The rich and rare biodiversity in Cyprus. The Cyprus biodiversity includes 1908 plants, 780 seashells, 250 fishes, more than 7.000 insects, 410 birds including migratory, 31 mammals, 9 snakes, 11 lizards,three amphibians, 120 land snails, fungi estimated 5-8 thousandand and three turtles.These numbers continually increase as a result of researc. Also see All about Cyprus.
From George Konstantinou. Email -
fanigeorge@hotmail.com -
Το υλικό της ιστοσελίδας αποτελεί πνευματική ιδιοκτησία.
This Ectophasia species was found to host (internal parasite) in Spilostethus pandurus. The larvae complete the larval stage as an internal parasite. When the larva is ready to change to pupa, it gets outside of its host and change into pupa (possibly in the soil). Photos at Lakatamia, 9/2/2016 by Michael Hadjiconstantis.
Family: Salticidae Subfamily: Synagelinae Synageles is a genus of antlike jumping spiders (Salticidae) with about 20 described species. In the old world, the species is found from Spain to China, with one found in northern Africa (S. repudiatus from Egypt), and in the new world from Mexico to Canada. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Photos at Strovolos, 10/2/2016 by Michael Hadjiconstantis
Medicago marina is a plant species of the genus Medicago. It is native to the Mediterranean basin but is found worldwide. It forms a symbiotic relationship with the bacterium Sinorhizobium meliloti, which is capable of nitrogen fixation. Common names include coastal medick and sea medick.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The desert wheatear (Oenanthe deserti) is a wheatear, a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher (Muscicapidae). It is a migratory insectivorous species, 14.5 to 15 cm (5¾–6 inches) in length. Both western and eastern forms of the desert wheatear are rare vagrants to western Europe. The western desert wheatear breeds in the Sahara and the northern Arabian peninsula. The eastern race is found in the semi-deserts of central Asia and in winter in Pakistan and northeast Africa. The plumage of the upper parts of the male in summer is buff. The underparts are white with a buff tinge on the breast. The black on the face and throat extends to the shoulders, and there is distinct white superciliary stripe. The female is greyer above and buffer below and has no black on the throat, and in the winter plumage the black on the throat of the male is partially obscured by the white tips of the feathers. A distinguishing characteristic, in both sexes of all ages, is that the entire tail is black to the level of the upper tail-coverts.
The desert wheatear feeds largely on insects which it picks up off the ground. It breeds in the spring when a clutch of usually four pale blue, slightly speckled eggs is laid in a well-concealed nest made of grasses, mosses and stems.
Four subspecies are recognised; Oenanthe deserti deserti is found in the Levant; Oenanthe deserti atrogularis is found in Transcaucasia, Iran, Afghanistan and Mongolia; Oenanthe deserti homochroa is found from Western Sahara to the west part of Egypt; Oenanthe deserti oreophila is found in West China, Kashmir, Tibet, and Pakistan and north eastern Africa.
The head and nape of the adult male desert wheatear are a pale sandy-grey colour with the feathers tipped grey. The mantle, scapulars and back are a similar but rather richer colour. The rump and upper tail-coverts are pale buff. The basal third of the tail feathers are white and the rest black with a pale buff tip. A curved stripe over the eye is pale buff and extends backwards. The feathers of the chin, throat, lores and ear-coverts are black tipped with white. The breast and flanks are sandy-buff and the belly and under tail-coverts are creamy-white tinged with buff. The axillaries and under wing-coverts are black tipped with white. The primaries have black outer webs, tipped and edged with white and inner webs pale brown edged with white. The secondaries are similar but have broader white edges to both webs. Its length is about 15 centimetres (5.9 in) and it weighs between 15 and 34 grams (0.53 and 1.20 oz)
The female has similar plumage but the rump and upper tail-coverts are more sandy brown, the lores, chin and throat pale buff and the dark parts of the tail brownish-black. The juvenile is similar to the adult female but the feathers on the upper parts of the body have pale centres and brown tips which gives the bird a more speckled appearance. There is a single annual moult in late summer and by the following spring the feathers have become rather abraded, with the white tips tending to be worn away, leaving the bird with rather richer colouring. The beak, legs and feet are black and the irises of the eyes dark brown.
The eastern race of the desert wheatear breeds in a great swathe of Asia extending from the Middle East and Saudi Arabia through Iran, Baluchistan, Afghanistan, the south Caucasus, Turkestan, the Tarbagatai Mountains, the Altai Mountains and north western Mongolia. Birds from this region migrate southwards to overwinter in northeastern Africa, the Arabian peninsula, Iraq and Pakistan. The western race breeds in North Africa from Morocco and Rio de Oro to the part of Egypt west of the River Nile. This population is largely resident but in Morocco, birds in the south and east part migrate while those in the south west tend not to.
