Persian Fallow Deer
Photo by Jiri Prochazka/Shutterstock

Being located in the world arid and semi-arid belt on the one hand and having the properties of African, South Asian, Central Asian and European climates on the other hand led to the genesis of various species in wildlife of Iran.

Mammals

Up to now, more than 197 species of mammals have been identified in Iran which can be classified into 10 orders and 37 families. The order of rodents with 58 species are the most populated species of mammals in wildlife of Iran. A few salient species of Iranian mammals are Tupaia minor, Megabats,  Caspian seal, Black bear, Lynx, Caracal, Cheetah, Leopard, Red deer, Persian fallow deer, Roe deer, Persian onager and Porcupines.

Iran Wildlife
Infographic by Farzaneh Abangar

Birds

Birds are the biggest animal species in Iran and there are approximately 540 species of birds in Iran. The birds are classified into 22 orders and 78 families. As approximately three-quarters of Iran is covered with arid and semi-arid lands, the largest population of Iran’s birds inhabit in these areas and the most significant species of these areas are Cream-colored Courser, Bustard, Pleske’s ground jay, Spotted sandgrouse, Alaemon alaudipes and Trumpeter Finch. Almost half of the Iran’s birds are migratory and use the waterbody of Iran as their winter habitat or temporary resorts while migrating from one place to another. Annually, millions of birds migrate from north to south and from east to west of Iran.

Reptiles

With 225 species (77 species of snakes, 136 species of lizards, 10 species of turtles and crocodiles and amphisbaenia – each having one specie), the reptiles of Iran can be considered as the biggest group of vertebrates. Although Iran constitutes 3% of Asia area, it is the habitat of only 10% of the whole reptiles in this continent. From among them, more than 40 species of reptiles are in Iran. Marsh crocodile and hawksbill sea turtle are the most famous ones.

Amphibians

There are 27 species and subspecies of different amphibians including frogs, toads and salamanders and Kaiser’s spotted newt and Persian brook salamander are the most well-known species.

Fish

There are 160 species of fish in internal waters of Iran which can be grouped into 29 families. With respect to area and variety of aquatic ecosystems of Iran, fish are divided into three main categories including the fish of Caspian Sea, fish of internal waters and fish of Persian Gulf and Oman Sea. In the group of internal waters, the Cyprinidae is the dominant family with 31 genera and 74 species.

Insects

In this category, about 4 million samples have been collected out of which 25 thousands of them have been identified and named. Butterflies are the most considerable category of the insects in Iran.

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Hawksbill Sea Turtle, Iran
Photo by blue-sea.cz / Shutterstock

Hawksbill sea turtle is a kind of marine turtle in Persian Gulf but its different beak and diet which is based on eating sea sponge make it the most unusual type of marine turtle.

Its head is similar to that of birds of prey. Its beak is like the beak of eagle to pull its principal food i.e. sea sponge out of corals and hence it is called hawksbill sea turtle.

Non-hatching Eggs of Hawksbill Sea Turtle on Beach Sand
Photo by Kleber Cordeiro / Shutterstock

The adult turtle has an oval carapace which has a very beautiful combination of colors including golden and dark brown and red, black and orange streaks. The underneath of its body has a light color.

Baby Turtles (Hawksbill Sea Turtle) Popped Out of the Sand and Waddled Toward the Ocean
Photo by Abdul Razak Latif / Shutterstock

Spring is the season of nesting among this species. Building a nest and laying egg happen during 14-16 days. Nesting usually happens at nights. The female turtle lays its eggs in a hole near the beach and then goes back to the sea. After about two months, the baby turtles hatch at night and instinctively crawl into the sea. If baby turtles do not reach the water by daybreak, they will be preyed upon by hunters like birds and crabs. They will be mature after 20 years and due to having a hard carapace, only a very limited hunters like saltwater crocodile, shark and octopus are capable of preying these turtles.

The habitat of these turtles can be seen in Nakhiloo and Ommolkorm islands in Bushehr province and Qeshm, Kish, Shidvar, Hendorabi, Hengam and Hormoz islands in Hormozgan province.

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Fritillaria Imperialis – Iran Phytogeography
Photo by Farid Sani / Shutterstock

There are various plant species in Iran due to having vast area and different climatic conditions. Geophytographically, Iran is divided into three huge vegetative regions including Europe- Siberia, Irani- Toorani and Sahara- Sind. Besides, it is geographically divided into four regions of Khazari (Caspian), Zagros, Irani- Toorani and the shore of Persian Gulf.

