The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant. Although the sea is sometimes considered a part of the Atlantic Ocean, it is usually referred to as a separate body of water. Geological evidence indicates that around 5.9 million years ago, the Mediterranean was cut off from the Atlantic and was partly or completely desiccated over a period of some 600,000 years during the Messinian salinity crisis before being refilled by the Zanclean flood about 5.3 million years ago.
Introduction
Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea | Introduction
it is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant. It is connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant. It is connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant It is  a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land
what ocean zone does the sperm whale live in
user
They are relatively abundant from the poles to the equator and are found in all the oceans.
assistant
where does this whale species get its name from?
user
It is a truncation of "spermaceti whale".
assistant
what does it look like?
user
It is distinguished by its large tooth.
assistant
can it make sounds?
user
Yes a "creak" and a "coda" are some of sound names used as per the situation they are in.
assistant
what do they feed on?
user
They feed on several species, notably the giant squid, colossal squid, octopuses and fishes such as demersal rays. However, their diet is mainly medium-sized squid.
assistant
are they under threat of extinction?
user
Currently, entanglement in fishing nets and collisions with ships represent the greatest threats. Other threats include ingestion of marine debris, ocean noise, and chemical pollution.
assistant
can you name any water body in particular where this whale is found?
user
Mediterranean Sea
assistant
where is this located?
user
Satellite tracking revealed that those found in Pelagos Sanctuary migrate southward to off Tunisia, Malta, Pantelleria, and Sicily, and also possibly winter off coastal southern Italy, Sardinia, within the Strait of Messina, Aeolian Islands, and off Catalonia, Cabrera Archipelago, Libya, Kerkennah Islands, Tuscan Archipelago, Ischia and adjacent gulfs (e.g. Naples and Pozzuoli), winter feeding ground of Lampedusa, and whales may recolonize out of the Ligurian Sea to other areas such as in Ionian and in Adriatic Sea. Biology of the species along southern and southeastern parts of the basin such as off Libya, Algeria, and northern Egypt, is unclear due to lacks of scientific approaches although whales have been confirmed off the furthermost of the basin such as along in shore waters of Levantine Sea including Israel, Lebanon, and Cyprus.
Fin whale | Mediterranean Sea
In the Pelagos Sanctuary for Mediterranean Marine Mammals, located in the waters of Italy, France and Monaco, there are eight species of marine mammals residents, most of them all year. Frequent summer excursions depart from the ports of Genoa and Imperia, in Liguria, Northern Italy.
Whale watching | Northern Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean population are generally smaller, reaching just above 20 m (65.5 ft) at maximum, or possibly up to . In the North Pacific, the longest reported were three 22.9 m (75 ft) males, two caught off California between 1919 and 1926 and the other caught off Alaska in 1925, and a 24.7 m (81 ft) female also caught off California, while the longest reliably measured were a 21 m (69 ft) male caught off British Columbia in 1959 and a 22.9 m (75 ft) female caught off central California between 1959 and 1970.
Fin whale | Size
Documented records within Turkish waters have been in very small numbers; one sighting off Antalya in 1994 and five documented strandings as of 2016. It has been shown that populations of Fin whales within the mediterranean have preferred feeding locations that partially overlap with high concentrations of plastic pollution and microplastic debris. High concentrations of microplastics most likely overlap with Fin whales preferred feeding grounds because both microplastic and the whale's food sources are in close proximity to high trophic upwelling areas.
Fin whale | Mediterranean Sea
Its west–east length, from the Strait of Gibraltar to the Gulf of Iskenderun, on the southeastern coast of Turkey, is about .
Mediterranean Sea | Introduction
This marine species occurs in the Mediterranean Sea.
