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The natural history of the island of Rhodes is determined by its geographic position, climate and geological diversity. Rhodes is in the Eastern Mediterranean Basin close to the coast of Turkey, and the flora and fauna are a mixture of Mediterranean and Asian elements. Rhodes is in the Eastern Mediterranean conifer-sclerophyllous-broadleaf forests ecoregion.
The habitats are: arable land; perennial crops, orchards and groves, ruderal land; coastline and coastal rocky areas, inland cliffs, sea cliffs and rocky shores: forest, native coniferous woodland; grassland steppes and dry calcareous grassland; shrub land, sclerophyllous scrub, garrigue and maquis shrubland; wetland, rivers and streams.
The flowering plant species of Rhodes number 1,243.
Phrygana or garrigue is open dwarf scrub dominated by low, often cushion-shaped, spiny shrubs. The phryganic species are high-temperature and drought tolerant, and they grow at low altitudes, usually on poor and rocky limestone and siliceous substrates.
The most common phryganic species on Rhodes are:
Other species include
Many bulbous plants on Rhodes flower in the month of October. Species include:
Notable are:
Rhodes has a high diversity of orchid species, especially in the genus Ophrys:
Among the Mediterranean endemic species prominent in the Rhodes vegetation are:
Nearly endemic to the Mediterranean genera found on Rhodes are:
More widespread in South-east Europe and Asia Minor plants include
Widely introduced plants include:
257 bird species are recorded from Rhodes, many are passage migrants. 80 are breeding species.
Breeding species include:
Passage migrants include:
Vagrant birds (many from nearby Turkey) include Circus macrourus , Charadrius leschenaultii , Apus affinis , Luscinia luscinia , Merops persicus , Ficedula semitorquata , Oenanthe cypriaca , Sturnus roseus , Hoplopterus spinosus , Emberiza rustica , Chettusia gregaria , Bubulcus ibis , Anthropoides virgo , Passer moabiticus and very many others.
winter visitors on Rhodes include: Melanocorypha calandra and Acrocephalus melanopogon .
There are 33 species: Cervidae Dama dama ; Erinaceidae Erinaceus concolor , Erinaceus roumanicus ; Leporidae Lepus europaeus , Oryctolagus cuniculus ; Molossidae Tadarida teniotis ; Muridae Apodemus flavicollis , Apodemus mystacinus , Apodemus sylvaticus , Mus domesticus , Rattus rattus ; Mustelidae Martes foina , Meles meles ; Phocidae Monachus monachus ; Rhinolophidae Rhinolophus blasii , Rhinolophus euryale , Rhinolophus ferrumequinum , Rhinolophus hipposideros ; Soricidae Crocidura suaveolens , Suncus etruscus ; Vespertilionidae Eptesicus bottae , Hypsugo savii , Miniopterus schreibersii , Myotis blythii , Myotis emarginatus , Myotis myotis , Pipistrellus kuhlii , Pipistrellus pipistrellus , Plecotus austriacus .
Fossils found on the island indicate that the species was inhabited by a dwarf elephant species of the genus Palaeoloxodon during the Late Pleistocene. [1]
Rhodes has 3 species: Bufo viridis , Hyla arborea and Rana cerigensis .
There are 24 species of reptile certainly found on Rhodes. These are: Amphisbaenidae, Blanus strauchi ; Cheloniidae, Caretta caretta ;Geoemydidae Mauremys rivulata ; Colubridae, Platyceps najadum , Coluber caspius , Coluber gemonensis , Coluber nummifer , Elaphe situla , Natrix natrix , Natrix tessellata , Telescopus fallax ; Dermochelyidae, Dermochelys coriacea ; Lacertidae, Podarcis erhardii , Anatololacerta oertzeni , Ophisops elegans Lacerta trilineata ; Scincidae, Ablepharus kitaibelii , Chalcides ocellatus , Euprepis auratus ; Typhlopidae, Typhlops vermicularis ; Viperidae, Vipera xanthina ; Agamidae, Laudakia stellio ; Gekkonidae, Hemidactylus turcicus and Mediodactylus kotschyi .
