Taxon name
Melhania muricata
Balf.f.
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Melhania muricata
Balf.f.
Assessed taxon level
Species
Higher level taxonomic groupings
Plants
Flowering Plants
Species authority
Balf.f.
Location and scope
Specific locality or subnational name or regional name
United Arab Emirates (the)
Scope (of the Assessment)
National
Countries included within the scope of the assessment
United Arab Emirates (the)
Does the assessment cover a marine EEZ area(s)?
Not_assigned
Conservation Status
Qualifying criteria (if given)
D
Criteria system used
IUCN
(see Assessment details)
Assessment rationale/justification
This species occurs within a specific, restricted area of the UAE and is considered to have a small overall population of around 250 individuals. The species is also generally described as rare which suggests that, despite there currently being no major known threats, if a major threat was to arise, it could decimate this small population rapidly. As such, it is cautiously assessed as Endangered according to its small population size and apparent rarity. There is no rescue effect due to no nearby subpopulations of this species and, therefore, no regional adjustment is required.
Assessment details
Assessors/contributors/reviewers listed
UAE National Red List Workshop
Criteria system used
IUCN
Reference for methods given
IUCN. 2012. IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria: Version 3.1, Second edition. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. iv + 32pp pp. And IUCN. 2012. Guidelines for Application of IUCN Red List Criteria at Regional and National Levels: Version 4.0. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: IUCN. iii + 41pp.
Further information
Endemism (according to assessment)
Endemic to region
Not assigned
Taxon distribution as listed in assessment
This species is restricted to the Olive Highlands in the UAE. It is generally found at high elevations within this area, including the summit ridge of Jebel Qitab which is c.1,000 m (Feulner 2014, G.R. Feulner in lit. MEW 2010), with an additional locality was recently found in the upper parts of Wadi Sahm (D. Aplin pers. comm. 2019). It is not thought to occur elsewhere in the UAE (Feulner 2014). The estimated EOO for this species is approximately 330 km<sup>2 </sup>and the maximum estimate for AOO of this species is 312 km<sup>2</sup>. Globally, this species is native to Kenya, Socotra and the Arabian Peninsula (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019).
Is there a map available in assessment?
Yes
Habitat and systems
Ecological system type
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
It is a perennial plant with a woody base and can reach up to 0.3 m in height (Jongbloed et al. 2003). The leaves are lance-shaped with toothed edges (Jongbloed et al. 2003). Yellow flowers can be seen between February and April (Jongbloed et al. 2003). It generally grows on hillsides (Jongbloed et al. 2003). Species from the Melhania genus are known to be food plants for the larval stage of the Zebra Grizzled Skipper, Spialia zebra (Feulner 2007).
Threats and conservation measures listed
Threats listed in assessment
There is no evidence that the species is browsed.
History
The situation for this species in 1996 is likely to be similar to the current situation, due to its restricted distribution, rarity and generally small population size.
Publication
Allen, D.J., Westrip, J.R.S., Puttick, A., Harding, K.A., Hilton-Taylor, C. and Ali, H. 2021. UAE National Red List of Vascular Plants. Technical Report. Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, United Arab Emirates, Dubai.
