Deserts and xeric shrublands form the largest terrestrial biome, covering about 19 percent of Earth's land surface, and receive on average less than 250 millimeters of rain a year with evaporation that outpaces rainfall. The biome is defined by woody-stemmed shrubs and other plants adapted to minimize water loss, ranging from the scorching Sahara to the cold-winter Gobi, with sharp swings between hot days and cold nights because of the lack of humidity and cloud cover. Its sparse, drought-resistant vegetation and ephemeral habitats support animal life equally adapted to extremes and to seasonal water availability.
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Climate
Annual Precipitation (mm)Ecoregions of this habitat type usually receive less than 250mm of rain annually except at their margins; 200mm is a representative figure below that ceiling, not a single measured site. Typical High Temperature (C)45C is the daytime summer high Wikipedia gives for hot deserts generally (Sahara-type); this biome also covers cold deserts such as the Gobi, which never approach this heat, see the paired low figure cited to a separate source. Xeric Shrubland
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Source Aardwolf (Wikipedia)
Source Wikipedia: African Bullfrog
Source African sheath-tailed bat (Wikipedia)
Source Araucaria goroensis (Wikipedia)
Source Wikipedia: Asian golden cat
Source Brachypelma boehmei (Wikipedia)
Source Budgerigar (Wikipedia)
Source Macaca fascicularis (Wikipedia)
Source Crotalus scutulatus salvini (Wikipedia)
Source Dapidodigma hymen (Wikipedia)
Source Gila Monster (Wikipedia)
Source Great tit (Wikipedia)
Source Wikipedia: Jumping spider
Source Mexican spiny pocket mouse (Wikipedia)
Source Red Kangaroo (Wikipedia)
Source Helix pomatia, Wikipedia
Source Stripe-faced dunnart (Wikipedia)
Source Tecoma stans (Wikipedia)
Source Tiger beetle - Wikipedia
Source Turkey Vulture (Wikipedia)
Source White-vented Violetear (Wikipedia)
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1. Xeric Shrubland (Wikipedia)
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Ecoregions in this habitat type vary greatly in the amount of annual rainfall they receive, usually less than 250 millimetres (10 in) annually except in the margins.
View the Source 2. Desert (Wikipedia)
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In hot deserts, the temperature during daytime can exceed 45 °C (113 °F) in summer and plunge below freezing point at night during winter.
View the Source Turkey Vulture (Wikipedia)
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Crotalus scutulatus salvini is found in mostly arid scrub habitat, as well as adjacent grassland and foothills, from the State of Hidalgo, south through Tlaxcala and Puebla, to southwestern Veracruz, Mexico.
View the Source Red Kangaroo (Wikipedia)
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Its range encompasses scrubland, grassland, and desert habitats.
View the Source Budgerigar (Wikipedia)
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Budgerigars are found in open habitats, primarily in scrublands, open woodlands, and grasslands of Australia.
View the Source Gila Monster (Wikipedia)
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They inhabit scrubland, succulent desert, and oak woodland, seeking shelter in burrows, thickets, and under rocks in locations with a favorable microclimate and adequate humidity.
View the Source Aardwolf (Wikipedia)
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The aardwolf lives in the shrublands of Eastern and Southern Africa, open lands covered with stunted trees and shrubs.
View the Source Macaca fascicularis (Wikipedia)
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It lives in a wide variety of habitats, including primary lowland rainforests, disturbed and secondary rainforests, shrubland, and riverine and coastal forests of nipa palm and mangrove.
View the Source Wikipedia: Jumping spider
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Tropical forests harbor the most species, but they are also found in temperate forests, scrubland, deserts, intertidal zones, and mountainous regions.
View the Source Helix pomatia, Wikipedia
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In Central Europe, it occurs in forests and shrubland, as well as in various synanthropic habitats.
View the Source Tiger beetle - Wikipedia
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As visual hunters, tiger beetles tend to hunt in open, relatively flat habitats, such as sand bars, woodland paths, and barren ground scrubland.
View the Source Wikipedia: African Bullfrog
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The natural habitat of the African bullfrog is moist to dry savanna, subtropical to tropical dry shrubland, intermittent freshwater lakes, intermittent freshwater marshes, arable land, pastureland, canals, and flooded ditches.
View the Source Wikipedia: Asian golden cat
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The species is highly adaptable to a variety of forested environments such as tropical and subtropical moist evergreen forests, mixed deciduous forests, and occasionally more open habitats like bamboo thickets and shrublands.
View the Source Wikipedia: Cat
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Feral cats can live in forests, grasslands, tundra, coastal areas, agricultural land, scrublands, urban areas, and wetlands.
View the Source Wolf (Wikipedia)
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Wolves live in forests, inland wetlands, shrublands, grasslands (including Arctic tundra), pastures, deserts, and rocky peaks on mountains.
View the Source Araucaria goroensis (Wikipedia)
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Its habitat is maquis shrubland from 150 m (500 ft) to 550 m (1,800 ft) altitude.
View the Source Great tit (Wikipedia)
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Riverine woodlands of willows, poplars are among the habitats of the Turkestan subspecies, as well as low scrubland, oases; at higher altitudes it occupies habitats ranging from dense deciduous and coniferous forests to open areas with scattered trees.
View the Source Brachypelma boehmei (Wikipedia)
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These long-lived tarantulas prefer burrowing and hiding in dry scrubland.
View the Source African sheath-tailed bat (Wikipedia)
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Its natural habitats are dry savanna, subsaharic shrubland, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, caves, and hot deserts.
View the Source Dapidodigma hymen (Wikipedia)
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The habitat consists of forests and scrubland.
View the Source Stripe-faced dunnart (Wikipedia)
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The species also inhabits a range of habitats, mainly within arid regions, occurring in low shrublands containing saltbush (Atriplex spp.) and bluebush (Maireana spp.), in spinifex grasslands on sandy soils, among sparse Acacia shrublands, in tussock grasslands on clay, sandy or stony soils, on open salt lakes, and on low, shrubby, rocky ridges.
View the Source Mexican spiny pocket mouse (Wikipedia)
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It is found in dry shrubland at altitudes of up to 3,000 metres (9,800 ft).
View the Source White-vented Violetear (Wikipedia)
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It inhabits a variety of semi-open landscapes including scrublands, savanna, grassland, and gardens and parks.
View the Source Tecoma stans (Wikipedia)
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It thrives in a wide variety of ecosystems, from high altitude temperate forests and tropical deciduous and evergreen forests, to xerophilous scrub and the intertropical littoral.
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