Common cuttlefish or European common cuttlefish - Sepia officinalis Linnaeus, 1758 - Σουπιά - Cyprus

The common cuttlefish or European common cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) is one of the largest and best-known cuttlefish species. It grows to 49 cm in mantle length (ML) and 4 kg in weight. Animals from subtropical seas are smaller and rarely exceed 30 cm in ML.

The common cuttlefish is native to at least the Mediterranean Sea, North Sea, and Baltic Sea, although subspecies have been proposed as far south as South Africa. It lives on sand and mud seabeds to a depth of around 200 m. As in most cuttlefish species, spawning occurs in shallow waters.

Known predators of S. officinalis include large fish (such as monkfish and swordfish, Xiphias gladius) and whales.

In the wild, S. officinalis is known to prey upon a wide variety of animals. These include: bony fishes, copepods, crustaceans (including Astacus leptodactylus, Carcinus sp., Crangon sp., Daphnia sp., Gammarus sp., Mugil sp., Mysis sp., Penaeus sp., Praunus sp., Sphaeroma sp., Squilla sp.), decapod cephalopods, gastropods, lamellibranches, nemerteans, octopods, ostracods, polychaetes, and pteropods.

A 2008 study on S. officinalis[8] revealed that cuttlefish embryos, if visually exposed to a certain species of prey (e.g. crabs), will hunt primarily for that prey in later life. S. officinalis usually prefer shrimp to crabs, but when the embryos were exposed to crabs and the embryos had hatched, the young cuttlefish switched preferences and proceeded to hunt the crabs more often than the shrimp

It is unknown where the type specimen of S. officinalis was collected, as the location is given simply as "Oceano". It is deposited in the Linnean Society of London.

Sepia officinalis jurujubai Oliveira, 1940, originally described as a subspecies of the common cuttlefish, is a junior synonym of Sepioteuthis sepioidea

Underwater photos by Costas Constantinou

Juvenile,Protaras ,May 2017,5mts deep

Cuttlefish eggs (αυγά σουπιάς) at Ladies Mile, May 2018 by Kostas Aristeidou

Φυσικά γεωμορφώματα στην Επισκοπή κοντά στο Κούριο

See also

H άγνωστη παραλία Ζαπάλο - εκεί που φωλιάζουν oι γύπες (pics & vids) - Του Γιώργου Κωνσταντίνου - Εφημερίδα πολίτης 5/11/2017

Επισκοπή - Κρεμνοί Κένσικτον ή Ζαπάλο - Episkopi - Kensington cliffs or Zapalo Bay

Photos 9/7/2016 by George Konstantinou

Egyptian fruit bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus) (Geoffroy, 1810) Νυχτοπάππαρος - Φρουτονυχτερίδα - Cyprus

Phyla canescens (Kunth) Greene - Cyprus

Επιγενές εισβλητικό - Naturalized invasive

Phyla canescens is a species of perennial herbaceous plant in the family Verbenaceae, native to South America. It has been introduced to Australia as an ornamental plant and low-maintenance lawn, but has become naturalised and is considered a serious environmental weed. It is known by several common names including carpet weed, Condamine couch, Condamine curse, fog fruit, frog fruit, hairy fogfruit, lippia, mat grass and no-mow grass.

Description

Phyla canescens is a much-branched, low, creeping perennial plant with wiry stems up to a metre long. The stems are often pinkish or brownish, producing adventitious roots at the joints and forming a tangled, dense mat. Older stems are grey and woody. The small, greyish-green and slightly fleshy leaves have short stalks and are in opposite pairs; the margins are either entire or have a few blunt teeth. The inflorescence is a dense, globular cluster of flowers, borne on a stalk in the axil of the leaves. The individual flowers have a short tube and five petal-like lobes, and are about 2.5 mm (0.1 in) long; they are white, pale pink or pale purple, with yellow centres. They are followed by small dry fruits, which remain hidden in the dried-up flower head until they split in two, when the conditions are suitable for germination.

Distribution

Phyla canescens is native to South America where it has been recorded in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay. It is a component of the flooding pampa grassland community. It has spread to many other parts of the world as an agricultural weed and an invasive plant. In Australia, Phyla canescens has invaded wetlands and floodplains with heavy clay soils, especially in the Murray–Darling basin, to the detriment of the native vegetation; the plant does best in habitats that are inundated occasionally, but can not compete with the grass Paspalum distichum and the sedge Eleocharis plana in more heavily inundated sites.

Ecology

Phyla canescens is capable of setting seed by self-pollination but has no particular adaptations for this. In Australia, it has been found that the flowers are usually pollinated by the honey bee (Apis mellifera), an introduced species, a non-native species like the plant itself. In the absence of honey bees, little seed is set.

