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Written by Jimmy
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Wednesday, 14 January 2009 13:36 |
The marine animal kingdom of the Northern Sporades is very rich in different creatures. However the sea areas here, as in the whole Mediterranean, are – compared with other seas – poor in nourishment. (This is why it is so clear.) and is unable to support more than a few examples of each creature. With a mask and snorkel you can explore this strange and miraculous world, which is so well adapted to the various inhabitants of the depths.
The sandy depths are frequented by Drakaina (Trachinus spec); a fish with poisonous spines which hides in the sand, and Lychnos (Uranoscopus scaber), a fish of rather funny appearance. Here too live Galeos (Mustelus vulgaris), Salachia (Raja spec), Trygones (Dasyatis pastinaca) and Salachia-‘Owls’ (Gymnoura altavela). Various types of Barbounia (Red Mullet, Mullus barbatus, Mullus surmuletus), the sole (Bothus podas podas) and the kaponi (Trigloporus lastoviza), are still among the most numerous inhabitants of this biotope. Among the shellfish that live in the sea can be distinguished the impressive Pina (Pinna uobilis), the size of whose shell can be greater than 80 centimetres. For its home it prefers the Poseidonia, where with the point of its shell it can stick itself into the sand.
In the muddy depths lives the Peskandritsa or ‘Frogfish’, (Lophius piscatorius), which half-buries itself in the mud and lies in wait. On the front of its head it has a long mobile antenna with something that looks like bait on the tip, and it uses this like a fishing rod and lures its prey towards its monstrous mouth, and swallows it like lightning.
Here too live many kinds of lobster and crayfish.
A population rich in colours and shapes finds hospitality on the rocks in the sea depths of the Northern Sporades. Here lives the Smerna (Muraena helena), whose bite is dangerous to man, and the Rophos (Serranus gigans). The Octopus (Octopus vulgaris), which can be as heavy as ten kilos and have a length of up to a metre, prefer rocky depths but you will also find them in sandy or weedy depths. Shoals of Kalogries (Chromis chromis) swim in the waters near rocky shores along with many other species which gather in the same biotope. Among them the Sparos (Sparisoma cretense), the Govioi (Gobius spec), the the Saliares (Parablennius spec), the Gopa (Boops boops), which in Alonnisos are prized as meze, and the scorpion fish (Scorpaena scrofa), with poisonous spines whose piercing is especially painful.
Tuna live in the open sea, which gather in the Mediterranean in large shoals in the Spring. The fishermen of Alonnisos rush to Chalkidiki every year to catch tuna. With their paragadia they also catch swordfish (Xiphias gladius) which also come from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean to reproduce. In the open seas and deep waters circulate also sharks, such as Odontapsis ferox, Carcharodon carcharis and Lamna cornubica, all three dangerous to man.
Dolphins
You will often see dolphins in the currents of the open sea in the Northern Sporades. These are usually Zonodelphina (Stenella coeruleoalba)which pay in the wakes of ships. Less frequently you will see Rinodelphina (Tursiops truncatus) or the common dolphin (Delphinus delphis).
In ancient mythology dolphins are presented as holy creatures: according to one myth dolphins saved the musician Arionas from drowning. Now it is those very dolphins that need saving. Outside the boundaries of the National Maritime Park danger is always waiting to trap these charming creatures in dragnets, there to find a horrible death. More frequently they die from sea pollution and epidemics that are possibly related to the toxic substances that are released into the environment. In 1991 about 1,000 dolphins died of the virus Morbili, along with hundreds of seals in the North Sea.
Apart from dolphins, other cetaceans, large and small, can be found in the Aegean. With a bit of luck one can make out in the distance a small school of whales. Types of cetaceans frequenting the Mediterranean are listed below, with the length of the full-grown animal:
Delphinophalaina (Ziphius cavirostris), up to 9 metres.
Physitiras (Physeter catodon), up to 25 metres.
Passing or chance visitors to Mediterranean waters are:
Staktodelphino (Grampus griseus), up to 4 metres.
Mavrodelphino (Globicephala melas), up to 6 metres.
Orca (Orcinus orca), up to 9 metres.
The Zonodelphino (Stenella coeruleoalba)
Appearance: Slim, with a long narrow snout. The shape of the body resembles that of the common dolphin (Delphinus delphis). Black back and white belly.Two marked black or blue stripes extend from the eyes down the length of the side of the body.
Length: Up to 2.5 metres.
Weight: about 70 kilos.
Biotope: warm tropical and subtropical waters, as far north as the shores of England; to be found in the entire Mediterranean.
Food: fish and other sea creatures.
Manner of life: little is known. They live together in small schools and are frequently seen with other types of dolphin.
Threats: drowning in dragnets or nets discarded in the sea. Some fishermen kill dolphins because they damage their nets. In older times in Greece there was a financial reward for killing dolphins. Their greatest threat is from the pollution of the sea.
Bibliography
Northern Sporades – National Maritime Park (Gerald Hau/Claus Peter Hutter)
Translated by Simon Darragh.
Translator’s note: I am not an ichthyologist. Except where I happen to know the English version, the common names I have given are either literal translations from the Greek (e.g. ‘Frogfish’) or transliterations of the Greek names. The Latin binomials are of course universal and can be used to find the correct common English name.
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 14 January 2009 13:48 |
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