Species uncertainly recorded include a further 8: Eryx jaculus , Eirenis modestus , Malpolon monspessulanus , Natrix tessellata , Vipera xanthina , Chamaeleo chamaeleon , Testudo graeca and Testudo hermanni .
See List of fish of the Mediterranean Sea. Squalius ghigii is endemic to Rhodes.
2,652 insect species/subspecies are recorded from Rhodes. Commonly seen insects in Rhodes are the sail swallowtail, the scarlet dragonfly, Cleopatra butterfly, European praying mantis, cicada, glow-worm, hummingbird hawk-moth, firebug, field cricket, European tree cricket, European hornet, cuckoo wasp, carpenter bee and the rose chafer.
178 land and freshwater mollusca species/subspecies are recorded from Rhodes.
The freshwater crab Potamon potamios is found on Rhodes. It is common at Petaloudes.
Characteristic habitat types of the Rhodes Mediterranean/Aegean coastal zone, are the Cystoseira biocenosis and the Posidonia oceanica seagrass beds, Lithophyllum lichenoides communities form coralligenous reefs which are a spectacular sight; the coralline alga is covered with large gorgonian fans, coral, and a diverse array of often colourful invertebrate organisms and hundreds of species of fish.
These communities host sponges (Porifera), sea anemones, jellyfish (Cnidaria), sea mats and hornwrack (Bryozoa), segmented worms (Annelida) snails, bivalves, squids and octopuses (Mollusca), starfishes and sea urchins (Echinodermata), crabs, lobsters and shrimps (Arthropoda) and little known groups such as Echiura, Priapulida, Sipuncula, Brachiopoda, Pogonophora, Phoronida and Hemichordata.
Amongst the thousand or so species of invertebrates found in the Rhodes Mediterranean/Aegean coastal zone marine environment are mantis shrimps, Mediterranean slipper lobsters, octopus, cuttlefish, scribbled nudibranch, Hypselodoris picta , tasselled nudibranch, precious coral, zigzag coral, purple sail, Mediterranean jellyfish, spiny spider crab, circular crab, broad-clawed porcelain crab, noble pen shell, pilgrim's scallop, ragged sea hare, violet sea hare, Portuguese man o' war, black sea urchin, purple sea-urchin, long-spine slate pen sea urchin, Mediterranean starfish, sea mouse, Barbatia barbata and Parazoanthus axinellae .
There is a marine natural history display at the Aquarium of Rhodes together with a display of living Mediterranean fish and other marine creatures. A second natural history display at Petaloudes is devoted to the mammals, birds, reptiles, insects, plants and geology of Rhodes. A more specialised museum devoted to bee keeping is close to Rhodes city).
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Greece is a signatory to the Berne Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats and the Habitats Directive both affording protection to the fauna and flora of Rhodes.
Anacamptis pyramidalis, the pyramidal orchid, is a perennial herbaceous plant belonging to the genus Anacamptis of the family Orchidaceae. The scientific name Anacamptis derives from Greek ανακάμτειν 'anakamptein' meaning 'bend forward', while the Latin name pyramidalis refers to the pyramidal form of the inflorescence.
Anacamptis is a genus of flowering plants in the orchid family (Orchidaceae); it is often abbreviated as Ant in horticulture. This genus was established by Louis Claude Richard in 1817; the type species is the pyramidal orchid and it nowadays contains about one-third of the species placed in the "wastebin genus" Orchis before this was split up at the end of the 20th century, among them many that are of hybrid origin. The genus' scientific name is derived from the Greek word anakamptein, meaning "to bend backwards".
Anacamptis morio, the green-winged orchid or green-veined orchid, is a flowering plant of the orchid family, Orchidaceae. It usually has purple flowers, and is found in Europe and the Middle East.
