Endangered & Extinct Marine Creatures of the Arabian Gulf

United Arab Emirates26 September 2004Draft

The UAE has a rich and diverse marine environment that contributes to maintaining nature's balance. Preserving this environment and keeping it pure needs collaboration of the entire society, including individuals, companies, corporations and ministries. The Arabian Gulf has a large number of marine creatures that are endangered or are facing extinction, such as the following: The Black Finless Porpoise 50 Fils This single species frequents the coast of the Arabian Gulf, but it is now rarely found. Dark grey in colour, the black finless porpoise is about 1.5 meters long and weighs around 27 kg. Serranidae 175 Fils This is an elongate and compressed fish with caudal truncate. The size range is 40-50 cm and maximum length is 100 cm. Whale Shark 275 Fils It attains a length of 10 - 12 meters, and can weigh upto 30 - 40 tons. Fortunately, for humans, these giant sharks feed almost exclusively on plankton and small school fish. Dugongidae 375 Fils These are tropical warm water mammals. The average length is between 2.5 to 3.2 meters. Dugongs surface to breathe at irregular intervals. The record for submergence is 1 to 10 minutes. Souvenir sheet: none. Stamp booklet: AED 17.50. Size: 30 x 40 mm in sheets of 50 stamps.