanganyika. Gum from the tree is edible and can be used as Gum Arabic, parts of the tree including roots, shoots, and pods are also often used by natives for a vast number of purposes including decorations, weapons, tools, and medicines. Spread over such an area inhabited by diverse cultures, the V. tortilis is known by a wide number of common names. Vachellia tortilis Acacia tortilis in West African plants – A Photo Guide, vachellia tortilis Israel wildflowers and native plants
Acacia tortilis
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Vachellia tortilis
Acacia tortilis
Acacia tortilis
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V. tortilis has a combination of paired straight and paired hooked thorns, from which the Afrikaans name derives, meaning "hook and prick".
Acacia tortilis
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V. tortilis in northern Tanzania
37.
Acacia senegal
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Acacia senegal is a small thorny deciduous tree from the genus Acacia, which is known by several common names, including Gum acacia, Gum arabic tree, Senegal gum and Sudan gum arabic. In parts of India, it is known as Kher or Khor and it is native to semi-desert regions of Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as Oman, Pakistan, west coastal India. It grows to a height of 5-12 m, with a trunk up to 30 cm in diameter. A. senegal is the source of the worlds highest quality gum arabic, known locally as hashab gum in contrast to the related, but inferior, gum arabic from Red acacia or talah gum. The tree is of economic importance for the gum arabic it produces which is used as a food additive, in crafts. The gum is drained from cuts in the bark, and a tree will yield 200 to 300 grams. Eighty percent of the gum arabic is produced in Sudan. The Chauhatan area of Barmer district in Rajasthan is also famous for gum production, new foliage is very useful as forage. Leaves and pods of A. senegal are browsed by domestic, dried seeds are used as food by humans. Like other legume species, A. senegal fixes nitrogen within Rhizobia or nitrogen-fixing bacteria living in root nodules and this nitrogen fixation enriches the poor soils where it is grown, allowing for the rotation of other crops in naturally nutrient-poor regions. Roots near the surface of the ground are quite useful in making all kinds of very strong ropes, the tree bark is also used to make rope. The wood of A. senegal can be used to make handles for tools and it is also valued as firewood and can be used to produce charcoal. A. senegal contains hentriacontane, a solid, long-chain alkane hydrocarbon, the leave also contain the psychoactive alkaloid dimethyltryptamine. List of Acacia species known to contain psychoactive alkaloids List of psychoactive plants Van Wyk, ISBN 0-88192-743-0 Acacia senegal Photos Acacia senegal in West African plants – A Photo Guide
Acacia senegal
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This Gum Acacia tree was photographed at Taljai hill, Pune
Acacia senegal
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Gum Arabic Tree
38.
Acacia laeta
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Senegalia laeta, the gay acacia or daga, is a legume found in the family Fabaceae. It was formerly included in the genus Acacia, Senegalia laeta is a perennial shrub or small tree growing to a height of 4-10m with a greyish-green bark looking blackish from a distance, with a pink slash. These leaves distinguish Senegalia laeta from the sympatric species such as Senegalia dudgeoni, Senegalia senegal, Senegalia gourmaensis. The thorns are paired and consist of recurved axillary prickles, with an occasional a third prickle recurved forward, the flowers are creamy white and very fragrant, with three flowers set on a stalk with multiple stalks growing on a spike. The pale brown leathery pods are pointed, whereas those of Seneglia senegal are not, Senegalia laeta is native to Africa, including the Sahara as far south as Tanzania, the Middle East, and Western Asia. Parts of the tree are used for dyestuff, The tree is used for fodder, the foliage and seed pods make good forage for livestock and the tree stands up well to this use. It produces a gum which is used to make gum arabic but is not as good quality as the gum Arabic extracted from Senegalia senegal. It is harvested at the end of the season when the gum is exuded from the bark and branches and collected by scraping. It is drought tolerant and has been planted in reafforestation programmes. Formerly included in the genus Acacia it has now been reassigned with many African species of acacia to the genus Senegalia, the specific name laeta is the feminine of laetus and means joyful, cheerful, happy in Latin. Senegalia laeta in West African plants – A Photo Guide
Acacia laeta
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Senegalia laeta
39.
