Lake Ohrid is a lake which straddles the mountainous border between the southwestern part of North Macedonia and eastern Albania. It is one of Europe's deepest and oldest lakes, with a unique aquatic ecosystem of worldwide importance, with more than 200 endemic species.
Ohrid trout or the Lake Ohrid brown trout is an endemic species of trout in Lake Ohrid and in its tributaries and outlet, the Black Drin river, in North Macedonia and Albania. Locally, the fish is known as охридска пастрмка in Macedonian and koran in Albanian.
The wildlife of Iraq includes its flora and fauna and their natural habitats. Iraq has multiple biomes which include the mountainous region in north to the wet marshlands along the Euphrates river. The western part of the country comprises mainly desert and some semi-arid regions. As of 2001, seven of Iraq's mammal species and 12 of its bird species are endangered. The endangered species include the northern bald ibis and Persian fallow deer. The Syrian wild ass is extinct, and the Saudi Arabian dorcas gazelle was declared extinct in 2008.
Lake Skadar – also called Lake Scutari, Lake Shkodër and Lake Shkodra – lies on the border of Albania and Montenegro, and is the largest lake in Southern Europe. It is named after the city of Shkodër in northern Albania. It is a karst lake.
Salmo ohridanus, also known by the local name as the belvica in Northern Macedonia or belushka in Albania, is a species of freshwater salmonid fish, endemic to Lake Ohrid in Albania and North Macedonia.
The largefin pupfish, also known as cachorrito de dorsal larga, is a small species of pupfish in the family Cyprinodontidae. It is endemic to Lake Chichancanab in Quintana Roo, Mexico. In almost all places, different Cyprinodon species do not overlap in their range, but there are two notable exceptions and one of these is Lake Chichancanab, which is inhabited by C. verecundus, C. beltrani, C. esconditus, C. labiosus, C. maya, C. simus and C. suavium. Living together, the Cyprinodon species in Lake Chichancanab have diverged into different niches. Pupfish typically feed on algae and detritus. In Lake Chichancanab, however, C. verecundus has become an amphipod- and bivalve-eater.
Salmo balcanicus is a type of trout, a fish in the family Salmonidae. It is endemic to Lake Ohrid and its outlet in North Macedonia and Albania in the Balkans.
Salmo dentex is a variety of trout, a freshwater fish in the family Salmonidae, found in the western Balkans. Until recently the identity, biological distinctness and species status of the dentex trout were not properly clarified, but genetic data now suggest it is not a monophyletic unit that could be distinguished from other salmonids as a separate species.
Salmo lumi is a type of trout, a fish in the family Salmonidae. It is endemic to Lake Ohrid and its tributaries in Albania and North Macedonia.
The streber, also known as the Danube streber, is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish in the family Percidae. It is found in strongly flowing waters in the Danube and Dniester drainages of Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Moldova, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, and Ukraine.
Alasmidonta mccordi, the Coosa elktoe, was a species of freshwater mussel, an aquatic bivalve mollusk in the family Unionidae, the river mussels. Because no individuals have been seen recently, it is assumed to be extinct.
Cerambyx cerdo, commonly known as the great capricorn beetle or cerambyx longicorn, is a species of beetle in family Cerambycidae. It occurs in North Africa, Europe, and Asia.
Coregonus alpinus is a species of freshwater whitefish in the family Salmonidae. It is endemic to Lake Thun, in Switzerland's Interlaken region, where it is found in deep water. The maximum length recorded for this species is 25 centimetres (9.8 in). It feeds on chironomids and other bottom-dwelling invertebrates. It is known as the kropfer, a name also applied to the probably extinct species Coregonus restrictus.
Alburnus arborella is a species of ray-finned fish in the carp family Cyprinidae. It is a freshwater fish occurring in lakes and streams in Europe. It is distributed in Croatia, Italy, Slovenia, and Switzerland.
Coregonus maraena, referred to in English as the maraene, maraena whitefish or the whitefish, is a whitefish of the family Salmonidae that occurs in the Baltic Sea basin - in the sea itself and the inflowing rivers, and in several lakes as landlocked populations. It is found in Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Russia and Sweden. As of 2013, it has been listed as a vulnerable species by the IUCN and as endangered by HELCOM. It is an extremely important fish within the Baltic Sea ecosystem, both for population equilibrium and for the local diets of the surrounding human population. Due to a variety of factors, mostly overfishing, the maraena’s population dwindled to near-extinction levels. Thus, rampant repopulation was enacted to preserve this important fish.
Squalius squalus, commonly known as the Italian chub, or the Chubius Chub or Cavedano, is a species of freshwater fish in the carp family Cyprinidae. It is native to southeastern Europe being found in Italy, Switzerland and the former Yugoslavia.
Unio mancus is a species of freshwater mussel, an aquatic bivalve mollusk in the family Unionidae, the river mussels.
For a small country, Albania is characterised by a considerable wealth of terrestrial and marine ecosystems and habitats with contrasting floral and faunal species, defined in an area of 28,748 square kilometres. Most of the country is predominantly of Mediterranean character, comprehending the country's center and south, while the alpine affinity is more visible in the northeast.
Over 22,500 species of wildlife have been recorded in North Macedonia. The majority of these are animals, with invertebrates making up over half of the total species of recorded wildlife. Of these, the vast majority are insects, which include over 10,000 identified species. Over 3000 of these insects are beetles, with other large clades including Lepidoptera, flies, and Hymenoptera. Other arthropods invertebrate groups include Chelicerata and crustaceans. Among vertebrates, there have been over 300 species of birds recorded at some point, although not all nest in the area. There are over 80 species of both fish and mammals, 32 reptiles, and 14 amphibians.