Raphitoma contigua | Distribution
It is rare off the Azores and a vagrant in the Gulf of Mexico and the Mediterranean Sea, with a few records from the Black Sea (1880 and 1926). During the winter it has been recorded off Bermuda, the Bahamas, the Antilles, the east coast of the United States south of 40°N, and in the southeastern North Atlantic between 10°40'N and 19°35'N and 22°W and 20°05'W. In the western and central North Pacific, they range from Hawaii, the Mariana Islands, the East China Sea, the Yellow Sea and the Sea of Japan in the south to the Sea of Okhotsk and Bering and Chukchi Seas in the north.
Common minke whale | Range
This species occurs in the Mediterranean Sea.
Haedropleura flexicosta | Distribution
This species is found in the Mediterranean Sea (near the coasts of France and Italy), in the Adriatic Sea (Italy, Montenegro), the Sea of Marmara, the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov (near the coasts of Ukraine).
Telosentis exiguus | Range
This marine species occurs in the Western Mediterranean Sea.
Crisilla galvagni | Distribution
This nudibranch is found in the Western Mediterranean Sea. Animals from the Eastern Mediterranean apparently lack the yellow colour in the submarginal line, but are considered to be the same species.
Felimare orsinii | Distribution
A 2003 survey of the distribution of shellfish in the "Seas of Turkey" found no "C. zizyphinum" nor "N. circumcuntus" in the Black Sea or Sea of Marmara, however both were found on the shores of the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas.
Tell Aqab | Archaeological research
This marine species occurs in the Mediterranean Sea.
Raphitoma corbis | Distribution
This species occurs in the Mediterranean Sea.
Facelina rubrovittata | Distribution
This marine species is found within European waters (ERMS scope), mainly the Mediterranean Sea.
Batheulima abbreviata | Distribution
Seagrasses may have been common, similar to the modern day Mediterranean neptune grass ("Posidonia oceanica"). The Red Crag Formation is representative of a temperate, shallow nearshore environment, perhaps at the mouth of a large river indicated by conifer pollen and small terrestrial vertebrate remains. Lydekker, along with "O. citoniensis", identified several other whales from the formation, for example the dubious baleen whale "Balaenoptera sibbaldina", the sperm whale "Hoplocetus", the shark toothed dolphin "Squalodon antverpiensis", as well as some species that exist in modern day such as the northern bottlenose whale ("Hyperoodon ampullatus"), the strap-toothed whale ("Mesoplodon layardii"), and the long-finned pilot whale ("Globicephala melas").
Orcinus citoniensis | Paleoecology
This species occurs in the Mediterranean Sea.
Bogia labronica | Distribution
The following is a list of islands in the Mediterranean Sea
List of islands in the Mediterranean | Introduction
Originally called the International Ligurian Sea Cetacean Sanctuary (Ligurian Sea Sanctuary), what is now known as the Pelagos Sanctuary for Mediterranean Marine Mammals is a Marine Protected Area aimed at the protection of marine mammals (cetaceans). It covers an area of approximately 84,000 km², comprising the waters between Toulon (French Riviera), Capo Falcone (western Sardinia), Capo Ferro (eastern Sardinia) and Fosso Chiarone (Tuscany). The sanctuary is located in the Ligurian basin of the Mediterranean Sea. In this area all the cetaceans occurring in the Mediterranean can be found at regular intervals. It is believed to be the main feeding ground for Fin Whales in the Mediterranean basin.
Ligurian Sea Cetacean Sanctuary | Introduction
This marine species occurs in the Mediterranean Sea off the Baleares.
Raphitoma farolita | Distribution
This species occurs in the Western and Central Mediterranean Sea.
Raphitoma densa | Distribution
Marpi and CK Reefs vicinity to Saipan), Volcano Islands, Pasaleng Bay, Trindade and Martin Vaz, Mauritius, and Aldabra. Whales were once uncommon in the Mediterranean and the Baltic Seas, but have increased their presence in both waters as global populations have recovered. Recent increases within the Mediterranean basin, including re-sightings, indicate that more whales may migrate into the inland sea in the future, not only for wintering but also for feeding. Humpbacks are also showing signs of re-expanding into former ranges, such as Scotland, Skagerrak and Kattegat, as well as Scandinavian fjords such as Kvænangen, where they had not been observed for decades.