Orchis is a genus in the orchid family (Orchidaceae), occurring mainly in Europe and Northwest Africa, and ranging as far as Tibet, Mongolia, and Xinjiang. The name is from the Ancient Greek ὄρχις orchis, meaning "testicle", from the appearance of the paired subterranean tuberoids.
The Habitats Directive is a directive adopted by the European Community in 1992 as a response to the Berne Convention. The European Community was reformed as the European Union the following year, but the directive is still recognised.
The Perch is a 72.1 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest close to Cheddar Gorge in the Mendip Hills, Somerset, England. It received SSSI notification in 1990.
Under South Korean law, the hunting and capturing of a large number of species of wild animals is prohibited. These include 64 species of mammals, 396 species of birds, 16 species of reptiles, and 10 species of amphibians. Most of these species are not actually endangered species, but are protected for other reasons. No freshwater fish are included on the list, although some are endangered.
Palmaria is an Italian island situated in the Ligurian Sea, at the westernmost end of the Gulf of La Spezia. With an area of 1.6 square kilometres (0.6 sq mi), it is the largest island of an archipelago of three closely spaced islands jutting from the mainland at Portovenere. The outer islands, Tino and the tiny Tinetto, lie further south.
Anacamptis papilionacea is a species of flowering plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae. It is commonly known as the pink butterfly orchid.
The fauna of Italy comprises all the animal species inhabiting the territory of the Italian Republic and its surrounding waters. Italy has one of the highest levels of faunal biodiversity in Europe, with over 57,000 species recorded, representing more than a third of all European fauna. This is due to various factors. The Italian peninsula is in the centre of the Mediterranean Sea, forming a corridor between central Europe and North Africa, and it has 8,000 km (5,000 mi) of coastline. Italy also receives species from the Balkans, Eurasia, and the Middle East. Italy's varied geological structure, including the Alps and the Apennines, Central Italian woodlands, and Southern Italian Garigue and Maquis shrubland, also contribute to high climate and habitat diversity.
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Mount Profitis Ilias is a 798-metre-high (2,618 ft) mountain on the Greek island of Rhodes. It is named for the biblical Elijah.
Orchideae is a tribe of orchids in the subfamily Orchidoideae. Historically, it was divided into 2 subtribes, Orchidinae and Habenariinae. The subtribe Orchidinae alone contains about 1,800 species. However, although some phylogenetic studies have established the monophyly of the subtribes, the generic boundaries are unclear, with many genera as traditionally circumscribed being paraphyletic or even polyphyletic. Species of genera such as Habenaria and Platanthera have been placed into both subtribes. A 2017 molecular phylogenetic study found that both subtribes did form clades, but did not formally recognize Habenariinae, because of missing genera and uncertainty over generic boundaries. The Asian species of Orchideae, in particular, have been subject to repeated changes of generic placement from 2012 onwards.
Ophrys speculum, the mirror orchid, is a species of Ophrys distributed throughout the Mediterranean that is pollinated exclusively by a single species of scoliid wasp.
Korission Lagoon is a coastal lagoon located in the southern part of the Greek island of Corfu, in the Ionian Sea. It is located near the village of Agios Mattheos and is separated from the sea by Chalikouna Beach. It has a surface area of 427 ha and it drains into the sea through a channel which bisects Chalikouna Beach. The lagoon was created by the sand dunes that cut the lake's basin off from the sea between 140,000 and 250,000 years ago.
Erich Nelson was a German artist, scientific illustrator, and botanist. He became well-known for his precise and aesthetic aquarelles and illustrations of European orchids, which total more than 2,000. His botanical and mycological author citation is: „E.Nelson“.
Ophrys holosericea, the late spider orchid, is a species of flowering plant in the family Orchidaceae, native to western and central Europe and the Mediterranean region. There has been considerable confusion about the identity of this species and the correct spelling of its name.
Flora
Orchids
Birds
Reptiles
Butterflies
Mollusca
Insects
Marine life
Birds
Flora
Natura Mediterraneo