Commiphora africana
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On sandy soils this species sometimes forms pure stands, deserving consideration as a plant community or association. Closely related to C. glandulosa, C. africana is usually some 5m tall and its bark is grey-green, peeling to reveal a shiny surface, red when damaged, and then exuding bdellion, a clear, edible, aromatic gum. The leaves are trifoliate with a terminal leaflet and two small side leaflets, bluntly toothed, and, as with most Commiphoras, pleasantly aromatic when crushed. The trees fruits are edible while the succulent, sweet roots are chewed by humans. This tree is sensitive to atmospheric humidity and will expand its leaf buds at the first hint of moisture-laden winds. Consequently it is the first tree to come into leaf with the arrival of the wet season, in the Sahel this striking fresh appearance is shared only by Salvadora persica. The leaves, though, survive only as long as the moist air lasts, C. africana takes advantage of any wet spells to complete a leafing, flowering and fruiting cycle, and retreats into dormancy over unfavourable periods. Even so its foliage displays none of the features associated with drought-adapted plants. Herdsmen of the northern Sahel follow the patterns and the C. africana trees as they come into leaf. This species is the food plant of the beetle Diamphidia. C. africana is particularly suitable as a live hedge, the soft, termite-resistant wood is used for carving domestic utensils, music instruments and general purpose items. An edible oil is extracted and parts of the tree exhibit strong fungicidal properties. The bark is rich in flavonoids, tannins, anthraquinone, cardiac glycosides, triterpenoids, saponins, alkaloids, studies of a hydro-ethanolic extract from the bark have revealed a potent anti-convulsant. Commiphora africana in West African plants – A Photo Guide
Commiphora africana
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Commiphora africana
40.
Balanites aegyptiaca
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Balanites aegyptiaca is a species of tree, classified either as a member of the Zygophyllaceae or the Balanitaceae. This tree is native to much of Africa and parts of the Middle East, there are many common names for this plant. In Hausa it is called aduwa, in Swahili mchunju and in Amharic bedena, Balanites aegyptiaca is found in the Sahel-Savannah region across Africa. It can be found in many kinds of habitat, tolerating a wide variety of types, from sand to heavy clay. It is relatively tolerant of flooding, livestock activity, and wildfire, the Balanites aegyptiaca tree reaches 10 m in height with a generally narrow form. The branches have long, straight green spines arranged in spirals, the dark green compound leaves grow out of the base of the spines and are made up of two leaflets which are variable in size and shape. The fluted trunk has grayish-brown, ragged bark with yellow-green patches where it is shed, the inflorescence consists of bunches of a few flowers which are either sessile or are borne on short stalks. The flower buds are ovoid and covered in a short tomentose pubescence, the individual flowers are greenish-yellow in colour, hermaphroditic with five petals in radial symmetry and are 8–14 millimetres in diameter. The pedicel of the inflorescence is greyish in colour, downy and usually less than 10 mm in length, although 15 mm has been recorded in Zambia, the carpenter ant Camponotus sericeus feeds on the nectar exuded by the flowers. The larva of the cabbage tree emperor moth Bunaea alcinoe causes defoliation of the tree, Balanites aegyptiaca has been cultivated in Egypt for more than 4000 years, and stones placed in the tombs as votive offerings have been found as far back as the Twelfth Dynasty. The tree was figured and described in 1592 by Prosper Alpinus under the name agihalid, Linnaeus regarded it as a species of Ximenia, but Adanson proposed the new genus of Agialid. The genus Balanites was founded in 1813 by Delile, the yellow, single-seeded fruit is edible, but bitter. The tree is considered valuable in arid regions because it produces fruit even in dry times, the fruit can be fermented for alcoholic beverages. The seed cake remaining after the oil is extracted is used as animal fodder in Africa. The seeds of the Balanites aegyptiaca have molluscicide effect on Biomphalaria pfeifferi, where the species coexist, African elephants consume the desert date. Desert date fruit is mixed into porridge and eaten by nursing mothers, existing worm infections are likewise treated with desert date, as are liver and spleen disorders. A decoction of the bark are used as an Abortifacient. The seed contains 30-48% fixed oil, like the leaves, fruit pulp, bark and roots, saponins likewise occur in the roots, bark wood and fruit
Balanites aegyptiaca
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Balanites aegyptiaca
Balanites aegyptiaca
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Balanites aegyptiaca -
MHNT
41.
