and stars of Bethlehem, but by the end of May these have given way to the summer drought. Communities of Salsola grow on the alluvial flats along with asafoetida, Ephedra strobilacea, black saxaul and white saxaul. The sand acacia and several species of Calligonum grow among the dunes. The coastal strip consists of sandy and clayey salt deserts recently exposed by the retreating shoreline. It has unconsolidated dunes and is sparsely vegetated with salt-loving plants. This area, with its milder climate and the mists that sometimes roll in from the Caspian Sea, is home to many of the 90 species of lichen found in the country. Another lichen-rich environment is the takirs that form as flaking crusts on drying clayey plains. Fauna Turkmenistan has a range of habitats and these support a wide range of animal life. There are 91 species of mammal recorded in the country, some of which are threatened. There are bats in the caves, leopards, bears, mountain sheep, wild ass and goitered gazelles in the mountains, and seals in the Caspian Sea. In the deserts are long-eared hedgehog, Brandt's hedgehog and tolai hare, as well as gerbils, jerboas and other rodents. The endangered mammals include the Blasius's horseshoe bat, two subspecies of the Eurasian brown bear, the Eurasian lynx, the Asian subspecies of cheetah (extinct), the leopard, the striped hyena, the Pallas's cat, the sand cat, the caracal, the Caspian seal, the red deer, the Turkmen wild goat, the markhor and the Turkmen mountain sheep. The great Balkan mouse-like hamster is one of a number of mammals endemic to this region. Another is the Turkmen ratel, a subspecies of the honey badger. Reptiles are plentiful, with 82 species having been recorded. Some of the most notable include the desert monitor, the European pond turtle, the Caspian turtle, the Russian tortoise, the dice snake, and the Transcaspian saw-scaled viper. There are also skinks, geckoes, agamas, wall lizards, the European legless lizard, vipers, rat snakes and the blind wormsnake. The Turkmen eyelid gecko is another native species. Amphibians are much more scarce, with 5 species recorded including the European green toad and the marsh frog. As well as freshwater fish in the streams, rivers and lakes, the Caspian Sea is home to 124 species of mostly endemic fish. Nearly four hundred species of bird have been recorded in the country. Many of them are resident species but others