Khazari Region

it includes the plain lands of the coasts of Caspian Sea and some mountainous parts of Alborz which is covered with large-leaf jungles and mountainous meadows. Being away from the frost period, here you can see the species which no longer exist in other countries from among them it can be pointed out to Quercus Castaneifolia, Parrotia Persica, Populus Caspica, Gledistcha Capsica and Taxus Baccata. There is a unique and intersting species in this region which is called Lilium ledebouri, it is grown very limitedly in Rudbar region and is under protection, it has been registered nationally as well.

Avicennia marina (Harra Forest) – Iran Phytogeography
Photo by Sama.GH / Shutterstock

Zagros Region

this region is known with its oak forests. It is covered with snow during the winter because of having cold weather conditions. The main plants of this region are Quercus Brantii, Fraxinus Rotundifolia, Acer Monspessulanum and Crataeguas Spp. But the most gorgeous plant of this region which annually attracts many tourists is called Fritillaria Imperialis. The main feature of this plant is the short time of its flowering.

Irani- Toorani Region

it is divided into two parts in terms of height: the plain part which is from mountains of Khorasan to Zagros Mountain and then reaches Persian Gulf and Oman Sea. The vegetation of this region is Artemisia. The mountainous part of the region includes the southern slopes of Alborz, the eastern hillside of Zagros and the mountains of Iranian Plateau. The commonest species are Onobrychis, Acanthophyllum, Astragalus, Calligonum Persicum, Ungernia Flava, Berberia Khorasanica and Pteropryum Aucheri.

The Shore of Persian Gulf and Oman Sea

it includes the coastal parts of south of Iran and is covered with date palm, Acacia and Jujube and Avicennia marina (Harra Forest). The vegetation in northern parts of Persian Gulf shore and Oman Sea is variable. In the parts with the highest raining amount, Medicago, Gramineae and Leguminocae are grown and around Oman Sea, Nannorhops, Acacia Ehrenbergian, Rhzya Dtricta, Prosopis Cineraria and T.stricta are mostly seen. One of the most famous plants of this region is Zhumeria which is in danger of extinction because of wasteful harvest, this plant has numerous medicinal and therapeutic properties.

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Iran is the 17th biggest country of the world with 1,648,195 km2 of area. It is located in the North and East Hemispheres, in Middle East. Geographic wise, it is a mountainous country with its mountains divided to four main categories. First, there is the Northern Mountains that include Azerbaijan, Alborz, and Khorasan, the Western Mountains, better known as Zagros, the Central Mountains, and at last the Eastern Mountains.

The northern mountains of Iran start from the border of Iran and Turkey and after passing through Azerbaijan and Caspian Sea Shore reaches Hindukush Mountains in Afghanistan. In the creation of these mountains, the sedimentary, volcanic and magmatic activities were influential. The highest part of the mountain is the Damavand mountain with a summit almost 6-thousand-meter high. The mountain has come to be the symbol of Iranian nationality and strength where according to the myths Arash went and threw a bow to determine the borders of Iran and pulled the bowstring so much that the pressure of it led to his death. The next mountain is Khorasan that is attached to the Hindukush in Afghanistan, and its width reaches 200 km in some parts. The western mountains of Iran or the Zagros Mountain starts from where the Azerbaijan Mountains are located and continues to the southeast near the Mukran mountains. The Eastern Mountains start from Khorasan in north and continue to the south near Baluchistan. The central mountains of Iran are the vast range that start from Kashan and Continues to the Baluchistan central mountains. The mountains of this mountain range are divided to Qahroud and Banan that are attached.

Geographic wise, Iran is a mountainous country with its mountains divided to four main categories. First, there is the Northern Mountains that include Azerbaijan, Alborz, and Khorasan, the Western Mountains, better known as Zagros, the Central Mountains, and at last the Eastern Mountains.

Deserts

Iran is a country of many mountains. As it was explained, the country is surrounded by mountains from all sides and that effects the atmosphere and climate of Iran Greatly, especially in creation of central deserts of Iran. The mountains act as a barrier that does not allow mist to enter the center of Iran creating deserts. This arid area in Iran is divided to the northern desert or Namak and the southern desert or Lout. The Lout desert in the southeast of Iran in about 80 thousand square meter. This desert is Iran’s largest desert with a variety of desert related natural phenomenon. The second biggest desert of Iran is Namak desert with 600 km length and 100 to 300 km width. The many attractions of the desert have turned them into a favorite tourist destination of Iranian and all visiting Iran. Because of this attention, camps were built in some deserts of Iran the most famous of them being Matin Abbad, Maranjab, Mesr, and Shahdad.

