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Animals of the Sonoran Desert
3 images of development
- residential areas which infringe upon the habitat of Desert
Big Horn Sheep on the border of the USFS wilderness area in
the Catalina Mountains, Tucson, Arizona.
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The Sonoran Desert has the richest diversity of
species type and forms of plants and animals of all the world's
deserts. The range of geomorphological features and subregions
combined with bimodal rainfall, proximity to tropical regions
and diverse microclimate provide conditions for well over 3000
different plant species. This diversity in plants provides habitat
for an even greater richness in animal life. Animals of the Sonoran
Desert include many thousand species of invertebrates, such as
the 1200 different species of bees found near Tucson; more than
500 species of birds that are endemic migrate through or nest
in the region; as well as more than 550 vertebrate species including
fish, reptiles and amphibians, mammals, and birds like roadrunners
and Gambel quail.
In recent years, however, concern over the loss
of species and genetic diversity in the Sonoran Desert has increased
dramatically.
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