Faidherbia albida
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Faidherbia is a genus of leguminous plants containing one species, Faidherbia albida, native to Africa and the Middle East. The species was formerly included in the genus Acacia as Acacia albida. It has also introduced to Pakistan and India. Common names for it include apple-ring acacia, ana tree, balanzan tree and it is a thorny tree growing up 6–30 m tall and 2 m in trunk diameter. Its deep-penetrating tap root makes it resistant to drought. The bark is grey, and fissured when old, Faidherbia albida is not listed as being a threatened species. It grows in areas with 250–600 mm of rain per year, faiderbia albida is known in the Bambara language as balanzan and is the official tree of the city of Segou on the Niger River in central Mali. According to legend, Segou is home to 4,444 balanzan trees, in Serer and some of the Cangin languages, it is called Saas. Saas figures prominently in the myth of the Serer people. According to their myth, it is the tree of life. The northernmost natural populations are found in relict groves in Israel, all of the trees in a given grove are genetically identical and seem to have multiplied by vegetative reproduction only, for thousands of years. Faidherbia albida is important in the Sahel for raising bees, since its flowers provide bee forage at the close of the rainy season, when most other local plants do not. The wood is used for canoes, mortars, and pestles, the wood has a density of about 560 kg/m3 at a water content of 12%. The energy value of the wood as fuel is 19.741 kJ/kg, ashes of the wood are used in making soap and as a depilatory and tanning agent for hides. The wood is used for carving, the thorny branches useful for a natural barbed fence, pods and foliage are highly regarded as livestock fodder. Some 90% of Senegalese farmers interviewed by Felker collected, stored, zimbabweans use the pods to stupefy fish. Humans eat the seeds in times of scarcity in Zimbabwe. It is also used for fixation, erosion control for crops, for food, drink
Faidherbia albida
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Faidherbia albida
Faidherbia albida
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Faidherbia albida -
MHNT
42.
Boscia senegalensis
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Boscia senegalensis, or hanza, is a member of the family Capparaceae. The plant originated from West Africa, still a traditional food plant in Africa, this little-known fruit has potential to improve nutrition, boost food security, foster rural development and support sustainable landcare. B. senegalensis is a woody plant species of the Boscia genus in the caper family. This plant is classified as a dicot, native to the Sahel region in Africa, this evergreen shrub can grow anywhere from 2 to 4 m in height under favourable conditions. The leaves of the plant are small and leathery, reaching 12 cm ×4 cm. B. senegalensis produces fruits, clustered in small bunches, in the form of spherical berries. These fruits contain 1–4 seeds, which are a greenish hue when mature, B. senegalensis is recognized as a potential solution to hunger and a buffer against famine in the Sahel region due to the variety of useful products it yields. It produces products for consumption, household needs, and medicinal and agricultural uses, other common names include, aizen, mukheit, hanza, bere, ngigili, and mandiarha. The fruits are known as dilo, bokkhelli, gigile. B. senegalensis is a species, native to the Sahel region in Africa. It has not yet been domesticated and it currently grows in, Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan, and Togo. Ethnobotanical indigenous knowledge contributes to the importance of plant to the Hausa peoples of Niger. During the famine of 1984–1985, it was reported that B. senegalensis was the most widely consumed food in both Sudan and Darfur, relied on by over 94% of people in northern Darfur. B. senegalensis grows in altitudes of 60–1,450 m and it can be found growing in marginal soils, rocky, lateritic, clay stony hills, sand dunes, and sand-clay plains. These characteristics make it a resilient species, able to grow without expensive inputs even in the extremely hot. Herein lies its significance for poor farmers – in times of drought and famine. B. senegalensis can benefit farmers because it keeps soil from laying bare and it also buffers against wind, stabilizes sand dunes, offers shade to surrounding plants and cycles nutrients. In Niger, the trees are cut or burned down by farmers in the dry season. However, due to the strong surviving character of the tree, it reappears after the first rains, fruits are ready for human consumption at the beginning of the rainy season, when most crops are just being planted, and there is little other food available
Boscia senegalensis
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Boscia senegalensis
Boscia senegalensis
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Boscia senegalensis - Occurrence in field
Boscia senegalensis
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Hanza bread, cookies and cooked hanza, Zinder, Republic of Niger
43.
