KnowKi

Learn the wildlife of any country

Learn the wildlife of Western Sahara

Africa

643 species have research-grade observations in Western Sahara on iNaturalist. KnowKi turns the most recorded into short lessons with real photos, so you can learn a country's wildlife from home.

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Āki the kiwi, KnowKi's guide

Most recorded here

The species with the most research-grade observations on iNaturalist, and how many each has. Most recorded doesn't mean native.

Birds

  1. Greater Hoopoe-Lark Alaemon alaudipes58
  2. Desert Wheatear Oenanthe deserti53
  3. Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus46
  4. Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus roseus45
  5. Thekla's Lark Galerida theklae42
  6. Bar-tailed Lark Ammomanes cinctura39
  7. Caspian Tern Hydroprogne caspia39
  8. Desert Sparrow Passer simplex38
  9. Great Gray Shrike Lanius excubitor36
  10. Cream-coloured Courser Cursorius cursor31

Plants

  1. Mol-albina Launaea arborescens32
  2. Colocynth Citrullus colocynthis30
  3. Morocco Icefig Mesembryanthemum theurkauffii30
  4. Tetraena gaetula28
  5. Umbrella thorn Vachellia tortilis19
  6. Red Thumb Cynomorium coccineum14
  7. Cistanche violacea12
  8. Brocchia cinerea12
  9. Canary Samphire Astydamia latifolia11
  10. Euphorbia officinarum10

Mammals

  1. Desert Hedgehog Paraechinus aethiopicus40
  2. Fennec Fox Vulpes zerda36
  3. African Wolf Canis lupaster32
  4. Dromedary Camel Camelus dromedarius30
  5. Lesser Egyptian Jerboa Jaculus jaculus28
  6. Fat-tailed Gerbil Pachyuromys duprasi27
  7. West Sahara hare Lepus saharae27
  8. Rüppell's Fox Vulpes rueppellii23
  9. African Wildcat Felis lybica21
  10. Sand Cat Felis margarita18

Insects

  1. Desert Locust Schistocerca gregaria31
  2. Anthia sexmaculata18
  3. Painted Lady Vanessa cardui17
  4. Saharan Silver Ant Cataglyphis bombycina14
  5. Vagrant Emperor Anax ephippiger13
  6. Nomad Sympetrum fonscolombii10
  7. Broad Scarlet Crocothemis erythraea9
  8. Yellow-winged Digging Grasshopper Acrotylus longipes9
  9. Julodis aequinoctialis8
  10. Striped Hawkmoth Hyles livornica7

Spiders and kin

  1. African fattail scorpion Androctonus amoreuxi36
  2. Argiope sector13
  3. Ebony Fat-tailed Scorpion Androctonus gonneti9
  4. Buthus nigrovesiculosus9
  5. Microbuthus maroccanus6
  6. Buthacus occidentalis5
  7. Buthacus stockmanni4
  8. Compsobuthus turieli3
  9. Buthus bonito2
  10. Hottentotta sousai2

Reptiles

  1. Ringed Wall Gecko Tarentola annularis107
  2. Sudan Mastigure Uromastyx dispar70
  3. Duméril's Fringe-fingered Lizard Acanthodactylus dumerilii53
  4. Anderson's Short-fingered Gecko Stenodactylus petrii52
  5. Golden Fringe-fingered Lizard Acanthodactylus aureus50
  6. Desert Horned Viper Cerastes cerastes44
  7. Sahara Sand Viper Cerastes vipera40
  8. Helmethead Gecko Tarentola chazaliae28
  9. Dumeril's Wedge-snouted Skink Chalcides sphenopsiformis27
  10. Moroccan Plain Agama Trapelus boehmei25

Fish

  1. Black Goby Gobius niger13
  2. Senegal seabream Diplodus bellottii11
  3. Rubber-lip Grunt Plectorhinchus mediterraneus6
  4. Brown Meagre Argyrosomus regius5
  5. Lusitanian toadfish Halobatrachus didactylus4
  6. Common Two-banded Seabream Diplodus vulgaris4
  7. Butterfly-winged Comber Serranus papilionaceus4
  8. Short-snouted Seahorse Hippocampus hippocampus3
  9. Guinean Tilapia Coptodon guineensis3
  10. Moroccan White Seabream Diplodus cadenati3

Mollusks

  1. Lesser butterfly cone Conus byssinus8
  2. Cabestana cutacea5
  3. Noah's Ark shell Arca noae4
  4. Heavy African Ark Senilia senilis4
  5. Persicula cingulata4
  6. Brown Mussel Perna perna3
  7. Common Atlantic Bubble Bulla striata3
  8. Variegated Scallop Mimachlamys varia3
  9. Mediterranean Slippersnail Crepidula unguiformis3
  10. Marginella glabella3

How a trip works

A trip has its own trail of lessons: meet six species, match them to new photos, then practice with four choices. Species you learn go into your Fieldbook, and starting a trip earns its Passport stamp. Your home place stays as it is.

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Species lists and counts from research-grade observations on iNaturalist, as of October 2026. Free, with no ads, no account and no purchases.