Wildlife of Somalia

The yellow-spotted rock hyrax, which is found in savanna and rocky areas, looks much like a large rodent, but is actually related to elephants.

Other reptiles unique to Somalia include Hughes' saw-scaled viper, the southern Somali garter snake, Platyceps messanai, Scortecci's diadem snake (Spalerosophis josephscorteccii), the Somali sand boa, the angled worm lizard, Macfadyen's mastigure (Uromastyx macfadyeni), Lanza's gecko (Hemidactylus granchii), the semaphore gecko, and a wall lizard from either Mesalina or Eremias.

[6] Fish species found exclusively in Somalia include: The highlands, which in an almost continuous line traverse East Africa, have to a great extent isolated the flora of Somalia in spite of the general resemblance of its climate and soil to the country on the western side of the band of high ground.

The greater part of the country is covered either with tall coarse grasses, or more commonly with thick thorn-bush or jungle, among which rise occasional isolated, trees.

The prevalent bush plants are khansa, acacias, aloes, and, especially, Boswellia and Commiphora, which yield highly fragrant resins and balsams, such as myrrh, frankincense (olibanum) and balm of Gilead.

Among the larger trees are the mountain cedar, reaching to 100 ft.; the gob, which bears edible berries in appearance something like the cherry with the taste of an apple, grows to some 80 ft, and is found fringing the river beds.

Of herbaceous plants the kissenia, the sole representative of the order Loasaceae, which is common in America but very rare elsewhere, is found in Somalia, which also possesses forms belonging to the eastern Mediterranean flora.