Humpback whale | Range and habitat
Waters nearby Lampedusa are the only area in the Mediterranean with sightings of pregnant great white sharks and newly born individuals. Recent studies revealed that the waters of Lampedusa are a wintering feeding ground for the Mediterranean group of fin whales. Humpback whale, a species used to be considered as a vagrant species in to the Mediterranean basin, has been seen around the island in recent years. Along with Linosa, Lampedusa once was a stronghold for critically endangered Mediterranean monk seals until 1950s and they are likely to be regional extinct today.
Lampedusa | Wildlife
This marine species occurs in the Central and Eastern Mediterranean Sea.
Raphitoma alternans | Distribution
In the Mediterranean Sea, this species was found burrowing in calcareous rocks, in coralline algae ("Corallina mediterranea") and in the mussel ("Brachidontes pharaonis"), another organism that has invaded the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal. In this locality, there were said to be 25 individuals per square metre. Reproduction in this species is by transverse fission; a constriction appears at the posterior end of the trunk, gradually deepening until the part becomes detached, with regeneration of the main body components then following.
Aspidosiphon elegans | Ecology
This species occurs in the Mediterranean Sea.
Raphitoma curta | Distribution
Sei whales live in all oceans, although rarely in polar or tropical waters. The difficulty of distinguishing them at sea from their close relatives, Bryde's whales and in some cases from fin whales, creates confusion about their range and population, especially in warmer waters where Bryde's whales are most common. In the North Atlantic, its range extends from southern Europe or northwestern Africa to Norway, and from the southern United States to Greenland. The southernmost confirmed records are strandings along the northern Gulf of Mexico and in the Greater Antilles. Throughout its range, the whale tends not to frequent semienclosed bodies of water, such as the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, Hudson Bay, the North Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea.
Sei whale | Range and migration
This species occurs in the entire Mediterranean Sea, especially off Southern Italy; and off Turkey; in the Atlantic Ocean off the Canary Islands and Funchal.
Haedropleura secalina | Distribution
The entire Mediterranean Sea; NE Atlantic, from Wales to Canary Islands.
Raphitoma bicolor | Distribution
This species occurs in the Mediterranean Sea.
Raphitoma horrida | Distribution
This species is found in the Mediterranean Sea and adjacent Atlantic Ocean.
Dondice banyulensis | Distribution
This species occurs in the Western and Central Mediterranean Sea.
Raphitoma laviae | Distribution
In addition to the seas, a number of gulfs and straits are recognised:
Mediterranean Sea | Other features
This mammal is descended from filter-feeding whales that appeared at the beginning of the Oligocene, over 30 million years ago. The gray whale is distributed in an eastern North Pacific (North American), and an endangered western North Pacific (Asian), population. North Atlantic populations were extirpated (perhaps by whaling) on the European coast before AD 500, and on the American coast around the late 17th to early 18th centuries. Even so, on May 8, 2010, a sighting of a gray whale was confirmed off the coast of Israel in the Mediterranean Sea, leading some scientists to think they might be repopulating old breeding grounds that have not been visited for centuries.
Gray whale | Introduction
The Balearic Sea (endotoponym: "Mar Balear" in Catalan and Spanish) is a body of water in the Mediterranean Sea near the Balearic Islands. The Ebro River flows into this small sea.
Balearic Sea | Introduction
This species occurs in the Mediterranean Sea.
Mangelia barashi | Distribution
This species occurs in the Mediterranean Sea.
Adeuomphalus ammoniformis | Distribution
The species is found in the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea and the Bosporus, the English Channel and the North Sea.
