The European continent has a greater diversity of animal specimens than that of species from other kingdoms of living beings, in this entry some of those belonging to the flora and fauna will be mentioned. fauna of Europe, after strolling through a general description of the climate and the territorial changes that this continent underwent.
Europe
About Europe there are some general considerations that when knowing them will work to learn a little more about the characteristics of the climate it has, its territory, among other things. In the first place, Europe is a somewhat small continent compared to the rest, although it is inhabited by approximately 743 million people distributed among the 56 sovereign states that comprise it. It is very common to divide Eastern Europe and Western Europe for further specification.
This continent was formed little by little after the fall of the great Roman empire, as alliances were forged between each region to unite and have more power. In fact, the regions of Europe were at war for a long time and with an influence not only in their territories but in other countries that belong to other continents, in any case they are still a small continent that borders the arctic glacial sea, to the west. with the Atlantic Ocean and to the south with the Mediterranean Sea.
As for its limit to the east, the delimitation with Asia is not completely clear despite the fact that years have passed since the conquest treaties, revolutions, wars, etc. This seems to be something that is repeated in many nations, such as Venezuela, which does not have a clear delimitation to the north due to the number of islands that are found after those coasts.
Regarding its climate, a variety can be seen depending on the regions, however most of it has a temperate climate and drastic variations are not observed during the year, something that could be seen in places with tropical climates although there are several types of relief, such as the plain (which can be seen from the Ural Mountains to the Atlantic), the characteristic massifs of the Scandinavian and Bohemian mountains, as well as the Black Forest. In addition to the mountains seen in the Alps and Pyrenees.
This climate, together with the percentage of forests that it has, which is almost 90%, greatly favors the development of an abundant flora, in addition to a distribution of fauna that has occurred over time and the division that is seen during eras such as the Mesozoic and the Cenozoic. However, the disappearance of part of the European fauna of ancient times was disappearing as more than half of Europe's forests were deforested.
Despite this, many species are found in forests such as the boreal forest of Scandinavia and Russia, also in mixed forests where the aforementioned coniferous trees are found. It can be said that much of Europe's forests are not really original, many of them have been cut down and this also disturbs the animal species found there. However, there are some parts of Europe that are still intact.
History
The formation of Europe as it is currently known dates back to the secondary era known as the Mesozpico, where the dinosaurs still existed. At this time the continent of North America and Asia was divided, previously the Laurasia supercontinent was seen (where what is now known as Europe, Asia and other lands was located, there was also Gondwana which is where South America was located Both were divided by the Tethys Sea about 200 million years ago.
In this ancient formation, Europe was connected by land with North America through the island of Greenland, which is currently located in the northeast of North America. Although Europe had "separated" from Asia, the sea level dropped and revealed a new land connection.
Through these old and new connections, large numbers of species came from North America and Asia, which gave way to a colonization of the continent and the emergence of various lineages of animals such as primates. Likewise, the years in which very cold times were seen, the animals had a withdrawn response and when they were warm times they expanded. This was seen in the opposite way in the species that today are called arctic and alpine.
Now, the ice age had a great impact on the distribution of fauna not only in Europe but on all continents, in addition to that the arrival of man began with the hunting of animals to the point of extinction, both predators and prey. As for the trees, different species have also been seen over time, the variety has always existed but some species dominate more than others. Unlike insects that have been maintained only with adaptations for the climate.
When the glaciers were in motion, many species that could move easily survived and returned to the places where they used to be, likewise mammals recolonized spaces quickly or slowly depending on the species. All this happened in those moments of distribution of the lands in the ecoregions that are known today.
Current regions of Europe
There are many species both in the land part of Europe and in the seas that surround it, in the North Sea, for example, you can see many genera that contain species such as pout, sprat, sandeel, plaice, mackerel , haddock, cod and 230 other species of deep-dwelling or shore-dwelling fish are divided into several areas because the North Sea is not at least somewhat uniform in depth.
Likewise, on the coast, crustaceans such as the Norwegian lobster or marine shrimp are usually fished, as well as the siganus or redfish, as well as the aforementioned species. As for birds, many of those that are migratory arrive in Europe at a certain time of the year, for example the Swallow that arrives in this continent in March or April and from there they go to many places.
european flora
Human activity has played a decisive role in modifying the flora in Europe, in addition to the geographical transformations that this continent has undergone over time as a result of natural phenomena, human activity has destroyed many ecosystems and Europe is not a continent that is saved from it, this is something known and quite clear today.
The forests found in the northernmost mountainous areas are those that have managed to remain "untouched" in a sense, as are those found in the north and center of what would become European Russia. The rest has been affected by humans to a lesser or greater extent, however, much flora can be described from many of its regions, since not all human activity has been negative, a small percentage of actions have had a positive influence.
