Jabal Umm ad Dami
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Jabal Umm ad Dami is the highest mountain in Jordan. Its claimed elevation of 1,854 metres [1] is consistent with SRTM data. It is located at , near to the border with Saudi Arabia.
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One very interesting feature about the mountain is that it has one species of butterfly that is known from nowhere else. Its habitat is at about 1,700 m. It was first found by Dubi Benyamini in 1999 and described as a new species in 2000 as Pseudophilotes jordanicus. It is only known from one specific locality covering about 50 x 100 metres. Normally only six or seven individuals of this tiny butterfly on any visit. It flies mainly in late May and early June and has been recorded on at least six visits since its discovery. Since other Jordanian mountains are rarely higher than 1,700 m it is probably nowhere else in Jordan, but it may be in Saudi Arabia as well. The closest relative is Pseudophilotes sinaicus Nakamura which is known only from the slopes surrounding the Saint Katarina monastery in the Sinai. Though related, the two are clearly distinct and they have different larval host plants. I was there in early June, 2008 with Benyamini and some colleagues and we immediately found the butterfly at the eact spot predicted by him. We saw about 15 specimens of this tiny creature, but doubtless some of these were re-sightings of the same specimens. No other place on this sountain seems suitable for the species. Even if it were to be found in Saudi Arabia as well, it must have one of the smallest total populations of any butterfly anywhere.
Dr. Torben B. Larsen (torbenlarsen@btinternet.com)