Lakes

Caspian Sea, the biggest lake of the world lies in part of the northern border of Iran and its beaches are one of the most popular tourist attractions of Iran.  Iran has many other lakes that are mostly salt lakes, the best example of which is Gahar Lake in Lorestan, Shourmast and Valasht in Mazandaran, Maharlou and Parishan in Fars, Urmia in West Azerbaijan, Zarivar in Kurdestan, Ovan in Qazvin and Hoose Sultan in Qom.

Flora

There are various types of plants in Iran that are categorized based on the area they grow and their climatic condition. According to recent studies, Iranian flora consists of 167 families and 1200 species from 3 groups of Fern, Gymnosperm, and Angiosperms. Geographically the plant life of Iran come from three regions of Euro-Siberia, Irano – Turanian, and Sahara – Sindian. Based on these regions, Iran is divided into four zones: Hyrcanian, Zagros, Irano-Turanian and Persian Gulf Bank.

Hyrcanian region is the lands of southeast of the Caspian Sea that are bounded in their southern border by the Alborz mountain range. The whole area is covered with broadleaved forest and meadow. Surviving the Ice Age has turned the region to an area that benefits from plants that has long vanished from other countries. The most important of these species include chestnut-leaved oak, Parrotia, Bornm, and Locust.  The rarest species of the region is Lilium Ledebouri that only grows in a small, protected area in Roudbar and has been registered on Iran’s List of Natural Heritage.

Zagros is famous for its oak dominated woodlands. The region is cold and covered with snow in winters. The Brant’s Oak or Persian Oak, Narrow-leafed Ash, Montpellier Maple, and hawthorn are the main flora in the region. However, the most beautiful one is a flower called crown imperial which attract lots of visitor each year to the region, the flowers of this plant last only for short period of time.

Based on the height, the region is divided into two zones, plain zone that start from Khorasan Mount and stretch to Zagros, after that reaches Persian Gulf and Oman Sea. The most common plant of this region is sweet wormwood. Next is the mountainous zone that includes southern sides of Alborz, Zagros’s Eastern foothill and mountains of Iran’s central plateau. Sainfoins, Acanthophyllum, Milkvetch, Boiss & Buhse, Flava Ungerina, Berberia Khorasanica and Aucheri Pteropryum are among the plants in the region.

The region located in the southern part of the country and covered with palms, Acacia and Ziziphus. The flora in northern coast of Persian Gulf and Oman Sea are variant. In the region with more annual rainfall, Medicago, Gramineae, Leguminocae grow and in region close to Oman, Nannorhops, Acacia Ehrenbergian, Dtricta Rhzya, Prosopis Cineraria and Stricta grow more but the most famous plant in the region is Zhumeria that is a medical plant and registered as an endangered species due to unstructured harvest.

Fauna

Geographical and climatic conditions of the country  has led to the existence of different types of Insects, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals in Iran.

Insects: approximately, four million insects live here in Iran, and despite the negligence, 25 thousands of them have been identified and documented. Among all different species of insects, Butterflies receive the most attention, as it is witnessed in butterflying tours attracting tourist from different part of Iran and the world.

Fishes: Iranian fishes live in 19 domestic drainage basin and have 16 orders. Common carp with 80 species is the most populated species of Iran fishes.

Amphibians: amphibians of Iran does not possess the same variety the rest of species have. In Iran, six families and 20 species of amphibians is found. Iranian salamander and Gharezi salamander can be considered as the most well-known cases of amphibians. The amphibian order that is more commonly known among the people is the frogs and toads that are divided to 4 families and 13 species. The rarest of them are European common toad and desert toad that are not the endemic species but live in Iran as well.

Reptiles: 5 orders and 21 families of reptiles have been identified in Iran. 10 species of turtles, one species of crocodile, 112 alligators, one species of lizard, and 72 species of snakes which make a total of 206 species of reptiles.

Birds: The biggest number of animals in Iran belongs to the species of birds. There are 514 species of birds in Iran including 19 orders and 64 families. Since three quarter of Iran is arid and semi-arid area, the large number of Iranian birds also live in these areas including, Cream – colored courser, Bustard, Persian ground jay, Sandgrouse, Greater Hoopoe Lark, and Trumpeter Finch.

Mammals: 168 species of Mammals in 10 orders and 37 families make the mammal population of Iran. Rodents make up the largest order of mammals with 37 percent, after that bats with 40 species, carnivore with 29 species, insectivore with 26 species, whales with 10 species, toed with 8 species, rabbits with 3 species, seals, odd-toed, and sea cow each with one species are all mammal of  Iran. Roe deer, black bear, pygmy tree shrew, Caspian seal as well as Asiatic Cheetah are the most famous mammals of Iran.

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