Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin (ISSN 0178 – 6288) . Number 107, November 2013, pp. 1-29. | Page 10

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A similar case is occurring with two hedgehog species in the coastal plain of Palestine, where the European Hedgehog Erinaceus europaeus, following agricultural development, is supplanting the Long-eared Hedgehog Hemiechinus auritus (Mendelssohn I982, Khalaf-von Jaffa 1990). There still remains the fact that the wolves of the Mediterranean area of Palestine (greater than 400 mm. rain) are distinctly larger than those of the more arid areas (50-400 mm. rain). The question of whether these two discrete populations should be given separate subspecific status has to remain open until more material from other areas in the Near East can be examined. For the time being, the terms "Mediterranean pallipes" and "Desert pallipes" will be used (Mendelssohn I982, Khalaf-von Jaffa 1990).

The Arabian Wolf (Canis lupus arabs) at the Arabia’s Wildlife Centre in Sharjah, UAE. 15.06.2012. Photo by: Prof. Dr. Norman Ali Bassam Khalaf-von Jaffa A very large male from the Syrian Golan, with a CBL of 226.7 mm., and a weight of 32.3 kilogram and a dense, dark winter fur, is certainly quite different from any Canis lupus pallipes and looks more like a European wolf. It is remarkable that the wolves that lived in the Huleh Valley fall well within the range of the Mediterranean pallipes. The Huleh Valley is only a few kilometer distance from the Golan, but about 1,000 meter lower. The amount of rain is about the same in both areas, but the Huleh Valley is much warmer (Mendelssohn I982, Khalaf-von Jaffa 1990). Weights of Mediterranean pallipes wolves: the mean of males 23.6 kilogram; and the mean of Desert pallipes wolves: males 20.1 kg, females 17.0 kg; while the
Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin – Number 107 – November 2013