Adyte | Distribution
As a result of the drying of the sea during the Messinian salinity crisis, the marine biota of the Mediterranean are derived primarily from the Atlantic Ocean. The North Atlantic is considerably colder and more nutrient-rich than the Mediterranean, and the marine life of the Mediterranean has had to adapt to its differing conditions in the five million years since the basin was reflooded. The Alboran Sea is a transition zone between the two seas, containing a mix of Mediterranean and Atlantic species. The Alboran Sea has the largest population of bottlenose dolphins in the Western Mediterranean, is home to the last population of harbour porpoises in the Mediterranean, and is the most important feeding grounds for loggerhead sea turtles in Europe.
Mediterranean Sea | Biodiversity
This species occurs in the Mediterranean Sea.
Nassarius circumcinctus | Distribution
However, due to a poor fossil record of "Livyatan", collecting bias is another possible explanation. The holotype of "L. melvillei" is from the Tortonian stage of the Upper Miocene 9.9–8.9 mya in the Pisco Formation of Peru, which is known for its well-preserved assemblage of marine vertebrates. Among the baleen whales found, the most common was an undescribed species of cetotheriid whale measuring around , and most of the other baleen whales found were roughly the same size. Toothed whale remains found consist of beaked whales (such as "Messapicetus gregarius"), ancient pontoporiids (such as "Brachydelphis mazeasi"), oceanic dolphins, and the raptorial sperm whale "Acrophyseter".
Livyatan | Palaeoecology
This marine species occurs in the Red Sea and as an introduced species in the Mediterranean Sea off Israel
Pseudorhaphitoma iodolabiata | Distribution
Cities are ordered by their position on the Mediterranean, from west to east. They can be reordered by name (alphabetically), country, subdivision of the Mediterranean, population size, or main language spoken in the city.
List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea | Introduction
This small madrepore is only found in the Mediterranean Sea. It likes shallow and bright underwater area and usually fixed itself on hard substrate like rocks, shells or other hard materials as deep as 50 m.
Balanophyllia europaea | Distribution & habitat
The species was found off the Isla de Alborán in the western Mediterranean Sea.
Parviturbo alboranensis | Distribution
This species occurs in the Mediterranean Sea.
Bela plicatilis | Distribution
This marine species occurs in European waters and in the Mediterranean Sea.
Gibbula umbilicaris | Distribution
Ancalecetus (from Greek "ankale", "bent arm", and "ketos", "whale") is an extinct genus of early whale known from the Late Eocene (Priabonian, ) Birket Qarun Formation (, paleocoordinates ) in Wadi Al-Hitan, Egypt. The species is named after anthropologist and primate researcher Elwyn L. Simons who discovered the type specimen in 1985. The holotype is a partial cranium (the top of the skull was destroyed by erosion), both dentaries, 20 vertebrae and some sternal elements, partial ribs, and most of both forelimbs. "Ancalecetus" differs from other archaeocetes and modern whales in having narrow scapulae, very limited mobility in the shoulder joint, and fusion of the humerus, ulna, and radius at the elbow joint.
Ancalecetus | Introduction
This marine species occurs in the Central Mediterranean Sea.
Mitromorpha tricolorata | Distribution
In order to provide protection for the numerous cetacean (whales and dolphins; porpoises are not found in this part of the Mediterranean Sea) species in the Ligurian Sea the bordering countries established the sea as a SPAMI in 1999. The International Ligurian Sea Cetacean Sanctuary now covers covering territorial waters as well as high sea.
Ligurian Sea | Conservation
This species is present in the Mediterranean Sea - Eastern Basin and in North Atlantic Ocean.
Petaloconchus glomeratus | Distribution
This species occurs in the Mediterranean Sea. 1: 1–7
Gibbula vimontiae | Distribution
This marine species occurs in the Mediterranean Sea off Lecce, Italy
Raphitoma griseomaculata | Distribution
Whales have an elongated head, especially baleen whales, due to the wide overhanging jaw. Bowhead whale plates can be long. Their nostril(s) make up the blowhole, with one in toothed whales and two in baleen whales. The nostrils are located on top of the head above the eyes so that the rest of the body can remain submerged while surfacing for air. The back of the skull is significantly shortened and deformed. By shifting the nostrils to the top of the head, the nasal passages extend perpendicularly through the skull. The teeth or baleen in the upper jaw sit exclusively on the maxilla.
