The leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea ), sometimes called the lute turtle or leathery turtle or simply the luth, is the largest of all living turtles and the heaviest non-crocodilian reptile, reaching lengths of up to 1.8 metres and...
The Snowy owl (Bubo scandiacus) is a large, white owl of the true owl family. It has a number of unique adaptations to its habitat and lifestyle, which are quite distinct from other extant owls. Most owls sleep during the day and hunt at night, but...
The loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta ), is a species of oceanic turtle distributed throughout the world. It is a marine reptile, belonging to the family Cheloniidae. The average loggerhead measures around 90 cm (35 in) in carapace length when...
The ocean sunfish or common mola (Mola mola) is one of the largest bony fish in the world. It was misidentified as the heaviest bony fish, which was actually a different species, Mola alexandrini. Adults typically weigh between 247 and 1,000 kg (545...
The Great bustard (Otis tarda) is a bird in the bustard family, the only member of the genus Otis. It is one of the heaviest birds alive today that can fly. Great bustards are found in Europe and Portugal and Spain now have about 60% of the world's...
The Eastern imperial eagle (Aquila heliaca) is a large graceful bird of prey that breeds in Eurasia. Like all eagles, the Eastern imperial eagle is a member of the family Accipitridae. Furthermore, its well-feathered legs mark it as a member of the...
The great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias), also known as the white shark, white pointer, or simply great white, is a species of large mackerel shark which can be found in the coastal surface waters of all the major oceans. It is the only known...
The saker falcon (Falco cherrug ) is a large species of falcon. This species breeds from central Europe eastwards across the Palearctic to Manchuria. It is mainly migratory except in the southernmost parts of its range, wintering in Ethiopia, the...
The long-tailed duck (Clangula hyemalis ), formerly known as oldsquaw, is a medium-sized sea duck that breeds in the tundra and taiga regions of the arctic and winters along the northern coastlines of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. It is the only...
The greater spotted eagle (Clanga clanga ), occasionally just called the spotted eagle, is a large bird of prey. Like all typical eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. Its feathered legs indicate it as a member of the subfamily Aquilinae,...
The common pochard (; Aythya ferina ) is a medium-sized diving duck. The scientific name is derived from Greek aithuia an unidentified seabird mentioned by authors including Hesychius and Aristotle, and Latin ferina, "wild game", from ferus, "wild".
The marbled polecat (Vormela peregusna ) is a small mammal belonging to the monotypic genus Vormela within the mustelid subfamily Ictonychinae. Vormela is from the German word Würmlein, which means "little worm". The specific name peregusna comes...
Pinna nobilis, common name the noble pen shell or fan mussel, is a large species of Mediterranean clam, a marine bivalve mollusc in the family Pinnidae, the pen shells. It reaches up to 120 cm (4 ft) of shell length. It produces a rare...
Vipera ursinii is a venomous viper and a very rare species, that is in danger of extinction. This species is commonly called the meadow viper. It is found in France, Italy, and Greece as well as much of eastern Europe. Several subspecies are...
The Balkan lynx (Lynx lynx balcanicus) is a subspecies of the Eurasian lynx. It is considered a national symbol in North Macedonia and appears on the Macedonian five-denar coin. This cat is considered to be the largest cat in the Balkans. It has...
The basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus) is the second-largest living shark and fish, after the whale shark. It is one of three plankton-eating shark species, along with the whale shark and megamouth shark. Typically, basking sharks reach 7.9 m (26...
The red-breasted goose (Branta ruficollis ) is a brightly marked species of goose in the genus Branta from Eurasia. It is currently classified as vulnerable by the IUCN.
The lesser white-fronted goose (Anser erythropus ) is a goose closely related to the larger white-fronted goose (A. albifrons ). It breeds in the northernmost Palearctic, but it is a scarce breeder in Europe. There is a re-introduction scheme in...
The European turtle dove (Streptopelia turtur) is a member of the bird family Columbidae, the doves and pigeons. It breeds over a wide area of the south western Palearctic including north Africa but migrates to northern sub-Saharan Africa to winter.
The slender-billed curlew (Numenius tenuirostris ) is a bird in the wader family Scolopacidae. Isotope analysis suggests the majority of the former population bred in the Kazakh Steppe despite a record from the Siberian swamps, and was migratory,...
The shortfin mako (; Māori: /ˈmaːko/; Isurus oxyrinchus), also known as the shortfin mako shark, blue pointer, or bonito shark, is a large mackerel shark. It is commonly referred to as the mako shark, as is the longfin mako shark (Isurus paucus)....
