Childrens Illustrated Animal Atlas

65

Secret toadhead agama

The insect-eating agama keeps several

secrets. It may look like a regular desert

lizard, but when it displays, it opens its

mouth to reveal a deep reddish pink

and expands two spiny cheek flaps.

A secret toadhead agama stands alert.

Astana

Tashkent

Location

There are deserts in

Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan,

and Turkmenistan, and

parts of Afghanistan,

Pakistan, and Iran.

SCALE

200 kilometers

0

0

200 miles

CHINA

KAZAKHSTAN

UZBEKISTAN

TURKMENISTAN

KYRGYZSTAN

TAJIKISTAN

AFGHANISTAN

PAKISTAN

CHINA

IRAN

Bishkek

Dushanbe

Kabul

Islamabad

Tehran

Baghdad

AZERBAIJAN

ARMENIA

Tehran

Baku

Yerevan

Ashgabat

This nocturnal
animal can cover
11 miles (18 km)
a night in its
search for food.

Corsac fox

Central Asian cobra

Great gerbil

Wild goat

Goitered

gazelle

Tolai hare

Long-eared

hedgehog

The corsac fox uses

its long, wide ears to

listen for rodent noises

in the desert.

When a predator is near,

this hedgehog growls and

hisses like a cat, then rolls

itself into a protective ball.

At up to 13 in (33 cm)

long, this is the largest

gerbil on Earth.

This is the world’s most

venomous true cobra.

Though it lives in the

desert, it is very good

at swimming.

The wild goat lives

in dry, rocky areas.

Its curved horns

have a very sharp

inside edge.

A big, swollen tube on

its throat gives this gazelle

its name. It also gives males

an extra-loud voice.

This hare comes out at night

to feed on desert plants. It

rests in a shallow scrape in

the ground during the day.

Central Asian

deserts

There are different kinds of deserts here. Some

are salty and sandy. Others are rocky or have clay

soil. All are dry. Water is found mostly near desert

borders where rivers can overflow.

N

S

E

W

HABITAT KEY

Wetlands

Temperate

grasslands

Mountains

Cold desert

Hot desert

Coniferous

forests

Deciduous

forests

Tropical

forests

US_064-065_Asian_Steppe_Central_Asian_Desert.indd 65 18/04/2017 17:44