Cetacea | Head
This marine species is found in the Mediterranean Sea, originally off Sicily and recently off the Alboran Island.
Pseudorbis granulum | Distribution
This marine species occurs in the Mediterranean Sea off Cagliari.
Mangelia grisea | Distribution
However, a few sightings are regular between Norway, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, the Canary Islands and even Italy and Sicily; at least the Norway individuals come from the Western stock.
Right whale | North Atlantic right whale
It covers an area of about , representing 0.7% of the global ocean surface, but its connection to the Atlantic via the Strait of Gibraltar—the narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Spain in Europe from Morocco in Africa—is only wide. In oceanography, it is sometimes called the "Eurafrican Mediterranean Sea", the "European Mediterranean Sea" or the "African Mediterranean Sea" to distinguish it from mediterranean seas elsewhere. The Mediterranean Sea has an average depth of and the deepest recorded point is in the Calypso Deep in the Ionian Sea. It lies between latitudes 30° and 46° N and longitudes 6° W and 36° E.
Mediterranean Sea | Introduction
The first biological evidence for reduced environments in the Mediterranean Sea was the presence of Lucinidae and Vesicomyidae bivalve shells cored on the top of the Napoli mud volcano (; "Napoli" is only a name of a seamount. It locates south of Crete), located at 1,900 m depth on the Mediterranean Ridge in the subduction zone of the African plate. This was followed by the description of a new Lucinidae bivalve species, "Lucinoma kazani", associated with bacterial endosymbionts. In the southeastern Mediterranean, communities of polychaetes and bivalves were also found associated with cold seeps and carbonates near Egypt and the Gaza Strip at depths of 500–800 m, but no living fauna was collected.
Cold seep | In the Mediterranean
Much of these forests and shrublands have been altered beyond recognition by thousands of years of human habitation. There are now very few relatively intact natural areas in what was once a heavily wooded region.
Mediterranean Sea | Shift to a "Mediterranean climate"
This species is found in the Mediterranean Sea along Greece, in the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf.
Conomurex persicus | Distribution
The order Cetacea includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. They are the mammals most fully adapted to aquatic life with a spindle-shaped nearly hairless body, protected by a thick layer of blubber, and forelimbs and tail modified to provide propulsion underwater. Species listed below also includes species being recorded in Levantine Sea except for gray whale.
List of mammals of Lebanon | Order: <a href="Cetacea">Cetacea</a> (whales)
This is an inventory and research program on whales and dolphins in the Mediterranean Sea between Corsica and the French Riviera taking place from late June to early September. During this period, the waters culminate in food biomass attracting several whale and dolphin species in search of food, among which includes a thousand whales and tens of thousands of dolphins. Concretely, the purpose of these scientific programs is to study whale and dolphin populations that frequent the Ligurian Sea and the Balearic Islands in summer to improve their protection. Since 1997, SCS has carried out over days of data collection in the Mediterranean Sea, helped to identify and observe tens of thousands of cetaceans belonging to 8 species and provided offshore work for the benefit of the International Commission for the Scientific Exploration of the Mediterranean Sea (CIESM).
Swiss Cetacean Society | Mediterranean program
This species occurs in the Mediterranean Sea.
Jujubinus tumidulus | Distribution
This marine species occurs in the Mediterranean Sea and in the Atlantic Ocean off Madeira, the Canary Islands and Mauritania.
Trabecula jeffreysiana | Distribution
This species can be found in the Mediterranean Sea, from Italy and Croatia to Greece, under rocks or dead leaves of algae, usually at depths of about 10 m.
Flexopecten hyalinus | Distribution
This marine species occurs in the Western Mediterranean and in the adjacent Atlantic Ocean.