The habitat of the desert wheatear is barren open countryside, steppes, deserts, semi-arid plains, saltpans, dried up river beds and sandy, stony and rocky wasteland. It is found at altitudes of up to 3,500 metres (11,500 ft). During the winter it may also visit cultivated land when this is interspersed with bare areas of countryside.
The desert wheatear is an occasional vagrant to the British Isles and a female got blown off course in October 2012 during its autumn migration and was seen in a sandpit in Essex.[6] Only a few weeks later, another was seen in the RSPB Loch of Strathbeg reserve in Scotland.
The desert wheatear tends to perch on a bush, tussock or grass or other eminence and dart to the ground beneath to pounce on insects and other small invertebrates, though it can also catch insects in the air. The diet usually consists of ants, beetles, caterpillars and flies and the larvae of various insects including ant-lions. In addition to these, seeds have also been found in its stomach. It is able to hover for short periods and when it finds a large prey insect, with which it is unable to cope, it sometimes displays in front of it by fluttering its wings.
The desert wheatear breeds during late April or May over most of its range. It nests on rocky hillsides, on steppes, on sandy plains, in crevices in walls or in hollows under rocks. The nest is often concealed behind gorse (Ulex europaeus) bushes or other bushy vegetation and is a tidily-built cup made of grasses, mosses and stems, lined with fine roots and hairs, and sometimes small feathers. A clutch of four (occasionally five) eggs are laid. These are pale bluish with fine rusty speckles, usually forming a distinct zone at the wider end. They measure approximately 20.1 by 15 millimetres (0.79 in × 0.59 in). Incubation is done mainly by the female and both sexes help care for the young.
The desert wheatear has a very large range breeding range, estimated as nearly 10 million square kilometers (3.9 million square miles), and the population appears to be stable. For this reason, the bird is listed as being of least concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This year 5/3/2016 was only the 4th Cyprus record for Cyprus
The Namaqua dove (Oena capensis) is a small pigeon. It is the only species in the genus Oena.
The Namaqua dove is a tiny sparrow-sized pigeon, typically 22 cm in length with a 28–33 cm wingspan, and weighing 40g. It has a very long black tapered tail, and the size and shape have led to comparison with the budgerigar. The plumage is mostly grey apart from a white belly, and chestnut primary feathers which are visible in flight.
The adult male has a yellow and red beak and a black face, throat and breast. The adult female lacks the black and has a red-based grey bill. Young birds are dark blotched on the wings and shoulders, and otherwise resemble the females.
The song is a quiet, short, double hoo, higher on the longer second note kuh-whooo, mournful and frequently repeated.
The dove is a widespread resident breeding bird in Sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar with its range extending into the Arabian Peninsula southern Israel, Jordan and as far north as Turkey. It is found in near desert with acacia and bushes.
The dove is quite terrestrial, and usually forages on open ground and roadsides. The food is almost exclusively minute seeds, such as those of grasses, sedges and weeds. It is not gregarious, being encountered singly or in pairs, though they may form larger flocks at waterholes. The flight is fast with clipped beats and a tendency to stay low. It builds a stick nest in a bush, and lays two white eggs, which are incubated for 16 days in typical pigeon fashion; the female at night and early morning and the male from mid morning till late afternoon.From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Scilla morrisii (also called Morris squill or pallid squill) is a species of plant in the Hyacinthaceae family. It is endemic to Cyprus. Its natural habitat is Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation. It is threatened by habitat loss.. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Photos Lapithos 4/3/2016 by George Konstantinou Thanks to Andreas Chimonides for his help to find the plant.
Centaurium erythraea is a species of flowering plant in the gentian family known by the common names common centaury and European centaury.
This is an erect biennial herb which reaches half a meter in height. It grows from a small basal rosette and bolts a leafy, erect stem which may branch. The triangular leaves are arranged oppositely on the stem and the erect inflorescences emerge from the stem and grow parallel to it, sometimes tangling with the foliage. Each inflorescence may contain many flowers. The petite flower is pinkish-lavender and about a centimeter across, flat-faced with yellow anthers. The fruit is a cylindrical capsule.
It flowers from June until September.
This centaury is a widespread plant of Europe (including Scotland, Sweden and Mediterranean countries,) and parts of western Asia and northern Africa. It has also naturalised in parts of North America, and throughout eastern Australia, where it is an introduced species.
It is also commonly known as “feverfoullie”, “gentian” or “centaury”
The European centaury is used as a medical herb in many parts of Europe.The herb, mainly prepared as tea, is thought to possess medical properties beneficial for patients with gastric and liver diseases. It is also a powerful antioxidant. The active ingredients of the centaury are mainly phenolic acids as ferulic and sinapic acids. The plant also contains amounts of sterols as brassicasterol and stigmasterol. It also contains two secoiridoid glycosides, swertiamarin and sweroside
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Centaurium tenuiflorum, the slender centaury, is a species of annual herb in the family Gentianaceae. They have a self-supporting growth form and simple, broad leaves. Individuals can grow to 17 cm tall.
