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Stenocara gracilipes is a species of beetle that is native to the Namib Desert in southern Africa. This is one of the most arid areas of the world, receiving only 1.4 centimetres (0.55 in) of rain per year. The beetle is able to survive by collecting water on its bumpy back surface from early morning fogs.
Due to cold water currents, the desert is extremely arid. The Namib Desert annually receives less than 50 mm of rainfall overall and in its western half between 0 and 12 mm. Humidity is low most of the year outside of fog events, with relative humidity daily dropping below 50%, with recorded lows below 20%. [7]
Namib Desert beetles live off water that condenses on their wings due to a pattern of alternating hydrophilic (water attracting) and hydrophobic (water repelling) regions. Redwood forests are able to survive on limited rainfall due to the addition of condensation on needles which drip into the trees' root systems.
The "fog-trapping" beetle (L. discoidalis) also gets its water from the fog, but it acquires it in a different manner. After foraging for the first half of the night, the “fog-trapping” beetle burrows into the sand. It returns to the surface late at night or early in the morning when the fog rolls across the Namib Desert.
NGM charts the Namib Desert Beetle as Onymacris unguicularis. 195.22.51.135 19:17, 5 May 2008 (UTC) Does it specifically say that this "Namib Desert Beetle" is the one studied for its water-absorption properties? The Namib desert is a big place, and has lots of species of beetles.
On the rare occasion that the pans flood, several migrant bird species might be found in the water. Much of the Sossusvlei and Namib fauna is endemic and highly adapted to the specific conditions of the Namib, for instance, the Namib Desert Beetle which has developed a technique for collecting water from the early morning fog with the help of ...
Physosterna cribripes, the desert toktokkie or woestyntoktokkie, is a flightless species of desert-dwelling darkling beetle or Tenebrionid found along the West coast of Namibia and Angola. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] This species has a body length of some 18.4 mm (0.72 in) and a mass of 402 mg (6.20 gr).
Gemsbok Plains zebra Kirk's dik-dik Springbok antelope Wildebeest African buffalo Ground pangolin Namib Desert beetle High dunes in the Namib Desert. The wildlife of Namibia is composed of its flora and fauna. Namibia's endangered species include the wild dog, black rhino, oribi and puku.