Panicum turgidum
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Panicum turgidum is an old world clumping desert bunchgrass of the Panicum genus. It is a plant of arid regions across Africa and Asia, Panicum turgidum is a perennial bunchgrass, growing in dense bushes up to 1 metre tall. The stems are long-jointed, hard and polished, with few leaves, side shoots branch out at the nodes, and the stems bend over and root when the nodes get buried. The inflorescence is a panicle up to 10 cm long with solitary spikelets some 3 to 4 mm long. The roots are covered in hairs to which sand adheres creating a felted appearance. This is a drought- and salt-tolerant species, and used for flour, fodder, thatch, other common names include guinchi and du-ghasi. It grows on dunes in hot, dry climates. In the Nigerien Sahara, tussocks of Panicum turgidum act as a nurse plants for tree regeneration and they have been shown facilitating the regeneration of Acacia tortilis subsp. Raddiana by protecting seedlings from drought and domestic herbivory, accordingly, transplanting seedlings of Saharan trees inside Panicum’s tussocks may promote substantially reforestation in degraded areas on a long-term scale. The leaves and shoots of grass are palatable to livestock. Board on Science and Technology for International Development, Office of International Affairs, lost Crops of Africa, Volume I, Grains. The National Academies of Science, United States, anthelme, F. R. Michalet, and M. Saadou. Positive associations involving the tussock grass Panicum turgidum Forssk. in the Aïr-Ténéré Reserve, cS1 maint, Multiple names, authors list Williams, J. T. Farias, R. M. Utilisation and taxonomy of the desert grass Panicum turgidum. Clayton, W. D. Harman, K. T. and Williamson, investigations on the feeding and migration behavior of the Desert Locust Schistocerca gregaria depending on the vegetation of Mauritania. Project Integrated Biological Control of Grasshoppers and Locusts, deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit GmbH. Fabien Anthelmea, Maman Waziri Matob, Dimitri de Boissieua, Franck Giazzi, DÉGRADATION DES RESSOURCES VÉGÉTALES AU CONTACT DES ACTIVITÉS HUMAINES ET PERSPECTIVES DE CONSERVATION DANS LE MASSIF DE LAÏR. Dressler, S. Schmidt, M. & Zizka, G. Panicum turgidum, african plants – a Photo Guide
Panicum turgidum
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Panicum turgidum
44.
