The Mysterious Island _ Socotra

The Socotra Island

Look like an another Planet

Socotra is a small archipelago of four islands in the Indian Ocean. The largest island, also called Socotra, is about 95% of the landmass of the archipelago. It lies off some 240 kilometers (150 mi) east of the Horn of Africa and 380 kilometers (240 mi) south of the Arabian Peninsula. The island is very isolated and through the process of speciation, a third of its plant life is found nowhere else on the planet. It has been described as the most alien-looking place on Earth.

Socotra is part of the Republic of Yemen. It had long been a part of the 'Adan Governorate, but in 2004 it became attached to the Hadhramaut Governorate, which is much closer to the island than 'Adan (although the closest governorate would be Al Mahrah).


 

 

Socotra is characterized by the unique land and marine biodiversity. The island itself measures approximately 125 kms long by 45 kms wide and covers a total area of 3665 sq kms. 

The climate is harsh, hot, and dry, and yet - the most amazing plant life thrives there. Situated in the Indian Ocean 250 km from Somalia and 340 km from Yemen, the wide sandy beaches rise to limestone plateaus full of caves (some 7 km in length) and mountains up to 1,525 metres high.

Socotra is considered the jewel of biodiversity in the Arabian Sea. The long geological isolation of the Socotra archipelago and its fierce heat and drought has combined to create a unique and spectacular endemic flora.


 

Botanical field surveys led by the Centre for Middle Eastern Plants (part of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh) indicate that 307 out of the 825 (37%) plant species on Socotra are endemic i.e. they are found nowhere else on Earth. The entire flora of the Socotra Archipelago has been assessed for the IUCN Red List, with 3 critically Endangered and 27 Endangered plant species currently recognized.


 

Also important in ancient times were Socotra's various endemic aloes, used medicinally, and for cosmetics. Other endemic plants include the giant succulent tree Dorstenia gigas, Moraceae, the cucumber tree and the rare Socotran pomegranate, Punica protopunica.

Socotra, the other "Mountains of Madness" - the trees and plants of this island were preserved through the long geological isolation, some varieties being 20 million years old.

One of the most striking of Socotra's plants is the dragon's blood tree (Dracaena cinnabari), which is a strange-looking, umbrella-shaped tree. Its red sap was thought to be the dragon's blood of the ancients, sought after as a medicine and a dye, and today used as paint and varnish. 

Scientists first reached the remote Socotra Archipelago in 1880, when Scottish botanist Isaac Bailey Balfour collected around 500 plants. Over 200 were species new to science.

To date, approximately 900 vascular plants have been recorded from Socotra, of which between 300(including some fifteen species restricted to Abd al Kuri) are found nowhere else (i.e. endemic species) they create weird vegetation - and make the archipelago the world's tenth richest island group for endemic plant species.


 

Many are strange-looking remnants of ancient floras which long ago disappeared from the African/Arabian mainland. Socotra’s flora has strong links with adjacent parts of Somalia and Arabia but some species and genera have interesting disjunctive distributions:


 

Dracaena cinnabari, the Dragon's Blood tree, is a tertiary relict with related species in southern Arabia, north-east Africa and the Canary Islands; species of Kalanchoe and Helichrysum show strong links with southern African species but perhaps the most strange distribution is that shown by the genus Thamnosma with T. socotrana on Soqotra and related species in southern Arabia, south-west Africa and south-west North America.


 

Socotran’s flora includes plants which can be considered taxonomic relicts, that is with no close relatives, these include: Dirachma socotrana, one of only two species in the Dirachmaceae, a family related to the Malvaceae but with an interesting mixture of characters including 8 merous flowers, stamens opposite the petals and fruits with a dehiscence similar to that found in Geranium.


 

The floras of oceanic island are often particularly rich in species and show a high degree of endemism. Socotra is no exception. It has one of the richest island floras in the world - on a par with those of the Galapagos, Mauritius, Juan Fernandez and the Canary Islands. However, island ecosystems are often fragile and their native species vulnerable to overgrazing from introduced herbivores and to being out-competed by exotic plant species. 


 

Dendrosicyos Soqotranus the only arborescent member of the Cucurbitaceae and Wellstedia a small shrub of boraginaceous affinities but which is sometimes placed in a family of its own.


 

Socotra is one of those "lost world" islands (separated from the world six million years ago) where intrepid travelers - particularly those seeking exotic nature and wildlife in a remote tropical setting - can go days on end without rubbing shoulders with that less-than-endangered species: tourists. Known for decades as the Galapagos of the Indian Ocean, it's the world's tenth richest island for endemic plant species.


 

The island was recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a world natural heritage site in July 2008. The European Union has supported such a move, calling on both UNESCO and International Organization of Protecting Environment to classify the island archipelago among the environmental heritages.


 

Socotra's fauna is just as fascinating. Among the land birds Socotra Island is home to 180 species of birds 6 species are endemic, (Socotra sparrow – Socotra Cisticola – Socotra Starling – Socotra Sun bird –Socotra Warbler – and the rarest Socotra Bunting (estimated with 1000 specimens alive).
  

As well as 14 sub-species, are restricted to Socotra. And also it’s a host point for many immigrated/breeding birds of over 45 species such as Flamingos, Kettle Egrets, Reef Hearns, Gulls, etc. And the highest density in the world for Egyptian Vulture has registered on the island. More work is still needed to clarify the status of other species.


 

There are 190 species of butterfly and with a large number of endemics. The reptilian and insects fauna is also very rich 600 species of insects with 90% with high proportion of endemic.


 

The reptilian fauna is also very rich with 19 out of a total of 22 species regarded as endemics. Goats, shapes, caws, donkeys, and camels are common to come across. Bats and civil cat is the only mammals native to the island.


 

In the marine world Socotra has taken a spectacular place as it has mixture of species from different biogeography regions- the western Indian Ocean, the Red sea, East Africa and the wider Indo-Pacific. Despite of the small archipelago, Socotra Island is home to more than 680 Species of fishes are comparable to those of the Red Sea, and about 230 species of hard corals (five are endemics) and 30 species of soft corals.


 

In addition to 300 species of crustacean (nine are endemics), 490 species of mollusks, and 230 species of algae. Sea-turtles also nest on the north of the island but there is a need for more work on these (as with almost all Socotra's wildlife).


 

The inhabitants are of Arab, Somali, and South Asian origins. They follow the Islamic faith and speak Soqotri, a Semitic language. Their primary occupations have been fishing, animal husbandry, and the cultivation of dates. 

Almost all inhabitants of Socotra, numbering nearly 50,000, live on the homonymous main island of the archipelago. The principal city, Hadiboh (with a population 8,545 at the census of 2004), the second largest town, Qulansiyah (3,862), and Qād̨ub (929) are all located on the north coast of the island of Socotra. 

The threats to the Socotran flora can be illustrated by considering the fate of the vegetation on other oceanic islands. The decimation of Dracaena draco on the Canary Islands and Madeira is a particularly relevant example. On Socotra Dracaena cinnabari is widespread over the centre and east of the island and is the dominant tree in some areas.

In the Canary Islands its closest relative, D. draco, is reduced to five trees on Madeira and is extinct on four of the seven Canary islands with no more than 200 trees surviving on the other three islands. On St Helena the vegetation has been almost totally decimated. Goats were introduced on to the island in 1513. By 1800 the forests which originally covered the islands were reduced to a few remnants and it has been estimated that, of the probable 100 endemics on the island, only 40 now remain. Source: wikipedia & web