Fauna of Turkey

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Caracal: One of Turkey's wild cats Lightmatter caracal.jpg
Caracal: One of Turkey's wild cats
Common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncates) Sprung Bottlenose side.jpg
Common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncates)

The fauna of Turkey is abundant and very varied. The wildlife of Turkey includes a great diversity of plants and animals, each suited to its own particular habitat, as it is a large country with many geographic and climatic regions About 1500 species of vertebrates have been recorded in the country and around 19,000 species of invertebrate. The country acts as a crossroads with links to Europe, Asia, and the Near East, and many birds use the country as a staging post during migration.

Contents

Human-made nests for Northern bald ibises in Birecik Birecikcolonynests.JPG
Human-made nests for Northern bald ibises in Birecik
Loggerhead sea turtle nesting places by the Mediterranean Sea Caretta caretta nesting.png
Loggerhead sea turtle nesting places by the Mediterranean Sea

Turkey has a large range of habitat types and a great faunal diversity. Nearly 1,500 vertebrate species were recorded, of which over 100 species, mostly fish, are endemic. The country is on two major routes used by migratory birds which increase in numbers during spring and autumn. The invertebrate fauna is also very diverse, with about 19,000 species being recorded including 4,000 endemics. [1]

Overview

Turkey has a large range of habitat types and the diversity of its fauna is very great. There are nearly 1,500 species of vertebrate recorded of which over 100 species, mostly fish, are endemic. The country is on two major routes used by migratory birds which swells the numbers in spring and autumn. The invertebrates are also very diverse, with about 19,000 species being recorded including 4,000 endemics. [1]

Invertebrates

Molluscs

Insects

There are over 250 species of ant in Turkey, [2] 48 of which are endemic. [3]

Butterflies

Moths

Arachnids

Vertebrates

Amphibians

Twenty-three species are endemic to Turkey. [4]

Reptiles

Twenty-three species are endemic to Turkey. [4]

Birds

Mammals

Eight species are endemic to Turkey. [4] Many species have declined in numbers, for example chamois, gazelle and mouflon, with shortage of staff to protect them claimed to be a factor. [5] DNA of 15 endangered large mammals will be stored. [6]

Fish

One hundred sixty-one species of freshwater fish are endemic to Turkey. [4]

Conservation

Conservation action plans for 100 species are due to be completed by the end of 2019. [7] [ needs update ]

Endangered species

Extinct and locally extinct fauna

The following species and populations have become extinct in Turkey in historical times.

Küre and Kaçkar Mountains National Parks have been suggested for rewilding. [13]

See also

References

    1. 1 2 "Biodiversity in Turkey". IUCN. 7 May 2012. Archived from the original on 19 October 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
    2. ↑ "First annotated checklist of the ant fauna of Turkey (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)". ResearchGate. Retrieved 2019-06-15.
    3. ↑ "Turkey - AntWiki". www.antwiki.org. Retrieved 2019-06-15.
    4. 1 2 3 4 "Animals and Plants Unique to Turkey". lntreasures.com. Retrieved 2019-06-15.
    5. ↑ "Shortage of staff to protect wildlife in Turkey: Official - Turkey News". Hürriyet Daily News. Retrieved 2019-06-15.
    6. ↑ "Endangered wild animals to be protected at gene bank in Turkey". DailySabah. 28 August 2018. Retrieved 2019-06-15.
    7. ↑ "Thousands of wild animals back to life". Hürriyet Daily News. Retrieved 2019-06-15.
    8. ↑ Freyhof, J. (2014). "Pseudophoxinus maeandricus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2014: e.T61349A19010083. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-1.RLTS.T61349A19010083.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
    9. ↑ Stein, A.B.; Athreya, V.; Gerngross, P.; Balme, G.; Henschel, P.; Karanth, U.; Miquelle, D.; Rostro-Garcia, S.; Kamler, J.F.; Laguardia, A.; Khorozyan, I.; Ghoddousi, A. (2020). "Panthera pardus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020: e.T15954A163991139. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-1.RLTS.T15954A163991139.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
    10. ↑ Üstay, A. H. (1990). Hunting in Turkey. Istanbul: BBA.
    11. ↑ Can, Ö. E. (2004). Status, conservation and management of large carnivores in Turkey (PDF). Strasbourg: Convention on the conservation of European wildlife and natural habitats.
    12. ↑ Özkan, Mustafa; Gürün, Kanat; Yüncü, Eren; Vural, Kıvılcım Başak; Atağ, Gözde; Akbaba, Ali; Fidan, Fatma Rabia; Sağlıcan, Ekin; Altınışık, Ezgi N.; Koptekin, Dilek; Pawłowska, Kamilla; Hodder, Ian; Adcock, Sarah E.; Arbuckle, Benjamin S.; Steadman, Sharon R. (July 2024). "The first complete genome of the extinct European wild ass ( Equus hemionus hydruntinus )". Molecular Ecology. 33 (14). Bibcode:2024MolEc..33E7440O. doi: 10.1111/mec.17440 . hdl: 11511/110286 . ISSN   0962-1083. PMID   38946459.
    13. ↑ ERDÖNMEZ, Cihan (2020). "Yeniden Yabanlaştırma: Ekosistem Yönetiminde Bir Yaklaşım" (in Turkish).
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