Pseudosimnia adriatica | Distribution
This marine species occurs in the Mediterranean Sea off the Baleares, Spain,
Mangelia farina | Distribution
Appearances of vagrancy in the Levantine Basin of the Mediterranean Sea through Suez Canal is expected.
Pantropical spotted dolphin | Population and distribution
This species occurs in the Mediterranean Sea.
Clanculus cruciatus | Distribution
A specimen of the prehistoric whale, "Basilosaurus isis", was found in the Eocene-aged Wadi El Hitan with stomach contents of its last meals, including a large specimen of the species "P. mokattamensis" along with skeletons of a smaller whale called Dorudon.
Pycnodus | Introduction
The order Cetacea includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. They are the mammals most fully adapted to aquatic life with a spindle-shaped nearly hairless body, protected by a thick layer of blubber, and forelimbs and tail modified to provide propulsion underwater. Species listed below also includes species being recorded in Levantine Sea.
List of mammals of Syria | Order: <a href="Cetacea">Cetacea</a> (whales)
Along the mediterranean regions of the Arabian Sea, including the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, the Gulf of Kutch, the Gulf of Suez, the Gulf of Aqaba, the Gulf of Aden, and the Gulf of Oman, dolphins and finless porpoises are the most common marine mammals in the waters, while larger whales and orcas are rarer today. Historically, whales had been abundant in the Persian gulf before commercial hunts wiped them out. Whales were reduced even further by illegal mass hunts by the Soviet Union and Japan in the 1960s and 1970s. Along with Bryde's whales, these once common residents can still can be seen in deeper marginal seas such as Gulf of Aden, Israel coasts, and in the Strait of Hormuz.
Persian Gulf | Aquatic mammals
Wadi Al-Hitan (, "Valley of the Whales") is a paleontological site in the Faiyum Governorate of Egypt, some south-west of Cairo. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in July 2005 for its hundreds of fossils of some of the earliest forms of whale, the archaeoceti (a now extinct sub-order of whales). The site reveals evidence for the explanation of one of the greatest mysteries of the evolution of whales: the emergence of the whale as an ocean-going mammal from a previous life as a land-based animal. No other place in the world yields the number, concentration and quality of such fossils, as is their accessibility and setting in an attractive and protected landscape.
Wadi El Hitan | Introduction
This marine species occurs in the Mediterranean Sea and in the Atlantic Ocean from the Bay of Biscay to Madeira.
Emarginula adriatica | Distribution
Like many large rorquals, the fin whale is a cosmopolitan species. It is found in all the world's major oceans and in waters ranging from the polar to the tropical. It is absent only from waters close to the ice pack at both the north and south extremities and relatively small areas of water away from the large oceans, such as the Red Sea although they can reach into the Baltic Sea, a marginal sea of such conditions. The highest population density occurs in temperate and cool waters. It is less densely populated in the warmest, equatorial regions. The North Atlantic fin whale has an extensive distribution, occurring from the Gulf of Mexico and Mediterranean Sea, northward to Baffin Bay and Spitsbergen.
Fin whale | Range and habitat
This species occurs in the Western and Central Mediterranean Sea.
Raphitoma arnoldi | Distribution
This species is found in the Mediterranean Sea off Greece and Italy.
Bela zenetouae | Distribution
This species occurs in the North Sea, the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Mediterranean Sea.
Colus jeffreysianus | Distribution
This species is found in the Mediterranean Sea off the Cyclades.
Bela cycladensis | Distribution
This species occurs in the Western Mediterranean Sea.
Tritia unifasciata | Distribution
This species is found in the Mediterranean Sea off Greece and in the Black Sea.
Trophonopsis breviata | Distribution
In the fissiparous population off the Mediterranean coast of Israel histological examination showed spermatogenesis in all the mature individuals and the peak of sperm production was coincident with the peak of fissiparous reproduction. This has been taken to indicate that the origin of the Mediterranean colonisers was from a fissiparous population in the Red Sea.
Aquilonastra burtoni | Biology
It is found in the Atlantic Ocean around the Canary Islands, all along the coasts of the Mediterranean and the Black and the Azov Seas including the Suez Canal.