Scimitar oryx
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The scimitar oryx or scimitar-horned oryx, also known as the Sahara oryx, is a species of Oryx once widespread across North Africa which went extinct in the wild in 2000. It has a long history since its discovery in 1816 by Lorenz Oken. This spiral-horned antelope stands a little more than 1 metre at the shoulder, the males weigh 140–210 kg and the females weigh 91–140 kg. The coat is white with a red-brown chest and black markings on the forehead, the calves are born with a yellow coat, and the distinguishing marks are initially absent. The coats change to adult coloration at 3–12 months old, the scimitar oryx formed herds of mixed sexes of up to 70 members, usually guided by the bulls. They inhabited semideserts and deserts and were adapted to live in the heat, with their efficient cooling mechanism. Scimitar oryx feed on foliage, grasses, succulent plants and plant parts during the night or early morning, births peak between March and October. After a gestation of eight to nine months, one calf is born, soon after, the female has a postpartum estrus. The scimitar oryx was once widespread across northern Africa and its decline began as a result of climate change, and later it was hunted extensively for its horns. Today, it is bred in captivity in special reserves in Tunisia, Morocco and Senegal, in 2016 a reintroduction program was launched and currently a small herd has been successfully reintroduced in Chad. The scimitar oryx was domesticated in Ancient Egypt and is believed to have used as food. Wealthy people in Ancient Rome also bred them, the use of their valuable hides began in the Middle Ages. The unicorn myth may have originated from sightings of a scimitar oryx with a broken horn, the scimitar oryx is a member of the genus Oryx and family Bovidae. The German naturalist Lorenz Oken first described it in 1816, naming it Oryx algazel. The nomenclature has undergone various changes since then, with the introduction of names like Oryx tao, O. leucoryx, O. damma, O. dammah, O. bezoarticus, in 1826, Philipp Jakob Cretzschmar used the name Oryx ammah for the species. A year later, the name Orys leucoryx came into use, but as this was a synonym of the Arabian oryx, it was abandoned, over a hundred years later, in 1951, Sir John Ellerman and Terence Morrison-Scott realized the invalidity of the name Oryx algazel. Finally, in January 1956, the International Trust for Zoological Nomenclature accepted Oryx dammah as the scientific name, there have been no more changes since then, though many papers published after 1956 created confusion by using names like O. gazella tao. Its scientific name, Oryx dammah, is derived from, Ancient Greek ὄρυξ, meaning a gazelle or antelope, Latin damma, the scimitar oryx is named for its horns, which resemble scimitars
Scimitar oryx
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Scimitar oryx
Scimitar oryx
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Scimitar oryx in the Werribee Open Range Zoo, Victoria, Australia
Scimitar oryx
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Captive Scimitar oryx grazing in a paddock
Scimitar oryx
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A group of scimitar oryx at
Marwell Zoo in Hampshire,
Great Britain
45.
Dama gazelle
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The dama gazelle, addra gazelle, or mhorr gazelle is a species of gazelle. It lives in Africa in the Sahara desert and the Sahel and this critically endangered species has disappeared from most of its former range due to overhunting and habitat loss, and natural populations only remain in Chad, Mali, and Niger. Its habitat includes grassland, shrubland, semi-deserts, open savanna and their diets includes grasses, leaves, shoots, and fruit. In Niger, the dama has become a national symbol, under the Hausa name meyna or ménas the dama appears on the badge of the Niger national football team, who are popularly called the Ménas. The dama gazelle is white with a head and neck. Both sexes usually have medium-length ringed horns curved like an S. Males horns are about 35 cm long, the gazelles heads are small with narrow muzzles, their eyes are relatively large, and they have longer necks and legs than most gazelles. These animals are between 90 and 120 cm tall at the shoulder, weigh between 35 and 75 kg, and have lifespans up to 12 years in the wild or 18 in captivity. A few days following birth, dama young are strong enough to follow the herd and they also tend to need more water than some of their desert relatives, but they can withstand fairly long periods of drought. Unlike many other mammals, damas are a diurnal species. Always on the alert, damas use a behavior called pronking to warn members of danger. Pronking involves the animal hopping up and down all four of their legs stiff, so their limbs all leave. Males also establish territories, and during breeding season, they actively exclude other mature males and they mark their territories with urine and dung piles and secretions from glands near their eyes. The dama gazelle is generally divided into three based on the colour of the animals back, flanks and haunches. These three subspecies occupied three blocks running along the east–west axis of the gazelles range, the easternmost is the N. dama ruficollis whose historical range was to the east of 15°E. The westernmost is the N. dama mhorr whose historical range was to the west of 7°E, between the two was the historical range of the N. dama dama. Genetic studies have raised questions over the validity of these subspecies, N. d. N. d. dama is not represented in captivity and very rare in the wild. N. d. ruficollis, the gazelle, is present in captive breeding programs in Europe, North America and the Middle East. The numbers of species in the wild have fallen by 80% over the last decade
Dama gazelle
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Dama gazelle
Dama gazelle
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Addra gazelles, part of the breeding program at the
National Zoo in Washington, DC
Dama gazelle
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Zoo, Budapest
Dama gazelle
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Zoo, Rotterdam
46.