The Eurasian carp or European carp (Cyprinus carpio), widely known as the common carp, is a widespread freshwater fish of eutrophic waters in lakes and large rivers in Europe and Asia. The native wild populations are considered vulnerable to...
The spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias), spurdog, mud shark, or piked dogfish is one of the best known species of the Squalidae (dogfish) family of sharks, which is part of the Squaliformes order.While these common names may apply to several species,...
The velvet scoter (Melanitta fusca ), also called a velvet duck, is a large sea duck, which breeds over the far north of Europe and the Palearctic west of the Yenisey basin. The genus name is derived from Ancient Greek melas "black" and netta...
The sand tiger shark (Carcharias taurus), gray nurse shark, spotted ragged-tooth shark or blue-nurse sand tiger, is a species of shark that inhabits subtropical and temperate waters worldwide. It inhabits the continental shelf, from sandy shorelines...
The common bent-wing bat (Miniopterus schreibersii ), also known as the Schreibers's long-fingered bat or Schreibers's bat, is a species of insectivorous bat. They appear to have dispersed from a subtropical origin and distributed throughout the...
The bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix) is the only extant species of the family Pomatomidae. It is a marine pelagic fish found around the world in temperate and subtropical waters, except for the northern Pacific Ocean. Bluefish are known as tailor in...
The European eel (Anguilla anguilla) is a species of eel. They are critically endangered due to overfishing by fisheries on coasts for human consumption and parasites.
The great hammerhead (Sphyrna mokarran) is the largest species of hammerhead shark, belonging to the family Sphyrnidae, attaining an average length of 4.6 m (15 ft) and reaching a maximum length of 6.2 m (20 ft). It is found in tropical and warm...
The porbeagle or porbeagle shark (Lamna nasus) is a species of mackerel shark in the family Lamnidae, distributed widely in the cold and temperate marine waters of the North Atlantic and Southern Hemisphere. In the North Pacific, its ecological...
The blacktip shark (Carcharhinus limbatus) is a species of requiem shark, and part of the family Carcharhinidae. It is common to coastal tropical and subtropical waters around the world, including brackish habitats. Genetic analyses have revealed...
The devil fish or giant devil ray (Mobula mobular) is a species of ray in the family Mobulidae. It is currently listed as endangered, mostly due to bycatch mortality in unrelated fisheries.
The long-fingered bat (Myotis capaccinii ) is a carnivorous species of vesper bat. It is native to coastal areas around the Mediterranean Sea, as well as a few patches of land in western Iran. Due to the fact that its population is in decline, it is...
The scalloped hammerhead (Sphyrna lewini) is a species of hammerhead shark in the family Sphyrnidae. It was originally known as Zygaena lewini. The Greek word sphyrna translates into "hammer" in English, referring to the shape of this shark's head,...
The sandbar shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus), also known as the brown shark or thickskin shark, is a species of requiem shark, and part of the family Carcharhinidae, native to the Atlantic Ocean and the Indo-Pacific. It is distinguishable by its very...
The Atlantic horse mackerel (Trachurus trachurus), also known as the European horse mackerel or common scad, is a species of jack mackerel in the family Carangidae, which includes the jacks, pompanos and trevallies. It is found in the eastern...
Mehely's horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus mehelyi ) is a species of insectivorous bat in the family Rhinolophidae found in Southern Europe and parts of the Middle East. It is distributed in a narrow band around the Mediterranean Sea from North-Western...
Sharks portalThe angular roughshark (Oxynotus centrina) is a rough shark of the family Oxynotidae.
The school shark (Galeorhinus galeus) is a houndshark of the family Triakidae, and the only member of the genus Galeorhinus. Common names also include tope, tope shark, snapper shark, and soupfin shark. It is found worldwide in temperate seas at...
The Balkan snow vole (Dinaromys bogdanovi ), also known as Martino's snow vole, is the only member of the genus Dinaromys. Eight subspecies of this vole have been recognized from southern parts of Europe. The genus name means "Dinaric mouse",...
The smooth hammerhead (Sphyrna zygaena) is a species of hammerhead shark, and part of the family Sphyrnidae. This species is named "smooth hammerhead" because of the distinctive shape of the head, which is flattened and laterally extended into a...
The common thresher (Alopias vulpinus), also known as Atlantic thresher, is the largest species of thresher shark, family Alopiidae, reaching some 6 m (20 ft) in length. About half of its length consists of the elongated upper lobe of its caudal...
