It is difficult to answer unambiguously what animals live in the steppe as this natural zone is extremely extensive. The structure of fauna of steppes varies depending on a geographical location. Therefore it makes sense to allocate the most typical representatives.
Large animal steppes
The steppe call the plain located in a moderate or subtropical zone of the Northern or Southern hemisphere. Steppes are poor in vegetation, and in them almost completely there are no trees. The fauna of the steppe is not too various, but is rather curious.
The steppe fauna on a set of indicators – in particular, on specific structure – reminds fauna of deserts. The hot summer, dryness, strong cold weather in the winter, small quantity of a pasture are characteristic of steppes. Therefore the animals inhabiting the steppe are forced to adapt to severe climatic conditions. In the summer most of them leads a nocturnalism. From hoofed animals most often it is possible to meet an antelope, a gazelle, a saiga. In general, the types having acute eyesight and ability to run quickly are characteristic of the steppe. The Mongolian steppe in a large number is inhabited by dzhigeta. It one-hoofed mammal families horse, representing a species of wild donkeys. They possess a thickset trunk with wool of a dun shade and a short black mane. It is difficult to imagine the steppe without wolves, coyotes, jackals and corsac foxes. It is worth talking about the last separately. The corsac fox is the steppe fox resembling a fox ordinary superficially, but differing in longer paws and a short tail. In the summer its skin has reddish-gray color, in the winter it becomes yellowish.
Other fauna
In the steppe live the rodents building difficult holes, for example, hamsters, gophers and groundhogs are numerous. Typical representatives of the steppe are jerboas. It is rather diverse birds are presented: gray herons, larks, kestrels, steppe eagles, quails, bustards, cranes belladonnas, hoopoes, bitterns, sizovoronka, pink starlings live in the steppe. For the winter the most part of birds flies away. At last, the fauna of a steppe zone includes a huge number of insects. As in the steppe strong winds almost all the year round blow, survive here or a little flying, or on the contrary powerful, capable to resist to air flow winged types. First of all it is worth calling locust, it is a lot of flies and Hymenoptera. There are also butterflies – generally modest scoops. The fact that the steppe zone of North America is inhabited by fauna much poorer, than in Eurasia attracts attention. The fauna of Australia is even less various – here steppes are inhabited mainly by marsupials.