of juniper and lentisc trees, and also brome grass, canary grass, bluegrass, and rye grass. Since rainfall in the area is scanty, the cultivated trees consists of figs and olives. In the Nafusah Plateau, grasslands form the dominant vegetation. Moving towards south of the mountain range, Sahara desert environment dominates the region with limited cultivation of palm and fig trees around springs and natural oases. Date palms (near the oases), saltwort (used for making soda ash), spurge flax shrub, goosefoot, wormwood, and asphodel, cyrenaica are also reported in the wild. Sea grass meadows are reported to cover between the Gulf of Sirte in Libya and the Gulf of Gabes in Tunisia. There are nearly 134 vascular plant species which are specific to Libya. These include: Cyclamen (rohlfsianum) Arbutus pavarii Sedum Anacamptis orchid (cyrenaica) Echinops cyrenaicus Linaria tarhunensis Pallenis cyrenaica Allium negrianum Silene cyrenaica Hypericum tauberti (Zürcher Herbarien) Cynara cyrenaica Poa pentapolitana Romulea cyrenaica Satureja linearifolia Nepeta cyrenaica Crocus boulosii Euphorbia pseudoapios Limonium teuchirae, Asperula tragacanthoides Orobanche cyrenaica Pachyctenium Libyella The last two plant species listed above are of endemic genera. Fauna Mammals Along the coast, the Mediterranean monk seal is a well known species. It has been listed in the IUCN Red List as Critically Endangered in Libya. In the Jbel Acacus region, from the rock art work of animal forms seen in the far southwest of the country, it is inferred that African elephants, giraffes and rhinos inhabited the area in the past during the Ice age when the land was fertile. As of now, very few animals live in the area, like the striped hyenas (Hyaena hyaena), fennec fox, gazelles, African wildcats and golden wolves. The cheetah is now extinct from the area. Reptiles and rodents are common in the sands of the desert. Red shrimp are reported from the Ubari Lakes in the Fezan area. The faunal species recorded include Canis anthus, Vulpes vulpes, Genetta genetta, Felis libyca, Hystrix cristata, Delphinus delphis and Tursiops truncatus. Mammals and reptiles found in Libya which are on the Red List of IUCN, are: Grobben's gerbil, the Alexandrian shrew and the orangetail lizard (Philochortus zolii). Apart from the above, the mammal species identified in the reference book Mammal Species of the World are: Gerbillus Hendecapleura grobbeni syrticus Gerbillus (Gerbillus tarabuli) Gerbillus (Hendecapleura)Gerbillus vivaxPsammomys vexillarisCtenodactylus gundi Ctenodactylus vali Pipistrellus (Pipistrellus) (deserti)Ictonyx libyc Camelus dromedarius Elephantulus rozeti Procavia capensis Eliomys melanurus Eliomys munbyanus