In Argentina, Phyla canescens has been found to be dominant in areas around plains viscacha (Lagostomus maximus) colonies; this seems to be because the plant's low growth habit and its lack of palatability to the viscachas, which selectively feed on grasses, allows the Phyla canescens to proliferate uncontrolled. The plant also flourishes in areas with high livestock grazing pressure. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phyla_canescens

Photos Potamia 27/6/2015 by George Konstantinou

Agelena orientalis C. L. Koch, 1837 - Funnel weaver spider - Cyprus

Family: Agelenidae

Agelena orientalis is a species of spiders belonging to the family Agelenidae.

Agelena orientalis can reach a total length of 11–13.6 millimetres (0.43–0.54 in) in males, 12.2–17.7 millimetres (0.48–0.70 in) in females. Coloration is yellowish, with a characteristic pattern of the upperside of the abdomen. These spiders trap their preys by weaving entangling non-sticky funnel webs.

This species is present from Italy to Central Asia and Iran.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photo Latsia by George Konstantinou

Dusky spinefoot - Siganus luridus (Rüppell, 1829) - Μαύρη Κουρκούνα, Προσφυγούλα - Cyprus

Lessepsian migrants to Cyprus 
Siganus luridus and Siganus rivulatus, reported along Cyprus since 1929
The dusky spinefoot (Siganus luridus) is a species of rabbitfish (Siganidae). It is native it the western Indian Ocean, as well as the Red Sea and Persian Gulf. It has spread to the Mediterranean Sea because of the Suez Canal (Lessepsian migration). It is often found in small schools feeding on benthic algae in shallow water with compacted sand substrates. Its dorsal and anal fin spines contain venom that is not life-threatening to humans.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Underwater photos Protaras by Costas Constantinou

Bittersweet clams - Glycymeris glycymeris (Linnaeus, 1758) - Cyprus

Family Glycymerididae

Glycymeris, common name the bittersweet clams, is a genus of saltwater clams, marine bivalve molluscs in the family Glycymerididae.

The genus name comes from the Ancient Greek word glykymaris (perhaps from Glykys (sweet) and Meris (part)), a word which is only recorded once in Greek literature.

These clams are very common in the fossil state, from Cretaceous period in the Valanginian age (from 112.6 to o 0.012 million years ago). Fossil shells of these molluscs can be found all over the world. Genus Glycymeris includes about 100 extinct species

The shells ares generally biconvex, with equal valves round in outline, and slightly longer than wide. Their size varies from medium to large. The external ligament lacks transverse striations. These clams are a facultatively mobile infaunal suspension feeders.

They are widespread on shallow seabeds that consist of heterogeneous-grained sediments.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Underwater photos Protaras by Costas Constantinou

Swimming crab - Charybdis sp. - Cyprus

Charybdis is a genus of swimming crabs in the family Portunidae.

Underwater photos Protaras by Costas Constantinou

Macrovipera lebetina (blunt-nosed viper) (Linnaeus, 1758) Φίνα - Οχιά - video - Cyprus

Atlantic lizardfish - Synodus saurus (Linnaeus, 1758) - Σκάρμος- Cyprus

The Atlantic lizardfish (Synodus saurus), is a species of lizardfish that primarily lives in the Eastern Atlantic

The Atlantic lizardfish is known to be found in a marine environment within a general demersal depth range of about 400 meters. They are more specifically found in a depth range of about 20 meters. This species is native to a subtropical climate. The maximum recorded length of the Atlantic lizardfish as an unsexed male is about 40 centimeters or about 15.74 inches. The distribution of this species occupies the areas of Eastern Atlantic, Morocco, Cape Verde, Azores, Mediterranean, Western Atlantic, Bermuda, Bahamas, Lesser Antilles, and the Leeward Islands.This species is mainly known to be found in insular waters and on top of sandy or sand-rock bottoms. The diet of the Atlantic lizardfish mainly includes other species of fish, but it is known to also feed occasionally on other animals. The Atlantic lizardfish can be found occupying waters around islands. The Atlantic lizardfish keeps itself hidden and camouflaged by burrowing itself in the sand. While it is burrowed in the sand, this species reveals his eyes so that it can watch its prey and pounce when food is available.
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_lizardfish

Underwater photos 25.06.2016 by Costas Constantinou

Underwater photos at Akrotiri by Kostas Aristeidou

Red-veined dropwing - Trithemis arteriosa (Burmeister, 1839) - Cyprus

See also - List of Odonata of Cyprus - (Dragonflies and Damselflies of Cyprus)

Trithemis arteriosa, the red-veined dropwing, is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae.

