EnchantedLearning.com Biomes - Habitats

Biomes Calendar A calendar to print, color, and read.

Deserts of the World Label the major deserts of the world. Answers

Desert Habitats

Deserts: Outline Map Printout An outline map of world deserts to print.

Deserts cover about one fifth (20 percent) of the earth's land area. The desert is a harsh environment with very little rainfall and extreme temperatures; a desert is defined as a region that gets less than ten inches of precipitation per year. Because of these dry conditions, there is limited plant and animal life in deserts. Desert plants (like cacti) are not abundant; neither is animal life.

Some deserts get both very hot (during the day) and very cold (during the night, when temperatures can drop well below freezing). Some deserts, however, are always cold (for example, the Gobi Desert in Asia, and the desert on the continent of Antarctica).

Different animals live in the different types of deserts. Animals that live in the desert have adaptations to cope with the lack of water, the extreme temperatures, and the shortage of food. To avoid daytime heat, many desert animals are nocturnal; they burrow beneath the surface or hide in the shade during the day, emerging at night to eat. Many desert animals do not have to drink at all; they get all the water they need from their food. Most desert animals are small.

Desert Extremes: The biggest desert is northern Africa's Sahara Desert; it covers roughly 3,500,000 square miles (9,065,000 square kilometers). The driest deserts are the Atacama desert of northern Chile, South America, and the Lut Desert in eastern Iran; these extreme deserts get less than half an inch (about 1 centimeter) of precipitation each year - and it is from condensed fog, and not from rain.

Desert Animals Book A short book about desert animals to print (for early readers), with letters to fill in. There are pages on the rattlesnake, javelina, coyote, black widow spider, desert tortoise, fennec fox, gila monster, jerboa, pupfish, camel, scorpion, roadrunner, and vulture.

Ant Ants are social insects found worldwide in almost every environment.

Antelope Antelopes are graceful mammals with beautiful horns.

Arabian Camel The Arabian Camel is the one-humped camel (it is also known as the dromedary).

Arabian Horse Arabian Horses are a distinctive and elegant breed of riding horses that were bred by Bedouins thousands of years ago.

Armadillo The armadillo is a small, burrowing, armored mammal.

Bactrian Camel Bactrian Camels are two-humped camels from deserts and steppes of Asia.

Bandicoot Bandicoots are marsupials with pointy snouts.

Bat Bats are the only flying mammal.

Bighorn Sheep The bighorn sheep is a wild brown sheep from mountains and deserts of North America.

Bilby The bilby (also known as the rabbit-eared bandicoot) is a small marsupial with long ears.

Black Widow Spider A very poisonous spider with a distinctive red hourglass marking.

Blue-tongued Skink An Australian lizard with a long, blue tongue.

Boa Constrictor A large constricting snake from South and Central America.

Bobcat A fierce, short-tailed wild cat from North America.

California Quail The California Quail (also known as the Valley Quail) is a plump bird with a forward-facing head plume.

Camel Camels are large mammals that live in dry areas.

Collared Peccary A pig-like mammal, also known as the javelina, from deserts and chaparrals of North and Central America.

Coyote Coyotes are meat-eaters related to wolves.

Deer The deer is a shy, fast-moving plant-eater.

Desert Tortoise A tortoise from southwestern North America.

Dingo The dingo is a wild dog from Australia.

Donkey Donkeys are hoofed mammals adapted to desert life.

Dragonfly The dragonfly is a flying insect with a long abdomen.

Dromedary The dromedary is the one-humped camel (also known as the Arabian Camel).

Eagle The eagle is a large bird of prey.

Fennec Fox The Fennec fox is a small, desert fox with very large ears; it lives in the Sahara and in northern Saudi Arabia.

Flamingo The flamingo is a long-legged bird that eats crustaceans. Flamingos live in a variety of habitats, including warm coastal areas, high, snowy mountains, and near alkali lakes in deserts.

