Struthio camelus syriacus

HOME
 
Kingdom Animalia

Painting of an Arabian Ostrich on her nest from The Book of Animals of al-Jahiz, Syria, 14th century. This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired. This applies to the European Union, Canada, the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 70 years.

Phylum Chordata
Class Aves (birds)
Order Struthioniformes
Family Struthionidae
Authority Rothschild 1919
 
English Name Arabian Ostrich, Middle Eastern Ostrich
Dutch Name Arabische Struisvogel, Syrische Struisvogel
Finnish Name Arabianstrutsi
French Name Autruche d’Arabie
German Name Arabische Strauß, Arabische Strauss
Polish Name Struś Syryjski
Portuguese Name Avestruz-árabe
Spanish Name Avestruz Arábiga, Avestruz de Medio Oriente
 
Taxonomy Mitochondrial DNA showed that the Arabian Ostrich is most related to the North African Ostrich or Red-necked Ostrich, Struthio camelus camalus. The presence of a shared lineage in these two Ostrich subspecies indicates that gene flow between the two geographic forms may have been possible in the recent evolutionary past, probably along the Egyptian–Sinai–Israel passageway. This research shows also that the South African Ostrich (Struthio camelus australis) and the East African or Maasai Ostrich (Struthio camelus massaicus) have a recent common ancestry. The Somali Ostrich (Struthio camelus molybdophanes) is phylogenetically the most distinct of the ostrich taxa. (Robinson and Matthee 1999)
 
Characteristics The Arabian Ostrich was similar to the North African Ostrich (Struthio camelus camelus), but was distinguished by its comparatively small size (Fuller 2000). Possibly, the Arabian females were of a slightly lighter colouration. The tarsus of the Arabian Ostrich is 390-465 mm, while the tarsus of the North African Ostrich is 450-530 mm (Wikipedia contributors 2007).
 
Range & Habitat The Arabian Ostrich formerly occurred in inhabited open semi-desert and desert plains of the Middle East. In historic times it was found north to about 33şN, and east to Kuwait, including Jordan, Syrian Desert south into the Arabian Peninsula and apparently southern Israel and the Sinai. (Shirihai 1996)
 
Reproduction The reproduction of the Arabian Ostrich was similar to that of the surviving subspecies. The Arabian Ostrich was chastised as a bad parent in the Book of Job (איוב), one of the books of the Hebrew Bible. This is because the female Arabian Ostrich sometimes leaves the nest unattended, as the eggs are too thick-shelled to be easily broken open by predators. (Wikipedia contributors 2007)
 
History & Population It is known that the Arabian Ostrich already occurred in the Middle East thousands of years ago. There is a rock carving of an ancient ostrich family in Saudi Arabia about two hours southwest of Riyadh that date around 2000-1000 BC. An 'historical' nest found at Tel Michal, near Herzliyya in 1977, contained 12-15 eggs, five of them whole. Radioactive carbon testing set the age of the nest at 5,810 (+-220) years, showing that at least a few thousand years ago ostriches bred in open areas of central Israel. (Shirihai 1996) 

The Arabian ostrich was fairly common until the time of World War I (1914-1919). After this war firearms became more plentiful in the Arabian peninsula and the arrival of automobiles made it possible to pursue these ostriches. By the outbreak of World War II, this ostrich subspecies was virtually extinct. The last legitimate record of the Arabian Ostrich may have been an individual shot and eaten in Bahrain in 1941. However, in February 1966, a dead female Arabian Ostrich was found in Jordan, at a mouth of Wadi Hasa, near Safi in southern Dead Sea Depression. This female apparently was swept away by floodwaters of the Jordan River. This record is generally accepted, but it is based on second-hand information, adding that it is improbable. (Fuller 2000; Shirihai 1996)
 
Extinction Causes Ethnohistoric and representational as well as egg-shell evidence shows that the ostrich was widely distributed in Arabia. However, the absence of ostrich bones in the archaeological record suggests that they were not hunted for meat. (Potts 2001)
 
Conservation Attempts Was also bred in captivity, e.g. pair with chicks in the Negev at beginning of 20th century (photograph in Paz 1986). (Shirihai 1996)
 
Reintroduction The North African Red-necked Ostrich (Struthio camelus camelus) is introduced into areas once occupied by the now extinct Arabian Ostrich (Struthio camelus syriacus). The North African Red-necked Ostrich was chosen as a substitute because of its geographic proximity, phenotypic similarity, and conservation value. (Seddon and Soorae 1999)
 
Museum Specimens The skins of one female and two chicks are in the collection of the Zoological Museum of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem (ZMHUJ) (Av. 832, Av. 833, Av. 1453). They were shot on 27 March 1927 in Saudi Arabia between Kayuff and Guff, about 500 km east of Israel. There are also eggs shells found in preserved nests in the Zoological Museum of the Tel Aviv University (ZMTAU) collection. (Shirihai 1996)
 
Relatives The Ostrich (Struthio camelus) has three or four living subspecies. The North African Ostrich or Red-necked Ostrich, Struthio camelus camalus, is the closest living relative (Robinson and Matthee 1999).
 
Links

Arabian Ostrich - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Extinction: Arabian Ostrich UWSP GEOG358 [Heywood]

Saudi Aramco World : The Camel Bird of Arabia

 

References

(Complete website)

 Fuller, E. 2000. Extinct birds. Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Potts, D.T. 2001. Ostrich distribution and exploitation in the Arabian peninsula. Volume: 75  Number: 287  Page: 182–190. Archaeology, University of Sydney, Australia. Abstract at http://antiquity.ac.uk/ant/075/Ant0750182.htm.

Robinson, Terence J. & Matthee, Conrad A. (1999): Molecular genetic relationships of the extinct ostrich, Struthio camelus syriacus: consequences for ostrich introductions into Saudi Arabia. Animal Conservation 2(3): 165-171.

Rothschild, W(alter) 1919. Description of a new subspecies of Ostrich from Syria. Bull. Brit. Orn. Club 39: 81-83.

Seddon, Philip J., and Soorae, Pritpal S. (1999). Guidelines for Subspecific Substitutions in Wildlife Restoration Projects. Conservation Biology 13 (1), 177–184. doi:10.1046/j.1523-1739.1999.97414.x

Shirihai, H. 1996. The birds of Israel. Academic Press, London.

Wikipedia contributors, "Arabian Ostrich," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Arabian_Ostrich&oldid=93721882 (accessed January 23, 2007).

Last updated: 29th November 2007.

This page is a part of The Extinction Website. © 2000-2009.