For example, a large part of Europe's forests have been reforested and deciduous trees and coniferous plants such as maples, oaks, pines, firs and mixed elms can be found there. Some forests have re-emerged on land that was previously cleared and left untouched again, allowing certain plants to grow on it.
As for the arctic regions, tundra vegetation can be seen, that is, dwarf shrubs, mosses, lichens, trees at certain points, herbs, among other things. Which grow due to the polar climate that characterizes this type of area. Some areas of Europe with tundra are a little cooler than others, so you can see grasslands in certain places and mosses or lichens in other places, in addition to that in the mountain ranges and plateaus there is alpine tundra.
In these tundras it is also possible to see wild flowers, for the rest you can see long territories in the plain of Europe that have meadows and also tall grasses, you can also see spruces and pines in the coniferous forests that really abound throughout this continent, although there are also flat and dry areas where short grasses can be seen.
As for the fruits of the trees or shrubs that are found in the lands that are close to the Mediterranean, olives and various types of olives can be seen in many provinces, grapes (there are a considerable number of vineyards in Europe), there are also some fig trees, fruits, angiosperm plants such as rutaceae,
european fauna
Depending on the geographical area in which they live, a large number of species of various classes, orders and families can be found.
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Salty waters
In addition to the species mentioned above that inhabit the Atlantic Ocean or the Black Sea, you can see many birds that were not mentioned in the latter, for example the black-legged gulls, the northern fulmar that is seen in the North Atlantic Ocean and also in the north of the Pacific, you can also frequently see seagulls, several species of the family of proceláridos, among others.
There are also several species that inhabit the Baltic Sea, which does not have as much salinity as the Black Sea, but in both you can see marine mammals such as gray or common seals, which share spaces with fish such as common herring.
Sweet waters
Among the ecological regions in Europe there are many that have freshwater bodies such as the rivers that abound in this continent, they flow into the Arctic Ocean, the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea (which is between Eastern Europe and Western Asia) and the Caspian Sea which is also located between Europe and Asia.
Summer
The lands that are close to the Mediterranean were largely covered by forests or by areas with a large presence of trees, however, again human activity has affected these areas and has turned them into thickets, maquis, or garrigue. (which are plant formations resulting from the degradation of the chaparral).
As for the fauna, many species were lost due to the Messinian salt crisis, which was a period in which salt was accumulated in immense quantities at the bottom of the Mediterranean and a period of incredible desiccation occurred. This is why many species that come from the Indian Ocean moved to this part of the Mediterranean.
Prairies
The fauna of Europe also extends through what is known as the Great Steppe that extends through the center of Eurasia and groups savannahs, scrublands, grasslands and other types of biomes that can be seen from Moldova to Siberia and Hungary.
Among the species that can be seen in these grasslands are sheep, goats, camels (which generally only passed through there as they were means of transport to reach Astrakhan), Yaks (also found in the mountains of central Asia). Horses are also found in these areas and are used by man for combat activities or for transportation.
What is called the Eurasian steppe does not really have a large area in Eastern Europe but in Central Asia, only in Western Russia, Ukraine and the Pannonian Plain are the ones found within this classification of grasslands, which contain, in addition to the species mentioned above to the rodents that belong to the family Arvicolinae, the European squirrels and the jackal.
Mountain regions
In these regions, the species have not been so affected by the activity of people, unlike others that live in different areas. In these regions are the Pyrenees, which are often reduced to certain areas. Two species can be seen in the Pyrenees, the Iberian desman and the salamander mainly.
The brown bear is a species that has recolonized many spaces for millions of years, those that are native to the Pyrenees of Europe were hunted to the point that they are almost part of the list of Animals extinct because of man but in 1996 it was reintroduced into its habitat.
As for the Alps, the fauna that can be seen here is characterized by the presence of Alpine marmots, Alpine grouse, Alpine wild goats, Italian wolves, lynxes, chamois, other brown bears and other species. All this in a route of approximately 1.500 kilometers between Central Europe and Eastern Europe.
Species
Now, the fauna of Europe can be organized by species, then the animals that live on this continent will be grouped into seven main classes:
Amphibians
Class Amphibia includes some 7492 species that are distributed throughout the world, except for very arid deserts, oceanic islands and arctic regions, of this total number of species only 75 can be found throughout Europe, mostly in the south, some of These species would be:
- the common toad
- the spadefoot toad
- The yellow-bellied toad
- The fire-bellied toad, among others.