Carcinus aestuarii | Distribution
This species occurs in the Mediterranean Sea off Israel.
Leucosyrinx barashi | Distribution
This species occurs in the Mediterranean Sea.
Euspira macilenta | Distribution
Among the many species of seabirds, there is a large colony of ospreys. The waters of the Mediterranean are home to three species of dolphin: the common dolphin, the common bottlenose dolphin and the striped dolphin. The sea caves sometimes provide shelter for the endangered Mediterranean monk seals. The loggerhead sea turtle, the leatherback sea turtle and the green sea turtle feed in the area, and over a hundred species of fish have been recorded here, as well as the rare giant ribbed Mediterranean limpet ("Patella ferruginea").
Al Hoceima National Park | Fauna
This marine species occurs in European waters and in the Mediterranean Sea off Morocco.
Gibbula umbilicalis | Distribution
This marine species occurs in the Alboran Sea, Western Mediterranean.
Aphanitoma mariottinii | Distribution
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant. Although the sea is sometimes considered a part of the Atlantic Ocean, it is usually referred to as a separate body of water. Geological evidence indicates that around 5.9 million years ago, the Mediterranean was cut off from the Atlantic and was partly or completely desiccated over a period of some 600,000 years during the Messinian salinity crisis before being refilled by the Zanclean flood about 5.3 million years ago.
Mediterranean Sea | Introduction
This species occurs in the Alboran Sea, Western Mediterranean Sea.
Nassarius vaucheri | Distribution
This species occurs in the Mediterranean Sea
Anekes affinis | Distribution
It is found in the Mediterranean Sea, the Adriatic Sea and the Black Sea.
Gibbula divaricata | Distribution
This marine species has a wide distribution found in shallow waters ranging in the Mediterranean Sea. It was also found as a fossil from the Pliocene and the Miocene.
Conus ventricosus | Distribution
Fossils located in 2001 in the Balochistan Province of Pakistan showed that "Artiocetus" had both an astragalus and cuboid bone in the ankle (a diagnostic traits of artiodactyls), suggesting that early whales had fore and hind limbs. The distribution of fossils in Indo-Pakistan, Africa, Europe, and North America suggests that this species preferred a warmer sea climate, preferably in the tropics. There is no commonly agreed ancestry of the whale, but they are thought to have evolved from an early group of carnivorous even-toed ungulates. DNA studies have suggested that the hippopotamus is the closest land relative to the whale.
Artiocetus | Fossil finds
This marine species occurs in the Mediterranean Sea, the Suez Canal, the Western Indian Ocean and in the Persian Gulf.
Fusinus verrucosus | Distribution
This marine species occurs off Madeira and also in the central and western Mediterranean Sea.
Pleurotomella gibbera | Distribution
The Alboran Sea also hosts important commercial fisheries, including sardines and swordfish. The Mediterranean monk seals live in the Aegean Sea in Greece. In 2003, the World Wildlife Fund raised concerns about the widespread drift net fishing endangering populations of dolphins, turtles, and other marine animals such as the spiny squat lobster.
Mediterranean Sea | Biodiversity
The whales possess small hind limbs, that are not seen in modern whales, and a powerful skull with teeth similar to those of carnivorous land mammals. Other mammals are represented by the skeletons of three species of sirenia or sea cows. These were fully marine like the whales, and likewise show primitive features not seen in modern species and possess teeth that suggest that they grazed on seagrasses and other marine plants. Bones of the primitive elephant "Moeritherium" have also been recorded. Wadi Al-Hitan (Whale Valley) is unusual in having such a large concentration of fossil whales (1500 marine vertebrate fossil skeletons) in a relatively small area.
Wadi El Hitan | Fossils
When first inhabited some 55,000 years ago, it would have been approximately 5 kilometres from the shore, but, due to changes in sea level, it is now only a few metres from the Mediterranean Sea.
Gorham's Cave | Introduction