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| Arabian ostrich | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Arabian ostrich painting fromThe Book of Animals byal-Jahiz. Syria, 14th century. | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Infraclass: | Palaeognathae |
| Order: | Struthioniformes |
| Family: | Struthionidae |
| Genus: | Struthio |
| Species: | |
| Subspecies: | |
| Trinomial name | |
| †Struthio camelus syriacus Rothschild, 1919[2] | |
TheArabian ostrich (Struthio camelus syriacus),Syrian ostrich, orMiddle Eastern ostrich is anextinctsubspecies of theostrich that lived on theArabian Peninsula and in theNear East until the mid-20th century.
The Arabian ostrich's range seems to have been continuous in prehistoric times, but with the drying-up of theArabian Peninsula, it disappeared from the inhospitable areas of theArabian Desert, such as theRub' al Khali. In historic times, the bird seems to have occurred in two discreterelict populations: a smaller one in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula and a larger one in the area where today the borders ofSaudi Arabia,Jordan,Iraq andSyria meet.[3] Once common in theNegev, ostriches became extinct in the region in the 1920s as a result of widespreadhunting.[4] It was also present inQatar, theUnited Arab Emirates (in prehistoric times),Oman, andKuwait. Eggshells of Arabian ostriches have been found onBahrain, though this is likely not an introduction to the island, but a type of religious burial.[5]Mitochondrial DNA studies have shown a close relationship to theNorth African subspeciescamelus, indicating there may have beenintergradation between the two.[6] Almost indistinguishable from that subspecies, the females were possibly of a slightly lighter coloration.[citation needed] The only certain way to distinguishcamelus andsyriacus was the smaller size of the latter, with only marginal overlap: thetarsus was 390–465 mm long insyriacus versus 450–530 mm incamelus.
The Arabian ostrich has long had a significant place in the culture of the region. An adult with 11 offspring is featured on the famous prehistoric "Graffiti Rock I" nearRiyadh.[7][8] InMesopotamia, it was used as asacrificial animal and featured in artwork, painted on cups and other objects made from ostrich eggs, traded as far asEtruria during theNeo-Assyrian period. InTang China, an ostrich was a welcome exotic gift fit for an emperor: ostriches figure in the decoration of theQianling Mausoleum, completed and closed in 706.
TheJewish view of this bird was less favorable. The fact that the female ostrich may leave the nest unattended (because the eggs are too thick-shelled to be easily broken open by predators) is the reason why the bird is contrasted with the parental care of thestork in theBook of Job (Job 39:13–18.[9][10]) This is also the reason why theBook of Lamentations (Lamentations 4:3) refers to the female ostrich as heartless.[9] The Arabian ostrich is possibly[11] among the birds forbidden to Jews as unclean under thekashrut inLeviticus (Leviticus 11:16), though theIsraelites would just as likely have known the birds from the North African subspecies, which was extant in theNile Valley ofEgypt at that time.
InRoman times, there was a demand for ostriches to use invenatio games or cooking. These birds usually would have come from the North African subspecies rather than from the Arabian one, as the latter was only found in the unruly frontier regions of the Roman Empire, although much later, the plumes of the Arabian ostrich were considered superior material forhatmaking compared to those of the North African subspecies.
After the rise ofIslam, the Arabian ostrich came to represent wealth and elegance; ostrich hunting became a popular pastime for the rich and noble (if slaughtered properly, ostrich meat ishalaal toMuslims) and eggs, feathers and leather were extensively used in handicraft. Arabian ostrich products, as well as live birds, were exported as far asChina. A Tang dynasty source states that the "camel bird" inhabiting Arabia is
"fourchi and more in height, its feet resembling those of a camel; its neck is very strong, and men are able to ride on its back...".
The Arabian ostrich was also discussed in Mesopotamian scholarly writings from the time of theBaghdadCaliphate, such asZakariya al-Qazwini'scosmography'Aja'ib al-makhluqat wa-ghara'ib al-mawjudat, theKitab al-Hayawan ("Book of Animals") ofAl-Jahiz, orIbn Manzur's dictionaryLisan al-Arab.
The Arabian ostrich is mentioned byT. E. Lawrence inSeven Pillars of Wisdom, when one Arabian tribe brings eggs toFaisal I of Iraq as a peace offering. It is mentioned that the ostrich is plentiful in the tribe's territory.
The widespread introduction of firearms and, later, motor vehicles marked the start of the decline towards extinction of the subspecies. Earlier hunting methods with bow, arrows and dogs had allowed most animals of a group to escape, but rifles and cars enabledpoaching and excessive game hunting to diminish the species into extinction. By the early 20th century, the Arabian ostrich had become rare. Its main stronghold was the northernAn Nafud northwards to theSyrian Desert, betweenlatitudes 34°N and 25°N andlongitude 38°E eastwards to theEuphrates Valley, and it was most plentiful inAl Jawf Province, where it associated with herds ofSaudi gazelle andArabian oryx, animals that are now extinct and very rare, respectively. Some of the last sightings include an individual east of theTall al-Rasatin at the Jordanian-Iraqi border in 1928, a bird shot and eaten by pipeline workers in the area ofJubail in the early 1940s (some sources specifically state 1941), two apocryphal records of birds suffering the same fate in 1948, and a dying individual found in the upperWadi al-Hasa north ofPetra in 1966.[12] Remains of old eggs are still found in the former range of the southern subpopulation, which disappeared between the 1900s and the 1920s, probably mainly because of increasingaridity. Some eggshell fragments were collected bySt. John Philby from Mahadir Summan, Arabia, around 1931.[13]
Following analyses ofmtDNAcontrol regionhaplotypes that confirmed the close relationship of the Arabian and theNorth African subspecies,[14] areintroduction project usingS. c. camelus was set up inSaudi Arabia andQatar in 1994.[15] A failed reintroduction was attempted in Israel's Negev in 2004.[4][16]
