The Hammar Marshes ( Arabic : هور الحمار ) are a large wetland complex in southeastern Iraq that are part of the Mesopotamian Marshes in the Tigris–Euphrates river system . Historically, the Hammar Marshes extended up to 4,500 km (1,700 sq mi) during seasonal floods. They were destroyed during the 1990s by large-scale drainage, dam and dike construction projects. Since 2003, they are recovering following reflooding and destruction of dams.
18-675: The Hammar Marshes are located in the Dhi Qar and Basra Governorates . They are bordered in the north by the city of Al-Qurnah , in the northeast by the Euphrates River , in the southeast by the city of Basra , in the south by saline lakes and the Arabian Desert , in the west and northwest by the urban centres of Nasiriyah and Al-Chibayish. Its main water sources are the Euphrates and its tributaries. Additional water from
36-524: A house shrew from Java . In the late 18th to early 20th centuries, several house shrew zoological specimens were described as distinct species that are considered synonyms today: The house shrew has a uniform, short, dense fur of mid-grey to brownish-grey color. The tail is thick at the base and a bit narrower at the tip, and is covered with a few long, bristle-like hairs that are thinly scattered. They have short legs with five clawed toes. They have small external ears and an elongated snout. They also emit
54-494: A strong odor of musk, derived from musk glands that are sometimes visible on each side of the body. The odor is especially noticeable during the breeding season. Like all shrews , the Asian house shrew is plantigrade and long-nosed. The teeth are a series of sharp points to poke holes in insect exoskeletons . It is the largest of the shrew species, weighing between 50 and 100 g and being about 15 cm long from snout to tip of
72-505: Is a governorate in southern Iraq , in the Arabian Peninsula. The provincial capital is Nasiriyah . Prior to 1976 the governorate was known as Muntafiq Governorate. Thi Qar was the heartland of the ancient Iraqi civilization of Sumer , and includes the ruins of Ur , Eridu , Lagash , Larsa , Girsu , Umma , and Bad-tibira . The southern area of the governorate is covered by Mesopotamian Marshes . The governorate includes
90-643: Is the largest water body in the Hammar Marshes. The main ethnic group in the area is the Marsh Arabs . Massive drainage projects were started in the 1990s. Canals and embankments were built that split the once contiguous wetland into two, the West and East Hammar Marshes. An additional barrier between the two parts is the Rumaila oil field . By 2000, less than 15% of the Hammar Marshes remained. Following
108-469: Is widespread and found in all habitats, including deserts and human habitations. The house shrew has a habit of moving quickly along the edges of the walls when it enters human habitations. As it runs it makes a chattering sound which resembles the sound of jingling money, which has earned them the name "money shrew" in China. When alarmed, the house shrew makes an ear-piercing, high-pitched shriek, resembling
126-442: The 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq , returning Marsh Arabs broke embankments and drainage works, so that the wetland started to reflood. By the following year, vegetation had regrown significantly in the western part of the Hammar Marshes, and wildlife species returned. Recovery of the marshland habitat has been greater than expected, though there are still long-term risks to the habitat's viability due to pollution and water extraction from
144-504: The IUCN Red List since 2008 because of its large population and wide distribution. It has been introduced in several West Asian and East African countries. It is considered an invasive species and implicated in the demise of several island lizard species. It is also called house shrew , grey musk shrew, Asian musk shrew or Indian musk shrew. Sorex murinus was the scientific name proposed by Carl Linnaeus in 1766 for
162-610: The Tigris reached the wetland through overflow from the Central Marshes . Until the 1970s, the wetland stretched over 120 km × 25 km (75 mi × 16 mi) and permanently covered an area of 2,800 km (1,100 sq mi) that extended to about 4,500 km (1,700 sq mi) during seasonal floods. It was the largest in West Asia . The shallow eutrophic and slightly brackish Lake Hammar