Dorcas gazelle
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The dorcas gazelle, also known as the ariel gazelle, is a small and common gazelle. The dorcas gazelle stands about 55–65 cm at the shoulder, with a head and body length of 90–110 cm, the numerous subspecies survive on vegetation in grassland, steppe, wadis, mountain desert and in semidesert climates of Africa and Arabia. About 35,000 -40,000 exist in the wild, the extinct Saudi gazelle from the Arabian Peninsula has been previously considered as a subspecies of the dorcas gazelle. The scientific name of the gazelle is Gazella dorcas. It is a member of the genus Gazella and the family Bovidae, the species was first described by Swedish zoologist Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of Systema Naturae in 1758. Dorcas gazelles have longer ears and more strongly curved horns, which bow outwards then turn inwards and forwards at the tips, individuals belonging to the Saharan subspecies have very pale, fawn-colored coats. The white underside is bordered with a stripe, above which is a sandy stripe. The forehead and face are darker than the body, subspecies from north of the Sahara tend to be more ochre in color, and have dark flanks and facial stripes. Populations in Israel and around the Red Sea are darker and more reddish, in the last century, the populations of dorcas gazelle were partially destroyed in all the countries where it was found. Currently, large populations of dorcas gazelles are found in the Negev and the Arava, with large populations in Sudan, Iraq. In Israel, only 1000-1500 gazelles remain and they are able to withstand high temperatures, but when it is very hot, they are active mainly from dusk to dawn. In areas where they face human predation, they tend to be only at night to minimise the risk of falling prey to hunters. These gazelles feed on leaves, flowers, and pods of many species of trees, as well as the leaves, twigs. They occasionally stand on their legs to browse from trees. When conditions are harsh, dorcas gazelles live in pairs, but when conditions are favorable, they join together in family herds with one adult male, several females. During the breeding season, adult males tend to be territorial, in most parts of their range, mating takes place from September to November. Gestation takes six months, a single fawn is typical, although twins have been reported in Algeria, the newborn is well developed at birth, with fur and open eyes. Within the first hour, the attempts to stand
Dorcas gazelle
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Dorcas gazelle
Dorcas gazelle
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Dorcas gazelles
47.
Red-fronted gazelle
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The red-fronted gazelle, a species of gazelle, is widely but unevenly distributed across the middle of Africa from Senegal to northeastern Ethiopia. It is mainly resident in the Sahel zone, a narrow band south of the Sahara. One authority considers the Thomsons gazelle, of East Africa, a subspecies of red-fronted gazelle, the red-fronted gazelle was formerly considered a member of the genus Gazella within the subgenus Eudorcas before Eudorcas was elevated to generic status. The scientific name of the gazelle is Eudorcas rufifrons. It was first described by British zoologist John Edward Gray and it has a light red-brown color around its whole body, except for its white undersides and rumps. It has a thin black band that runs from the elbow to the stifle. It also has a tufted tail. The characteristics of the red-fronted gazelle were determined by Waza National Park, the body length, horn length, head length, body weight, body colour, and tail length were measured from the carcases of 141 red-fronted gazelles. The red-fronted gazelle is native to Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and it occupies habitats such as semi-arid grasslands, savannahs, savannah woodlands, and areas of scrub. It is able to adapt to extensive pastureland and abandoned agricultural land if there is some cover and it moves seasonally between different habitats. The threats faced by the red-fronted gazelle include illegal hunting, habitat degradation and competition with domestic livestock, overgrazing of its habitat by livestock drives it elsewhere as does clearance of land for farming. Substantial populations have now dwindled to scattered remnant populations across most of its range, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as vulnerable. Data related to Eudorcas rufifrons at Wikispecies
Red-fronted gazelle
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Red-fronted gazelle
48.
