Natural history of Rhodes

The natural history of the island of Rhodes is determined by its geographic position, climate and geological diversity. Rhodes is in the Mediterranean Basin, 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, 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.

Flowering plants

The flowering plant species of Rhodes number 1,243.

Phrygana or spiny garrigue

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:

* ''Sarcopoterium spinosum''
* ''Cistus, Cistus incanus''
* ''Cistus, Cistus salviifolius''
* ''Phlomis fruticosa''
* ''Salvia triloba''
* ''Quercus coccifera''
* ''Asparagus acutifolius''
* ''Genista acanthoclada''
* ''Euphorbia acanthothamnos''
* ''Pistacia lentiscus''

Other species include

* ''Coridothymus capitatus''
* ''Thymus (plant), Thymus'' sp.
* ''Hypericum empetrifolium''
* ''Salvia triloba''
* ''Erica manipuliflora''
* ''Calicotome villosa''
* ''Ballota acetabulosa''
* ''Asphodelus aestivus''

Bulbous plants

Many bulbous plants on Rhodes flower in the month of October. Species include:

''Sternbergia lutea''
* ''Colchicum cupanii''
* ''Cyclamen graecum''
* ''Drimia maritima'' (late summer)
* ''Narcissus serotinus''.

Notable are:

* ''Colchicum macrophyllum''
* ''Fritillaria rhodia''
* ''Tulipa saxatilis''

Orchids

Rhodes has a high diversity of orchid species, especially in the genus ''Ophrys'':

* ''Ophrys apifera''
* ''Ophrys bombyliflora''
* ''Ophrys ciliata''
* ''Ophrys regis-ferdinandii''
* ''Ophrys cretica''
* ''Ophrys ferrum-equinum''
* ''Ophrys mammosa''
* ''Ophrys lutea''
* ''Ophrys sicula''
* ''Ophrys reinholdii''
* ''Ophrys tenthredinifera''
* ''Ophrys umbilicata''
* ''Ophrys umbilicata''
* ''Ophrys fusca''
* ''Ophrys omegaifera''
* ''Ophrys iricolor''
* ''Ophrys candica''
* ''Ophrys holosericea''
* ''Ophrys heldreichii''
* ''Ophrys dodekanensis''
* ''Ophrys oestrifera''
* ''Ophrys speculum''
* ''Serapias bergonii''
* ''Serapias carica''
* ''Serapias parviflora''
* ''Himantoglossum comperianum''
* ''Himantoglossum robertianum'' (= ''Barlia robertiana'')
* ''Anacamptis collina''
* ''Anacamptis laxiflora''
* ''Anacamptis morio''
* ''Anacamptis papilionacea''
* ''Anacamptis pyramidalis''
* ''Anacamptis sancta''
''Anacamptis fragrans''
* ''Anacamptis palustris''
* ''Anacamptis coriophora''
* ''Orchis anatolica''
* ''Orchis anthropophora''
* ''Orchis italica''
* ''Orchis provincialis''
* ''Orchis punctulata''
* ''Orchis simia''
* ''Orchis lactea''
* ''Neotinea intacta''
* ''Neotinea lactea''
* ''Dactylorhiza romana''
* ''Spiranthes spiralis''
* ''Limodorum abortivum''
* ''Cephalanthera epipactoides''
* ''Cephalanthera longifolia''
* ''Neotinea maculata''

Other plants

Among the Mediterranean endemic species prominent in the Rhodes vegetation are:

* Aleppo pine
* stone pine
* Mediterranean cypress
* bay laurel
* Oriental sweetgum
* Quercus rotundifolia, holm oak
* kermes oak
* Arbutus unedo, strawberry tree
* Greek strawberry tree
* Pistacia lentiscus, mastic
* terebinth
* common myrtle
* oleander
* ''Acanthus mollis''
* ''Vitex agnus-castus''
* ''Valerianella coronata''

Nearly endemic to the Mediterranean genera found on Rhodes are:

* ''Aubrieta''
* ''Sesamoides''
* ''Cynara''
* ''Dracunculus (plant), Dracunculus''
* ''Arisarum''
* ''Biarum''

More widespread in South-east Europe and Asia Minor plants include

* ''Ranunculus asiaticus''
* ''Tamarix parviflora''
* ''Petrorhagia dubia''
* ''Heliotropium europaeum''
* ''Centranthus calcitrapae'' and ''Globularia alypum''

Widely-grown introduced plants

Widely introduced plants include:

* Bougainvillea
* Acacia
* Agave
* Artemisia (genus), Artemisia
* Calendula
* Clematis
* Eucalyptus
* Fuchsia
* Hydrangea
* Impatiens
* Jacaranda
* Jasmine
* Magnolia
* Melissa (plant), Melissa
* Pelargonium
* Salvia

Birds

257 bird species are recorded from Rhodes, many are passage migrants. 80 are breeding species.