Fox The fox is a meat-eating mammal with a long, bushy tail.

Gazelle Gazelles live in herds in Africa.

Gecko Geckos are the only lizards that make noise. Many geckos live in desert.

Gerbil The gerbil is a small, long-tailed rodent that is native to dry, sandy areas of Africa and Asia.

Gila Monster A venomous lizard from deserts of southwestern North America.

Goat Goats are sure-footed, hoofed mammals.

Gray Wolf Gray wolves are carnivores that live in packs and howl.

Great Horned Owl A large bird of prey from North and South America.

Hedgehog Hedgehogs are small mammals that can roll into a prickly ball.

Iguana Iguanas are plant-eating lizards.

Jack Rabbit Jack rabbits are hares; they have very long legs and long ears.

Javelina A pig-like mammal, also known as the collared peccary, from deserts and chaparrals of North and Central America.

Jerboa The jerboa is a small, long-tailed rodent that hops.

Kangaroo Kangaroos hop and have pouches. Their babies are called joeys.

Kangaroo Rat A small rodent from North America.

Llama Llama are woolly mammals from South America.

Mongoose Mongooses are sleek, meat-eating mammals.

Mouse Mice are small rodents with long, scaly tails.

Nabarlek A small wallaby from northern Australia.

North American Porcupine The North American Porcupine is a mammals that has protective, needle-like quills on its body.

Oryx Oryx are long-horned antelopes from dry areas in Africa.

Ostrich The ostrich is the largest bird. It can't fly, but it runs very fast.

Owl Owls are nocturnal hunters with eyes that face forwards.

Peregrine Falcon The fastest flyers, who prey upon other birds.

Pika Pikas are small, furry mammals who stockpile food for winter.

Porcupine Porcupines are mammals with protective, needle-like quills on their body.

Pronghorn Pronghorns are the fastest moving mammals in North America. The Sonoran Pronghorn lives in semi-desert areas.

Puma A long-tailed wild cat with no spots. It is also known as the catamount, panther, mountain lion, and cougar.

Pupfish A small fish from desert waters of southwestern North America.

Quokka The Quokka is a marsupial from Australia, a type of wallaby.

Rabbit A fast-moving mammal with long ears.

Rabbit-eared Bandicoot Also known as the bilby, this small Australian marsupial has long ears.

Rattlesnake Rattlesnakes are venomous snakes that have a rattle at the end of the tail.

Red Fox The Red Fox is a meat-eating mammal with a long, bushy tail.

Red Kangaroo Red Kangaroos are large roos from Australia.

Red-Tailed Hawk The Red-Tailed Hawk is a bird of prey, a raptor from North America.

Roadrunner Also known as the Ground Cuckoo, this bird is a fast runner that rarely flies.

Roadrunner Read-and-Answer Quiz Read about the roadrunner, then take a quiz on it. Or go to the answers.

Scorpion A venomous arachnid with a large stinger on its tail. Found worldwide except in Antarctica.

Serval A long-legged African wild cat.

Sheep Sheep are mammals with thick, furry fur and hoofed feet.

Shrew Shrews are tiny mammals that are quite ferocious.

Snow Leopard Snow Leopards are rare, pale leopards from the snowy central mountains of Asia.

Spider Spiders have eight legs.

Suricate Suricates (also known as meerkats) are a type of mongoose that can stand upright.

Tarantula A tarantula is a large, hairy spider.

Valley Quail The Valley Quail (also known as the California Quail) is a plump bird with a forward-facing head plume.

Vampire Bat Vampire bats are the only bats that drink blood.

Veiled Chameleon A chameleon with a helmet-like casque on its head.

Vulture The vulture is a large bird with a bald head. Vultures eat carrion.

Wallaby Wallabies are small to medium-sized kangaroos.

White-Tailed Deer The white-tailed deer is a shy, fast-moving plant-eater.

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