180-928: The Euphrates. The salinity level of the re-flooded wetlands is higher than in typical freshwater wetlands. The main plant species in the Hammar Marshes are hornwort , whorl-leaf watermilfoil , common reed , bulrush , sago pondweed , southern cattail and shining pondweed . Bird counts between 2003 and 2005 revealed that the most common species in the Hammar Marshes are little egret , black-headed gull , slender-billed gull , common gull and little tern . Notable birds include western marsh harrier , purple heron , grey heron , great cormorant , western cattle egret , black-winged stilt , little grebe , pied kingfisher , white-throated kingfisher and malachite kingfisher , white wagtail , isabelline shrike , bluethroat , Iraq babbler , white-eared bulbul , graceful prinia , common chiffchaff and house sparrow . Mammal-oriented surveys carried out between 2009 and 2012 revealed
198-452: The area is very poor, with an unemployment rate of 17% and a poverty rate of 37%. This Iraq geographical location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Asian house shrew Sorex murinus Linnaeus, 1766 Suncus sacer Ehrenberg, 1832 The Asian house shrew ( Suncus murinus ) is a shrew species native to South and Southeast Asia that has been listed as Least Concern on
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#1732775915976216-452: The presence of jungle cat , European otter , gray wolf , red fox , golden jackal , striped hyena , honey badger , small Asian mongoose , wild boar , long-eared hedgehog , Kuhl's pipistrelle , Cape hare , Euphrates jerboa , brown rat , Asian house shrew , Etruscan shrew and house mouse . Dhi Qar Governorate Dhi Qar Governorate ( Arabic : ذي قار , romanized : Thi Qār , Arabic: [ðiː qɑːr] )
234-417: The sound of nails scraping a chalkboard or a metal fork scraping glass, which repels house cats. Predators also leave the house shrew alone because of its musky smell and even when they catch one by mistake they will rarely eat it. Another habit of this shrew, shared with the white-toothed shrews of Europe, is that when a mother and its young travel the first will hold on to the mother's fur with its teeth, and
252-467: The strong odour of its droppings, which it may deposit in human dwellings behind kitchen cupboards, etc. It can also take to eating human food such as meat in kitchens, or dog or cat food. It is known to occasionally kill young chicks, making it unpopular with farmers, although rats probably kill more chicks, and more quickly. The way it is said to attack chicks, by first biting a tendon, immobilizing it and then killing and eating it, could indicate that it has
270-451: The subsequent young will do the same with the sibling in front of it. It is often mistaken for a rat or mouse and killed as vermin. In general it is beneficial to humans because its diet consists mostly of harmful insects such as cockroaches, and even house mice. It can therefore be considered as a biological pesticide . Unlike rats, population levels of house shrews remain low. Despite its use as an insect control, it can be unpopular due to
288-540: The tail. The Asian house shrew is native to South and Southeast Asia and was introduced by humans to eastern Africa, Arabia, Madagascar , the Philippines and other islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans . The Asian house shrew is a voracious insectivore with little resistance to starvation. It is active during the night, spending the day in a burrow or hiding place in human habitations. They breed throughout
306-548: The towns of al-Rifai , Qalat Sukkar , Ash Shatrah , al-Gharraf , Suq esh-Shuyuk , Khamisiyah , al-Chibayish and al-Dawaya . In the mid-1990s the governor was Tahir Jalil Habbush al-Tikriti , who later became police chief of the country, and in 1999, director of the Iraqi Intelligence Service. The population is approximately 2,000,000, predominantly Shia Arab . The southern marshes have traditionally been home to many Marsh Arabs . As of 2007,
324-418: The year, with each female averaging two litters per year. The gestation period is one month. One to eight young are born per litter, usually three young, in a nest made by both of the parents, wherein the young stay until they are nearly adult. It starts breeding when it is around one year old. Studies on this shrew have suggested its suitability for use in laboratory studies of reproduction and nutrition. It
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