Breeding species include:

* ''Alectoris chukar''
* ''Burhinus oedicnemus''
* ''Otus scops''
* ''Apus melba''
* ''Apus pallidus''
* ''Merops apiaster''
* ''Upupa epops''
* ''Calandrella brachydactyla''
* ''Hirundo daurica''
* ''Anthus campestris''
* ''Cercotrichas galactotes''
* ''Oenanthe hispanica''
* ''Gulosus aristotelis''
* ''Ixobrychus minutus''
* ''Buteo rufinus''
* ''Hieraaetus fasciatus''
* ''Circaetus gallicus''
* ''Falco naumanni''
* ''Falco eleonorae''
* ''Falco peregrinus''
* ''Falco biarmicus''
* ''Aquila chrysaetos''
* ''Clamator glandarius''
* ''Melanocorypha calandra''
* ''Acrocephalus melanopogon''
* ''Phylloscopus bonelli''
* ''Sitta neumayer''
* ''Oriolus oriolus''
* ''Corvus corax''
* ''Emberiza hortulana''
* ''Emberiza caesia''
* ''Emberiza melanocephala''
* ''Lanius collurio''
* ''Hippolais olivetorum''
* ''Sylvia ruppeli''
* ''Saxicola rubetra''

Passage migrants include:

''Nycticorax nycticorax''
* ''Ardeola ralloides''
* ''Ardea purpurea''
* ''Plegadis falcinellus''
* ''Pandion haliaetus''
* ''Falco vespertinus''
* ''Milvus migrans''
* ''Circus pygargus''
* ''Hieraaetus pennatus''
* ''Himantopus himantopus''
* ''Glareola pratincola''
* ''Calidris temminckii''
* ''Tringa stagnatilis''
* ''Larus audouinii''
* ''Gelochelidon nilotica''
* ''Chlidonias leucopterus''
* ''Chlidonias hybridus''
* ''Coracias garrulus''
* ''Anthus cervinus''
* ''Plegadis falcinellus''
* ''Oenanthe isabellina''
* ''Oenanthe pleschanka''

Vagrancy (biology), 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''.

Mammals

There are 33 species: Cervidae ''Dama dama''; Erinaceidae ''Erinaceus concolor'', ''Northern white-breasted hedgehog, 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''.

Amphibia

Rhodes has 3 species: ''Bufo viridis'', ''Hyla arborea'' and ''Rana cerigensis''.

Reptiles

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'',''Lacerta oertzeni, Anatololacerta oertzeni'', ''Ophisops elegans'' ''Lacerta trilineata''; Scincidae, ''Ablepharus kitaibelii'', ''Chalcides ocellatus'', ''Euprepis auratus''; Typhlopidae, ''Typhlops vermicularis''; Viperidae, ''Vipera xanthina''; Agamidae, ''Laudakia stellio''; Gekkonidae, ''Mediterranean house gecko, Hemidactylus turcicus'' and '':fr:Mediodactylus kotschyi, 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''.

Fish

See List of fish of the Mediterranean Sea.
''Squalius ghigii'' is endemic to Rhodes.

Insects

2,652 insect species/subspecies are recorded from Rhodes.
Commonly seen insects in Rhodes are the Scarce swallowtail, sail swallowtail, the scarlet dragonfly, Gonepteryx cleopatra, Cleopatra butterfly, European mantis, European praying mantis, cicada, Lampyris noctiluca, glow-worm, Macroglossum stellatarum, hummingbird hawk-moth, Pyrrhocoris apterus, firebug, Gryllus campestris, field cricket, Oecanthus pellucens, European tree cricket, European hornet, cuckoo wasp, Xylocopa violacea, carpenter bee and the Cetonia aurata, rose chafer.

Land and freshwater mollusca

178 land and freshwater mollusca species/subspecies are recorded from Rhodes.

Other terrestrial invertebrates

The freshwater crab ''Potamon fluviatile, Potamon potamios'' is found on Rhodes. It is common at Petaloudes.

Marine fauna

Characteristic habitat types of the Rhodes Mediterranean/Aegean coastal zone, are the ''Cystoseira'' Biocoenosis, biocenosis and the ''Posidonia oceanica'' seagrass beds, Coralline algae, ''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, Siboglinidae, Pogonophora, Phoronida and Hemichordata.

Amongst the thousand or so species of invertebrates found in the Rhodes Mediterranean/Aegean coastal zone marine environment are Squilla mantis, mantis shrimps, Scyllarides latus, Mediterranean slipper lobsters, common octopus, octopus, common cuttlefish, cuttlefish, scribbled nudibranch, ''Hypselodoris picta'', tasselled nudibranch, precious coral, Madrepora oculata, zigzag coral, Velella, purple sail, Cotylorhiza tuberculata, Mediterranean jellyfish, Maja squinado, spiny spider crab, circular crab, Porcellana platycheles, broad-clawed porcelain crab, Pinna nobilis, noble pen shell, Pecten jacobaeus, pilgrim’s scallop, Bursatella leachii, ragged sea hare, Notarchus, violet sea hare, Portuguese man o' war, Arbacia lixula, black sea urchin, Sphaerechinus granularis, purple sea-urchin, Cidaris cidaris, long-spine slate pen sea urchin, Hacelia attenuata, Mediterranean starfish, sea mouse, ''Barbatia barbata'' and ''Parazoanthus axinellae''.

