Book Fauna Palaestina 4 Year 2014 By Prof Dr Norman Ali Bassam Khalaf von Jaffa ISBN 978-9950-383-77-7

IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, MOST GRACIOUS, MOST MERCIFUL
PREFACE
Packed into Palestine's small area are snow-covered mountains, parched
deserts, fertile fields, lush woodlands and long stretches of sand dunes.
No less than four different geographical zones are included in Palestine,
and the country's climate ranges from semi-arid to temperate to
subtropical.
All of this makes Palestine home to a stunning variety of plants and
animals. Some 47,000 living species have been identified in Palestine,
with another 4,000 assumed to exist. There are 116 species of mammals
native to Palestine, 511 kinds of birds, 97 types of reptiles and nine types
of amphibians. Some 2,780 types of plants grow countrywide, from
Alpine flowers on northern mountain slopes to bright red coral peonies
and desert papyrus reeds in the south.
My first published scientific article goes back to January 1980, when I
was still a student in the Zoology Department at Kuwait University,
State of Kuwait. The article was about "The Colouration of Animals".
I was especially interested in the Arabian Wildlife, and in particular, in
my Homeland Palestine. My first zoological article about the Palestinian
Fauna dates back to February 1983. The article was entitled "The
Badger in Palestine and the Arabian Peninsula", and was published
in the Palestinian "Al Khalisah" Bulletin, Kuwait University.
Since that time, I had published many scientific articles in different
scientific books, magazines and bulletins, and established my own
Palestinian Biological Bulletin. In July 1983, "Gazelle: The Palestinian
Biological Bulletin" was created. It was the First Palestinian Scientific
Journal Worldwide (ISSN 0178 – 6288).
My first zoological article in "Gazelle" was about "Order Lagomorpha
in Palestine". Till now 124 "Gazelle" Issues were published; and many
of my articles were about Palestinian Animals.
Finally, and after more than 35 years in Zoological research and studies,
in Palestine and many Arabic and European countries, and after
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