Pelorovis
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Recent detailed anatomical and morphometric studies come to the conclusion that Pelorovis is probably not monophyletic. According to these findings, the forms of the genus are close relatives. In contrast, the late Pleistocene form seems to be a relative of the modern African buffalo. Pelorovis resembled an African buffalo, although it was larger and possessed longer, Pelorovis probably weighed about 1,200 kilograms, with the largest males attaining 2,000 kilograms. This ranks it as one of the largest bovines, and indeed ruminants ever to have lived, rivaling the extinct American long-horned bison, the bony cores of the horns were each about 1 metre long, when covered with keratin they could have been up to twice this length. The horns pointed away from the head, each forming a circle in the species Pelorovis oldowayensis and Pelorovis turkanensis. The horns of Pelorovis antiquus were also magnificent but resembled in shape more those of the Water buffalo, P. antiquus was even placed in the genus Bubalus by early specialists. Pelorovis oldowayensis was broadly the same size as modern African buffalo, but its legs were longer, Pelorovis antiquus was about the same size, but it was more robust. Pelorovis antiquus disappeared around 12,000 years ago from southern and eastern Africa, fossil and archaeological evidence indicates that this species lived in North Africa until 4,000 years ago. Pelorovis oldowaywensis occurred in sub-Saharan Africa and disappeared 800,000 years ago, the best fossils of Pelorovis oldowayensis are known from the Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, a complete skeleton of Pelorovis antiquus was found near Djelfa in Algeria
Pelorovis
Pelorovis
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P. oldowayensis skull
Pelorovis
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Pelorovis antiquus, P. turkanensis & P. oldowayensis (from left to right)
Pelorovis
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Cave art of "great bubaline" from Libya, thought by some to depict P. antiquus
49.
Bubal hartebeest
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The bubal hartebeest, also known as bubal antelope or simply bubal is the extinct nominal subspecies of hartebeest, that was formerly found north of the Saharan Desert. Other subspecies live currently in grasslands south of the Sahara, from Senegal in the west to Eritrea and Ethiopia in the east, the red hartebeest and Lichtensteins hartebeest, alternatively considered subspecies or sister species of the common hartebeest, are present in southern Africa. In this case the subspecies was similar to the plain colored Lelwel hartebeest, lacking white or black facial markings such as present in the western hartebeest. It measured 43 inches at the shoulder and the horns were U shaped when seen from the front, like other hartebeests, the bubal was a social animal. Luis del Mármol Carvajal wrote that herds of 100 to 200 animals could be seen in northern Morocco in 1573, according to 19th century writers, the bubal hartebeest preferred rocky areas with a fair amount of vegetation, in contrast to the sandy and drier habitat of the Addax. Its main predator was the also extinct Barbary lion, the bubal hartebeest ranged originally across Africa north of the Sahara, from Morocco to Egypt, where it disappeared earlier. It was also present with certainty in the Southern Levant prior to the Iron Age, while Harper mentions none too well substantiated recent historical records from Israel and even Arabia. The northern limit of the bubal hartebeests range was the Mediterranean coast, as for the southern limits of its distribution, wild oxen are mentioned living in the Tassili mountains of the central Sahara in 1850. However, the identity of these last animals is debatable, even if they were indeed hartebeest, they might not belong to the northern subspecies. The subspecies declined sharply during the course of the 19th century, especially after the French conquest of Algeria, by 1867 it could only be found in the mountain ranges of north-western Africa that are near or within the Saharian desert. It disappeared from the Tunisian Atlas in 1870, and the last animal in this country was shot in 1902 near Tataouine. Outside of this instance, the bubal seems to have entered the 20th century restricted to the Western Atlas, from Boulemane in Morocco to the south of the Wahran department in Algeria. The last known herd, numbering only 15 