The amazing world of marine inhabitants is hidden in the waters around the island. Here you can meet rare seals-monks, which were mentioned by the ancient authors, and graceful dolphins accompanying the vessels. On sandy beaches, sea turtles are laying eggs that overcome thousands of kilometers in their travels. The mysterious beaks live in the depths, and the real “meadows” of the grass of Nasidonia and the colony of corals spread under water. Each of these inhabitants makes the Cyprus naval ecosystem truly unique.
Monachi seals
The Mediterranean seals-monks, or blissful seals, were mentioned by many ancient authors-Homer, Aristotle, Pliny Senior and others. These animals give offspring once every couple of years, giving birth to one cub. Many dangers are in wait for kids, and human activity remains the key risk factor. The view is on the verge of extinction - in the Mediterranean Sea there are only about 700 individuals, just over 20 of them live in Cyprus.
Sea angels
A sea angel, or a shark-angel, or squash, is a type of sharks with a flat body, wide fins and a rounded muzzle. Outwardly resemble slopes. In the past, they were widespread in the Atlantic, Mediterranean and Black Seas. Today, many species are classified as those under the threat of disappearance. Three Mediterranean species of sea angels live in the waters of Cypens.
They grow up to two meters in length and can weigh to 35 kg. There are no danger to people. The population of this species is reduced for a number of reasons, including the lack of scientific knowledge about their biology and preferences of the environment, random capture during industrial fishing (sea angels themselves have no commercial value), poaching.
Photo: Tony Chess / Noaa Swfsc / Wikipedia.org
Sea turtles
Sea turtles live on Earth since the time of dinosaurs. Their life expectancy is 80-100 years, they reach reproductive age at 25 years. Throughout the world, there are seven types of sea turtles. All of them are either vulnerable, or are at risk of disappearance. In the Mediterranean there are only three of these species: Loggerhead (Caretta Caretta), green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) and leathery turtle (Dermocheles Coriacea). In Cyprus, two types of these three are laying eggs: loggerhead and green sea turtle.
Scientists jokingly call the first 20 years of the life of the sea turtle lost. The fact is that from the moment when the turtles first fall into the sea, and until they return to shallow water for mating, their vital activity is extremely difficult to study. The lost years remain a mystery to science.
Sea turtles can overcome incredibly long distances during migration. For example, Loggerhead is able to swim more than 3,000 km and get from the coast of Cyprus to Malta and Tunisia.
Females of sea turtles return to the same beach where they hatched to lay their own eggs into the nests, which they build in the sand. The amazing ability of sea turtles to orientate is due to their sensitivity to the magnetic fields of the Earth.
The floor of sea turtles is determined by the temperature of the sand in the nest. When the sand temperature is low, male cubs are formed, at higher temperatures - female cubs. The temperature in the range from 29 to 30 degrees creates gender diversity.
Of the 1000 hatching turtles, only one lives to a mature age. This is due to the numerous dangers that sea turtles face both in the places of their nesting and at sea.
Photo by Freepik.com
Shark-Mako
This is one of the most aggressive species of sharks, which is a danger to humans, if he attacks first. In general, sharks-mako do not consider a person as prey and attack only if they feel danger. Maco usually reach 2.5 meters in length, the maximum fixed length is 4.45 meters. They meet in the open sea, sometimes swim to the shore. Maco feeds on swordsmen, tuna, other sharks, squids. Sometimes these predators attack marine mammals and turtles.
Sharks-Mako are threatened with extinction, they are listed in the Red Book of the International Union of Nature Protection. In the Mediterranean region, the species is protected by international conventions and laws, it is forbidden to catch them.
