Sand boa (Eryx jayakari ) Hardly ever seen, but present in all the sand deserts of the United Arab Emirates, is the sand boa (Eryx jayakari ). A nocturnal member of the Boidae family, it lives almost ...

Pelagic Fish At the entrance to the Arabian Gulf, the constriction and resultant strong currents of the Straits of Hormuz, undoubtedly influence the distribution of many species, including some of the...

Baluchistan Gerbil   Another gerbil that is widespread in the area, and occupies similar habitats, is the Baluchistan gerbil (Gerbillus nanus ). It is much darker in colour, greyish-brown with small w...

Cheesman’s gerbil Cheesman’s gerbil (Gerbillus cheesmani ) is also widespread in the Emirates and has many similarities with the lesser jerboa. Although it is smaller than the latter and i...

Egyptian Spiny Mouse A typical mountain dweller in the UAE is the Egyptian spiny mouse (Acomys cahirinus ). It was first recorded here in 1995, during the same survey that confirmed the presence of th...

Jirds The largest rodents in the UAE are the jirds. They are represented by two species that are very difficult to separate from each other, the Libyan jird (Meriones libycus ) and Sundevall’s j...

Bats Several insectivorous species of bats, as well as one fruit-eating bat, occur in the UAE. The most common insect-eating bats are the mouse-tailed bat (Rhinopoma muscatellum ) and the sheath-taile...

Hedgehogs Hedgehogs are represented by three species in the UAE, the largest and most common being Brandt’s hedgehog (Paraechinus hypomelas ). It has an overall dark to black appearance with onl...

Hare Absent from the mountains but otherwise widespread in the United Arab Emirates is the hare (Lepus capensis ). Adapted to the harsh environment, the local hare is much smaller than its European co...

Arabian Wildcat The Arabian wildcat (Felis silvestris gordoni ) is found in the mountains, on the gravel plains, as well as in the sand deserts of the northern Emirates but it is probably absent from ...