animals, was located near Outat El Haj, Morocco in 1917, the last animal in Morocco was shot in Missour in 1925. It probably disappeared around the time in Algeria. One last specimen is mentioned as having been collected in the 1920s near Geryville, in addition, it was said by scientists that there may be a few left after being reported that someone in Morocco in 2013 thought to see this Hartebeest eating off a tree. The bubal hartebeest was protected under the London Convention of 1933, the last captive bubal, a female, died in Paris in 1923. The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia received another female in 1905 from the Zoological Society of Philadelphia and this is possibly the only bubal preserved in the United States of America. Remains of bubal hartebeests have been found in several Egyptian archaeological sites such as Abadiyeh, Saqqara and Karanis, the last one dating to the early Middle Ages
Bubal hartebeest
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Bubal hartebeest
Bubal hartebeest
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Hartebeest species, 1 (middle) is the bubal hartebeest
Bubal hartebeest
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1837 illustration
50.
African wild dog
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The African wild dog, also known as African hunting dog, African painted dog, Cape hunting dog or painted wolf, is a canid native to Sub-Saharan Africa. It is classified as endangered by the IUCN, as it has disappeared from much of its original range, the current population has been estimated at roughly 39 subpopulations containing 6,600 adults, only 1,400 of which are fully grown. The decline of populations is ongoing, due to habitat fragmentation, human persecution. The African wild dog is a social animal, living in packs with separate dominance hierarchies for males and females. Uniquely among social carnivores, it is the rather than the males that scatter from the natal pack once sexually mature. The species is a diurnal hunter of antelopes, which it catches by chasing them to exhaustion. Like other canids, it regurgitates food for its young, but this action is also extended to adults and it has few natural predators, though lions are a major source of mortality, and spotted hyenas are frequent kleptoparasites. The earliest possible reference to the species comes from Oppian, who wrote of the thoa. Solinuss Collectanea rerum memorabilium from the 3rd century AD describes a multicoloured wolf-like animal with a native to Ethiopia. The species was first described scientifically in 1820 by Coenraad Temminck and he named the animal Hyaena picta, erroneously classifying it as a species of hyena. It was later recognised as a canid by Joshua Brookes in 1827, the root word of Lycaon is the Greek λυκαίος, meaning wolf-like. The specific epithet pictus, which derived from the original picta, was returned to it. The English language has several names for Lycaon pictus, including painted lycaon, African wild dog, Cape hunting dog, and painted dog or painted wolf. The latter name is being promoted by some conservationists as a way of rebranding the species, Nevertheless, the name African wild dog is still widely used. The evolution of the African wild dog was once poorly understood, one proposed ancestral genus was Xenocyon, which lived throughout Eurasia, from Germany to Japan, as well as in Africa from the Early Pleistocene to the early Middle Pleistocene. The species X. falconeri shared the African wild dogs absent first metacarpal, L. sekowei had not yet lost the first metacarpal absent in L. pictus, and was more robust than the modern species, having 10% larger teeth. Wang and Tedford proposed that in Eurasia during the Middle Pleistocene, C. falconeri gave rise to the hypercarnivore genus Xenocyon, just before the appearance of C. dirus, North America was invaded by genus Xenocyon that was as large as C. dirus and more hypercarnivorous. The fossil record shows them as rare and it is assumed that they could not compete with the newly derived C. dirus
African wild dog
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African wild dog
African wild dog
African wild dog
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Dutch zoologist Coenraad Temminck was the first person to give Lycaon pictus a
binomial name, though he mistakenly classed it as a
hyena.
African wild dog
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Fossil of
Lycaon sekowei, a possible ancestor of the modern L. pictus.
