Southern Europe is the southern region of Europe. It is also known as Mediterranean Europe, as its geography is essentially marked by the Mediterranean Sea. Definitions of Southern Europe include some or all of these countries and regions: Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, East Thrace, Gibraltar, Greece, Italy, Kosovo, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovenia, Southern France, Spain, and Vatican City.
Europe, the westernmost portion of Eurasia, is often divided into regions and subregions based on geographical, cultural or historical factors. Since there is no universal agreement on Europe's regional composition, the placement of individual countries may vary based on criteria being used. For instance, the Balkans is a distinct geographic region within Europe but individual countries may alternatively be grouped into Southern Europe, Southeastern Europe, or less commonly East Central Europe.
A subregion is a part of a larger region or continent and is usually based on location. Cardinal directions, such as south are commonly used to define a subregion.
Europe is traditionally defined as one of seven continents. Physiographically, it is the northwestern peninsula of the larger landmass known as Eurasia ; Asia occupies the eastern bulk of this continuous landmass and all share a common continental shelf. Europe's eastern frontier is delineated by the Ural Mountains in Russia, which is the largest country by land area in the continent. The southeast boundary with Asia is not universally defined, but the modern definition is generally the Ural River or, less commonly, the Emba River. The boundary continues to the Caspian Sea, the crest of the Caucasus Mountains, and on to the Black Sea. The Bosporus, the Sea of Marmara, and the Dardanelles conclude the Asian boundary. The Mediterranean Sea to the south separates Europe from Africa. The western boundary is the Atlantic Ocean. Iceland, though on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and nearer to Greenland than Mainland Europe, is generally included in Europe for cultural reasons and because it is over twice as close to mainland Europe as mainland North America. There is ongoing debate on where the geographical centre of Europe falls.
The small dusty wave is a moth of the family Geometridae first described by Franz von Paula Schrank in 1802. It is found throughout Western, Central and Northern Europe. In the north, its range extends as far as Denmark and southern Scandinavia. In the east its range extends as far as Russia. Idaea seriata is replaced by the subspecies Idaea seriata canteneraria, from the north-east of Spain and the central and eastern Mediterranean to the Crimean peninsula, while the western Mediterranean and the Balearic Islands are inhabited by the sister species Idaea minuscularia. Outside Europe it is found in eastern Algeria, Tunisia, Turkey, Cyprus, the Caucasus and the northwest of Transcaucasia. In Morocco and western Algeria, it is replaced by the sister species Idaea minuscularia. In the British Isles it is common in England and Wales but is only found in the eastern half of Scotland and it is rare in Ireland.
The riband wave is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.
In biogeography, the Mediterranean Basin is the region of lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have mostly a Mediterranean climate, with mild to cool, rainy winters and warm to hot, dry summers, which supports characteristic Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub vegetation.
Pyrgus sidae, the yellow-banded skipper, is a species of skipper. It is found in from the Iberian Peninsula through southern and eastern Europe, southeast France, the northwestern coastal areas of central Italy, then Istria and the Balkan peninsula, across Turkey, Transcaucasia, to Iran and Afghanistan. East of the Southern Ural mountains the range extends to northwest Kazakhstan and the west of the Tien Shan in the north.
Acronicta auricoma, the scarce dagger, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is distributed through most of the Palearctic.
Pseudopanthera macularia, the speckled yellow, is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is found throughout Europe, from the Iberian Peninsula through Western and Central Europe and the British Isles and Russia to the Urals. Its range extends North to South Fennoscandia, in the South from the Western Mediterranean islands and Italy and the Balkan peninsula to the Black Sea region and the Caucasus. From Asia Minor it extends East through the rest of the Palearctic to Transbaikal.
Idaea fuscovenosa, the dwarf cream wave, is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is found in the Palearctic,
Cyclophora puppillaria, or Blair's mocha, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Jacob Hübner in 1799. It can be found in Europe and from North Africa up to the Caucasus area.
Idaea subsaturata is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is found in the coastal regions of the Iberian Peninsula, northern Spain and in small populations near Madrid and in northern Portugal. It is also found in isolated populations in France. It is also found in North Africa, from North-eastern Morocco and northern Algeria up to Tunisia and western Libya.
Hyles vespertilio is a moth of the family Sphingidae.
Jordanita budensis is a moth of the family Zygaenidae. It is found in disjunct populations in central Spain, southern France, Italy, eastern Austria, Hungary, the Balkan Peninsula, Greece, Ukraine, the Crimea, the European part of southern Russia, the Caucasus, Transcaucasia, Turkey, southern Siberia, Mongolia and the Amur region.
Jordanita chloros is a moth of the family Zygaenidae.
Lithostege farinata is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is found from the Iberian Peninsula through north-eastern Germany east to eastern Europe and the Caucasus to western Siberia and Central Asia. In the north, it ranges to southern Scandinavia and the Baltic States. In the south, it is found up to southern Italy and the Balkan Peninsula. It has also been recorded from south-eastern Turkey and north-western Africa. There are old records from Israel and Egypt.
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