Museums

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).

File:RhodesAquarium (4).jpg, Rhodes Aquarium
File:AquariumRhodesMuseumSphyrnaZygaena (2).jpg, Museum of Rhodes Aquarium, smooth hammerhead shark
File:NatureMuseumPetaloudesVertebrates (2).jpg, Nature Museum Petaloudes. A display case.
File:NatureMuseumPetaloudesVertebrates.jpg, A display case.
File:BeeMuseumRhodesExterior.jpg, Bee Museum of Rhodes.
File:BeeMuseumRhodesDisplay (2).jpg, Bee Museum. A small section of the extensive displays.

.

Conservation

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.

References

Flora
*Flora Europaea
*Vangelis Papiomytoglou, 2006 ''Wild Flowers of Greece'' Mediterraneo Editions
*Panitsa, Maria, Britt Snogerup, Sven Snogerup & Dimitrios Tzanoudakis, 2003. Floristic investigation of Lemnos island (NE Aegean area, Greece). - Willdenowia 33: 79 - 105


Orchids

*Kretzschmar, H. and G., 2004 ''Orchids - Crete and Dodecanese'' Mediterraneo Editions, Greece
* Kreutz, C. A. J., 2002 ''Die Orchideen von Rhodos und Karpathos : Beschreibung, Lebensweise, Verbreitung, Gefährdung, Schutz und Ikonographie'' ( the orchids of Rhodes and Karpathos : description, pattern of life, distribution, threat, conservation and iconography) Seckel & Kreutz Publishers.
*Zissis Antonopoulos, 2009 ''The Bee Orchids of Greece - The genus Ophrys'' Mediterraneo Editions

includes spring expedition repor
Frühling auf Rhodos 20. - 30. März 2008 pdf in German

Birds

*The Birds of the Western Palearctic and Avibase see External links
*The EBCC Atlas of European Breeding Birds

Reptiles
Bader T, Riegler C, Grillitsch H (2009) The herpetofauna of the Island of Rhodes (Dodecanese, Greece).''Herpetozoa, Wien''; 21 (3/4): 147–169

Butterflies
*Bender, R., 1963 Beitrage zur Lepidopterenfauna der Insel Rhodos ''Zeitschr. wiener e.nt. Ges.'', vo1. 48: pp. 11–20, 2 pls. 1963. Review of previous studies& annotated list of 150 macros from Rhodes. Figures races of ''Gonepteryx cleopatra'' (in colour), ''Maniola telmessia ornata'', & ''Glaucopsyche alexis insulicola.'' In German.
*Kudrna, O. 2002. ''The Distribution Atlas of European Butterflies''. Oedippus, Nr. 20.
*Kudrna, O., Harpke, A., Lux, K., Pennerstorfer, J., Schweiger, O., Settele, J. & Wiemers, M., 2011. ''Distribution Atlas of Butterflies in Europe''. GfS, Halle, Germany. 576 pp.
*Van Swaay, C., Cuttelod., A., Collins, S., Maes, D., López Munguira, M., Šašiæ, M., Settele, J., Verovnik, R., Verstrael, T., Warren, M., Wiemers, M. and Wynhoff, I., 2010. ''European Red List of Butterflies''.

Mollusca

*Frank C., 1997. Die Molluskenfauna der Insel Rhodos, 2. Teil. ''Stapfia'', 48: 1–179.
*Maassen, W.J.M., 1981. De Molluskenfauna van het griekseeiland Rhodos. ''De Kreukel'', 17: 21–32.
*Paget O.E., 1976. Die Molluskenfauna der Insel Rhodos. 1.Teil. ''Annalen des Naturhistorischen Museums in Wien'' 80:681–780.
*Barna Páll-Gergely and Zoltán Csabai, 2008. Notes on the continental malacofauna of Rhodes, with two new species for the fauna of the island ''Malacologia Bohemoslovaca'' 7: 76–7

*Fauna Europaea

Insects

*Fauna Europaea

Marine life

*Noelle and Dinos Simeonidis, 2010 ''Life in the Greek seas and the Mediterranean'' Mediterraneo Editions {{ISBN, 978-960-6848-25-4
*Repetto, G.; Orlando, F. & Arduino, G. 2005. Conchiglie del Mediterraneo. 1770 Specie Illustrate con Distribuzione e Frequenza. Amici del Museo Federico Eusebio, Alba. 392 pp.

External links

WWF Southeastern EuropeFauna of Dodecanese lists
via search on Fauna Europaea

Birds
AvibaseEBBC AtlasBirdwatching report May, 2005

Flora
Michael Hassler
[University of Karlsruhe
EU-Nomen
Pan-European Species Directories Infrastructure To access the East Aegean list go to advanced search > occurrence then select East Aegean from the menu
Mediterranean plants identification
University of Reading
Orchids of Rhodes

Natura Mediterraneo
naturamediterraneo
Forum. Many images In Italian

Rhodes
Natural history of Greece, Rhodes