Fauna of Turkey

The fauna of Türkiye is abundant and very varied. The wildlife of Türkiye includes a great diversity of plants and animals, each suited to its own particular habitat, as it is a large country with many geographic and climatic regions About 1500 species of vertebrates have been recorded in the country and around 19,000 species of invertebrate. The country acts as a crossroads with links to Europe, Asia, and the Near East, and many birds use the country as a staging post during migration.

This article is about the wild animals of the Eurasian country. For an overview of its biodiversity also including plants, fungi and human influence on the ecosystems see Wildlife of Turkey.
Caracal: One of Türkiye's wildcats
Common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncates)

Overview

Türkiye has a large range of habitat types and the diversity of its fauna is very great. There are nearly 1,500 species of vertebrate recorded of which over 100 species, mostly fish, are endemic. The country is on two major routes used by migratory birds which swells the numbers in spring and autumn. The invertebrates are also very diverse, with about 19,000 species being recorded including 4,000 endemics.[1]

Invertebrates

Molluscs
Main article: List of non-marine molluscs of Turkey

Insects

There are over 250 species of ant in Türkiye,[2] 48 of which are endemic.[3]

Vertebrates

Amphibians

Twenty-three species are endemic to Türkiye.[4]

Reptiles
Main article: List of reptiles of Turkey

Twenty-three species are endemic to Türkiye.[4]

Birds
Main article: List of birds of Turkey

Mammals
Main article: List of mammals of Turkey

Eight species are endemic to Türkiye.[4] Many species have declined in numbers, for example chamois, gazelle and mouflon, with shortage of staff to protect them claimed to be a factor.[5] DNA of 15 endangered large mammals will be stored.[6]

Fish
See also: Fishing in Turkey, List of fish of the Black Sea, and List of fish of the Mediterranean Sea

One hundred sixty-one species of freshwater fish are endemic to Türkiye.[4]

Conservation

Conservation action plans for 100 species are due to be completed by the end of 2019.[7]

Endangered species

Locally extinct fauna

The following species have reportedly become extinct in Turkey, at least since the 20th century:

Küre and Kaçkar Mountains National Parks have been suggested for rewilding.[12]

See also

References
    1. "Biodiversity in Turkey". IUCN. 7 May 2012.
    2. "First annotated checklist of the ant fauna of Turkey (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)". ResearchGate. Retrieved 2019-06-15.
    3. "Turkey - AntWiki". www.antwiki.org. Retrieved 2019-06-15.
    4. "Animals and Plants Unique to Turkey". lntreasures.com. Retrieved 2019-06-15.
    5. "Shortage of staff to protect wildlife in Turkey: Official - Turkey News". Hürriyet Daily News. Retrieved 2019-06-15.
    6. "Endangered wild animals to be protected at gene bank in Turkey". DailySabah. 28 August 2018. Retrieved 2019-06-15.
    7. "Thousands of wild animals back to life". Hürriyet Daily News. Retrieved 2019-06-15.
    8. Freyhof, J. (2014). "Pseudophoxinus maeandricus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2014: e.T61349A19010083. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-1.RLTS.T61349A19010083.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
    9. Stein, A.B.; Athreya, V.; Gerngross, P.; Balme, G.; Henschel, P.; Karanth, U.; Miquelle, D.; Rostro-Garcia, S.; Kamler, J.F.; Laguardia, A.; Khorozyan, I.; Ghoddousi, A. (2020). "Panthera pardus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T15954A163991139. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-1.RLTS.T15954A163991139.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
    10. Üstay, A. H. (1990). Hunting in Turkey. Istanbul: BBA.
    11. Can, Ö. E. (2004). Status, conservation and management of large carnivores in Turkey (PDF). Strasbourg: Convention on the conservation of European wildlife and natural habitats.
    12. ERDÖNMEZ, Cihan (2020). "Yeniden Yabanlaştırma: Ekosistem Yönetiminde Bir Yaklaşım" (in Turkish).


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