- the midwife toad
- The European Green Toad
- the agile frog
- The European Tree Frog
- Mediterranean tree frog
- the common frog
- the swamp frog
Birds
A diversity of birds have been described and recorded in the books that show the fauna of Europe, many of them are birds that migrate and stay in certain European countries for a while and others with breeders (almost half) in total would be some 800 species and even more, some of the endemic families are: the prunelids, the gulls, the tetraonines and the genus bombycilla to name a few. To name some species of birds that inhabit Europe, the following list is presented:
- Geese (nine species)
- Ducks (wild duck, common teal, among others)
- Eagles (spotted eagle, osprey, golden eagle, short-toed eagle, imperial eagle, hen harrier, booted eagle)
- Vultures
- Owl
- eagle owls and boys
- owls
- Woodpeckers such as the woodpecker, the black woodpecker, the gray woodpecker, the green woodpecker, among others.
- Falcons (peregrine falcon, kestrel falcon, buzzard falcon)
- european eagles
- northern goshawk or goshawk hawk
- Buzzards
- A large part of the passerine order, including swallows, magpies, storks, sparrows, among others.
Insects
The fauna of Europe considering only insects is quite diverse, the following orders and families of insects can be found in Europe:
- Neuroptera: approximately 300 species have been recorded
- Orthoptera: more than 1000 species have been recorded, including crickets, grasshoppers, lobsters, among others.
- Trichoptera: about 1000 species of these insects have been recorded on this continent.
- Blatodeos: Approximately 150 species of cockroaches have been found in Europe
- Diptera: approximately 7.000 species of Nematocera and 12.000 species of Brachycera are recorded.
- Hymenoptera: this large order has approximately 20.000 species in Europe, of which 180 are a variety of ants.
- Coleopers: This is a fairly large order, as well as fungi or some plants, adding some 375.000 species, of which 25.000 can be found on this continent, specifically more than 2500 carabid beetles, 5000 weevils, 200 coccinellids, 1700 chrysomelids, among others. others.
- The butterflies seen in Europe can be approximately 600 species and the moths are more than 8000.
invertebrates
The invertebrate species that exist in Europe amount to 100.000, including marine species such as sponges (which are approximately 600) and cnidarians (which may be 500 species), you can also find more than 1000 species of oligochaetes, 1500 species of molluscs (non-marine) and 2000 marine molluscs. As for gastropods, 22 species with 3 subspecies have been recorded, bivalves are found intact on this continent.
Some species of mandibular arthropods (such as myriopods) that can be centipedes, scolopendras, among others, add up to about 2000 in total. While crustaceans have a variety of orders in these lands, which if grouped together would add approximately 3300 species. As for the Spiders Some 41133 have been recorded and described.
Mammals
The fauna of Europe that is made up of mammals has approximately 270 species housed in Europe, some of them can be:
- Alces
- red squirrels
- argali
- stoats
- european bison
- Wolverines
- european beavers
- jackals
- Deer
- Rabbits
- european hedgehogs
- Chamois
- European wildcats or wildcats
- Boars
- Free mountain and European hares
- Eurasian lynxes
- Iberian lynxes
- garden and hazel dormouse
- Lobos
- Eurasian wolves
- italian wolves
- Martens (of various species)
- Bats of more than 35 species
- common shrews
- otters
- Bears
- Brown bears (which are found in greater numbers in Scandinavia and Russia) although they are also distributed in Austria or the Pyrenees
- Polar bears
- Primates of the Barbary macaque species
- black and brown rats
- Field mice
- house mice
- Reindeer
- Eurasian badgers
- voles
- Eurasian blind moles
- european moles
- red deer
- Red foxes and other species
Fish
Taking into account the limits of Europe described at the beginning of this entry, it will be understood that there is a diversity of fish both freshwater and saltwater, approximately 344 species come from there and another 277 have been introduced to this continent. Something worrying is that of the total number of fish that live there, more than a third is in danger of extinction. Some of the species seen are:
- the catfish
- The barbel
- the european conger
- The European sprat
- the goby
- the leuciscus
- Pike
- the shad
- The European anchovy
- the european eel
- the white bream
- The creek lamp
- the sea lamp
- The river lamp
- the burbot
- The plastic, bream or carp
- Scandinavian tench
- sturgeons
- catfish
- The Sharks
reptiles
As for reptiles, numerous species of snakes have been found in these lands, such as the grass snake, the smooth snake, the whip snake, the Asclepius snake, sand boas, javelins and many species of vipers have also been seen. such as the common European adder, the viper aspis and the viper latastei, to mention just a few.
As for the lizards, you can find sand lizards, green lizards, viviparous lizards, Italian lizards, pink and common geckos, among others. Meanwhile, only seven species of tortoises are part of the fauna of Europe and among them the ones that have been seen the most are the Greek tortoises and the European freshwater turtles.