Photos Amochostos 25/5/2015 by George Konstantinou
Cichorium is a genus of plants in the dandelion tribe within the sunflower family. The genus includes two cultivated species commonly known as chicory or endive, plus several wild species
Common chicory (Cichorium intybus) is a bushy perennial herb with blue or lavender (or, rarely, white or pink) flowers. It grows as a wild plant on roadsides in its native Europe, and in North America, where it has become naturalized. It is grown for its leaves, when it is known as leaf chicory, endive, radicchio, Belgian endive, French endive, or witloof. Other varieties are grown for their roots, which are used as a coffee substitute, similar to dandelion coffee.
True endive (Cichorium endivia) is a species grown and used as a salad green. It has a slightly bitter taste and has been attributed with herbal properties. Curly endive and the broad-leafed escarole are true endives.
Cichorium is used as a food plant by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Setaceous Hebrew Character, Turnip Moth, and the grass moth Diasemia reticularis.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Family: Tachinidae
Family: Salticidae
Medicago marina is a plant species of the genus Medicago. It is native to the Mediterranean basin but is found worldwide. It forms a symbiotic relationship with the bacterium Sinorhizobium meliloti, which is capable of nitrogen fixation. Common names include coastal medick and sea medick.
The desert wheatear (Oenanthe deserti) is a wheatear, a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher (Muscicapidae). It is a migratory insectivorous species, 14.5 to 15 cm (5¾–6 inches) in length. Both western and eastern forms of the desert wheatear are rare vagrants to western Europe. The western desert wheatear breeds in the Sahara and the northern Arabian peninsula. The eastern race is found in the semi-deserts of central Asia and in winter in Pakistan and northeast Africa.
The plumage of the upper parts of the male in summer is buff. The underparts are white with a buff tinge on the breast. The black on the face and throat extends to the shoulders, and there is distinct white superciliary stripe. The female is greyer above and buffer below and has no black on the throat, and in the winter plumage the black on the throat of the male is partially obscured by the white tips of the feathers. A distinguishing characteristic, in both sexes of all ages, is that the entire tail is black to the level of the upper tail-coverts.
Four subspecies are recognised; Oenanthe deserti deserti is found in the Levant; Oenanthe deserti atrogularis is found in Transcaucasia, Iran, Afghanistan and Mongolia; Oenanthe deserti homochroa is found from Western Sahara to the west part of Egypt; Oenanthe deserti oreophila is found in West China, Kashmir, Tibet, and Pakistan and north eastern Africa.
The head and nape of the adult male desert wheatear are a pale sandy-grey colour with the feathers tipped grey. The mantle, scapulars and back are a similar but rather richer colour. The rump and upper tail-coverts are pale buff. The basal third of the tail feathers are white and the rest black with a pale buff tip. A curved stripe over the eye is pale buff and extends backwards. The feathers of the chin, throat, lores and ear-coverts are black tipped with white. The breast and flanks are sandy-buff and the belly and under tail-coverts are creamy-white tinged with buff. The axillaries and under wing-coverts are black tipped with white. The primaries have black outer webs, tipped and edged with white and inner webs pale brown edged with white. The secondaries are similar but have broader white edges to both webs. Its length is about 15 centimetres (5.9 in) and it weighs between 15 and 34 grams (0.53 and 1.20 oz)
The Namaqua dove (Oena capensis) is a small pigeon. It is the only species in the genus Oena.
The adult male has a yellow and red beak and a black face, throat and breast. The adult female lacks the black and has a red-based grey bill. Young birds are dark blotched on the wings and shoulders, and otherwise resemble the females.
The dove is a widespread resident breeding bird in Sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar with its range extending into the Arabian Peninsula southern Israel, Jordan and as far north as Turkey. It is found in near desert with acacia and bushes.
Family: Miridae 
Centaurium erythraea is a species of flowering plant in the gentian family known by the common names common centaury and European centaury.
This is an erect biennial herb which reaches half a meter in height. It grows from a small basal rosette and bolts a leafy, erect stem which may branch. The triangular leaves are arranged oppositely on the stem and the erect inflorescences emerge from the stem and grow parallel to it, sometimes tangling with the foliage. Each inflorescence may contain many flowers. The petite flower is pinkish-lavender and about a centimeter across, flat-faced with yellow anthers. The fruit is a cylindrical capsule.
Cichorium is a genus of plants in the dandelion tribe within the sunflower family. The genus includes two cultivated species commonly known as chicory or endive, plus several wild species