Trithemis arteriosa is widespread and common in most of its range which includes most of Africa and extends to western Asia and southern Europe. In Africa

This dragonfly is found in and near a wide variety of slow-flowing and still-water habitats. These include streams, rivers, intermittent rivers, freshwater lakes, intermittent freshwater lakes, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, irrigation canals and ditches.

The face of the mature male is deep red, the vertex and top of the frons having a purple sheen. The eyes are deep red and the labium deep yellow with a dark brown stripe in the centre. The synthorax is red with black stripes; mature males often have a purple bloom on the upper thorax.The wings have bright red veins and orange makings at their bases. The pterostigmas are 2.3-2.4 mm long and dark brown. The slender abdomen is bright red; S6-S8 have black wedges on each side; S9 and S10 are black. Females have similar markings, but the abdomen and face are yellow to yellowish brown. The sides of the synthorax are pale yellow-brown, as are the lower sides of S1-S3
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos Lefka 17/6/2016 by George Konstantinou

Red-veined darter - Sympetrum fonscolombii (Selys, 1840) - Cyprus

See also - List of Odonata of Cyprus - (Dragonflies and Damselflies of Cyprus)

The red-veined darter or nomad (Sympetrum fonscolombii) is a dragonfly of the genus Sympetrum. It is a common species in southern Europe and from the 1990s onwards has increasingly been found in northwest Europe, including Britain and Ireland. Its name is sometimes spelt fonscolombei instead of fonscolombii but Askew (2004) gives the latter as the correct spelling. There is genetic and behavioural evidence that S. fonscolombii is not closely related to the other members of the Sympetrum genus and will at some time in the future be removed from this genus.

Occurs in much of central and southern Europe including most Mediterranean islands, in Africa, the Middle East and south-western Asia including India, Sri Lanka, and Mongolia. In Europe it is resident in the south of its range but in some years it migrates northward and has been found as far north as Belgium, Sweden, Finland, Poland and northern England. It is the only libellulid to be found in the Azores and it is also found on the Canary Islands and Madeira.

It is found in all sorts of still water but being a migrant it is often found away from water. It has been seen flying over the sea.

S. fonscolombii can be seen on the wing throughout the year around the Mediterranean and in the south of its range, however, its main flight period is May to October and it is scarce during the winter months. It is a territorial species with the males often sitting on an exposed perch. After copulation the pair stay in tandem for egg laying and pairs can be seen over open water with the female dipping her abdomen into the water depositing eggs. Pairs are known to fly over the sea in tandem dipping into the salt water where the eggs soon perish. The eggs and larvae develop rapidly and S. fonscolombii unlike most other European dragonflies has more than one generation a year.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos Lefka 17/6/2016 by George Konstantinou

Gulf pearl oyster, Atlantic pearl-oyster - Pinctada radiata (Leach, 1814) - Cyprus

Family: Pteriidae

Pinctada radiata, commonly known as the Atlantic pearl-oyster or the Gulf pearl oyster is a species of pearl oyster distributed throughout the Indo-Pacific. Its range extends as far north as Japan and as far south as the Australian state of Victoria

P. radiata is generally between 50 and 65 millimetres (2.0 and 2.6 in) in length, though it can reach 106 millimetres (4.2 in). The shell is, thin, compressed, and square-like, with growth rings and ribs on the top surface. Its colouration varies, though it usually displays a brown or red exterior with a pearly interior and a light brown edge. More rarely, the shell may display a green or bronze exterior. Darker brown or red rays may mark the shell, creating darker areas at the margin. The shell's shape and structure also show much variation, hence its many synonyms; it has been described as "very similar to Pinctada margaritifera", and has been misidentified on occasion as P. margaritifera. P. radiata is hermaphroditic, with reproductive maturity being influenced by temperature

Pinctada radiata occurs throughout the Indo-Pacific and Mediterranean Sea at all depths, though it is generally found between 5 and 25 metres (16 and 82 ft). It attaches itself to various hard substrata, including rocks and wrecks. P. radiata is common throughout its range, possibly because of its adaptation to subtropical environments and ability to survive in polluted water. It was originally distributed only in the Indo-Pacific, but has been introduced into the Mediterranean unintentionally through the Suez Canal and intentionally for aquaculture

Pinctada radiata is harvested for pearls, especially in Qatari waters, where it may constitute up to 95% of the oyster catch.. It is also caught for its edible flesh and lustrous shell. P. radiata has also been investigated for possible use as a bioindicator of heavy metals in Persian Gulf waters.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Underwater photos by Costas Constantinou