Photo: Noaa Observer Program /wikipedia.org
Dolphins
Dolphins are one of the most intelligent and social inhabitants of Cyprus waters. In 2017, the Department of Marine Research conducted a large -scale study and confirmed the presence of four types of dolphins off the coast of the island: Stenella Coeruleoalba, Grampus Griseus, large -toothed dolphin (Steno Bredanence) and Afalina) (Tursiops truncatus). Each of these species has its own characteristics. The striped dolphin is distinguished by a pronounced pattern on the body and is able to develop high speed, often accompanying the ships and arranging spectacular jumps. Gray dolphin has a more massive body and light gray color with characteristic scars that appear with age. The coarse -toothed dolphin is less common and prefers deeper waters, remaining a little -studied look in the region. Afalin is the most famous and perhaps the most friendly species of dolphins, often approaching the coast and interacting with people. These dolphins live in social groups, actively communicate with the help of complex Sound signals and demonstrate high cognitive abilities.
Photo by Freepik.com
Kravoryls
Kravoryls are rare and poorly studied marine mammals, which can sometimes be found off the coast of Cyprus. Outwardly, they resemble large dolphins, but are distinguished by a more massive body and an elongated shape of the head. The length of the adult reaches 5-7 meters, and the mass can exceed 3 tons. These animals lead a secretive lifestyle and prefer depths starting from 1000 meters, so it is extremely rare to observe them at the surface. Kravoylels are real record holders among mammals on submarines. They manage to reach depths of up to 3000 meters and hold their breath for more than two hours. On Cyprus shores, they are found mainly in deep -sea regions south and west from the island, where they sometimes go hunting for squid and other deep prey. That is why most of the information about the beaks in the Mediterranean Sea comes from the researchers who record them using acoustic monitoring and random meetings with fishermen or divers.
Photo: WANAX01 Charles Davies / Wikipedia.org, License CC by-SA 4.0
Corals
Corals usually grow on hard surfaces, sometimes on vertical rocks. Over time, they form branches-colonies, which in some cases resemble trees. There are various colors and shapes, most often live at great depths. They feed on plankton. Sometimes in contact with human skin causes itching and irritation because of their toxic books.
Two types of corals live in the waters of Cyprus: - Caryophyllia clavus has a reddish or brown color, grows on the walls of sea caves, underwater cliffs and stones, both at depth and shallow water; - Dendrophylla Ramea, the very coral “tree” with “branches”. Lives in a depth, has a yellowish color.
Photo Polignosi.com
Sidonia Ocean
This is a kind of so -called sea herbs. They have similar characteristics with ground plants, have flowers, seeds, roots. The endemic species of plants, that is, is found exclusively in the Mediterranean.
The underwater meadows of Nyudonia play an important role in the marine environment, their significance is comparable to the role of forest for living creatures on land. The meadows of Nyudonia can absorb 35 times more carbon than tropical forests, which largely helps to limit the consequences of climate change.
Sidonia has the ability to both ash and sexual reproduction. In the first method, the most common, lateral shoots are rooted in the sand and thereby expand the area of the meadow. In the second, the plant blooms and forms a small yellow flower, which after fertilization turns into a fetus. The sea current breaks this fruit from the plant, so its journey begins through the waters of the oceans. After 2-3 months, this fruit will be opened, its seeds will fall to the bottom of the sea and give rise to new plants.
Photo: Marina Mackou, Department of Fisheries and Marine Research
Sea hedgehog
Four types of sea hedgehogs live in the waters of Cypery:
- Paracentrotus Lividus - Arbacia Lixula - SPHAERECHINUS Granularis - PSAMMECHINUS Microtuberculatus
Sea hedgehog has no head. His body has a spherical shape, and the usual diameter is from 3.5 to 12 cm (depending on the type). The body is covered with carapace from lime plates, as well as numerous needles that serve to protect and move. The protruding chewing device consists of five powerful teeth and is known as Aristotelian lantern, because it was first described by Aristotle, who compared it with the lamp.
Usually sea hedgehog lives on the rocks or on a rocky seabed. It moves mainly using its legs and spikes, which it also uses for protective purposes. It feeds on small marine animals, herbs and algae. The thorns of the sea hedgehog, although not poisonous, easily penetrate through the skin of a person and inflict painful wounds. Its symmetrical shell is used as a decorative decoration.
Although now there are no sea urchins in free sale, earlier in the fishing villages they were eaten.
Photo Polignosi.com
