Editing Crete (section)

===Fauna===

Crete is isolated from mainland Europe, Asia, and Africa, and this is reflected in the diversity of the fauna and flora. As a result, the fauna and flora of Crete have many clues to the evolution of species. There are no animals that are dangerous to humans on the island of Crete in contrast to other parts of Greece. Indeed, the ancient Greeks attributed the lack of large mammals such as bears, wolves, jackals, and venomous snakes, to the labour of [[Hercules]] (who took a live Cretan bull to the [[Peloponnese]]). Hercules wanted to honor the birthplace of Zeus by removing all "harmful" and "venomous" animals from Crete. Later, Cretans believed that the island was cleared of dangerous creatures by the [[Apostle Paul]], who lived on the island of Crete for two years, with his exorcisms and blessings.

The [[Natural History Museum of Crete]], operates under the direction of the [[University of Crete]] and two aquariums – [[Aquaworld Aquarium|Aquaworld]] in [[Hersonissos]] and [[Cretaquarium]] in Gournes, display sea creatures common in Cretan waters.

====Prehistoric fauna====
[[Dwarf elephant]]s, [[Hippopotamus creutzburgi|dwarf hippopotamus]], [[dwarf mammoths]], [[Candiacervus|dwarf deer]], and [[Cretan owl|giant flightless owls]] were native to [[Pleistocene]] Crete.<ref>Van der Geer, A.A.E., Dermitzakis, M., De Vos, J., 2006. Crete before the Cretans: the reign of dwarfs. Pharos 13, 121–132. Athens: Netherlands Institute.[http://users.uoa.gr/~geeraae/publications/2006-Pharos-Crete.pdf PDF]</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://singleparentsonholiday.co.uk/crete-10-fun-facts-and-interesting-insights/| title = Crete: 10 Fun Facts and Interesting Insights| date = 7 April 2019}}</ref> Their ancestors could have reached the island in the time of the [[Messinian salinity crisis]].

====Mammals====
{{Main|Mammals of Greece}}

Mammals of Crete include the vulnerable [[kri-kri]], ''Capra aegagrus cretica'' that can be seen in the national park of the [[Samaria Gorge]] and on [[Thodorou]],<ref>{{cite web|author=Αναρτήθηκε από admin |url=http://to-pio.blogspot.gr/2011/11/blog-post_22.html |title=ΤΟΠΙΟ: Θοδωρού, η άγνωστη νησίδα του Βενετικού ναυτικού οχυρού, των κρι-κρι και η απαγόρευση προσέγγισης |publisher=To-pio.blogspot.gr |access-date=26 March 2013}}</ref> [[Dia (island)|Dia]] and [[Agioi Pantes]] (islets off the north coast), the [[Cretan wildcat]] and the [[Cretan spiny mouse]].<ref name=tho>[http://www.explorecrete.com/crete-west/EN-Thodorou.html Thodorou Islands off Platanias] ExploreCrete.com</ref><ref>[https://archive.today/20130120041646/http://www.cretanbeaches.com/en/fauna-of-crete/mammals-of-crete/624-cretan-ibex-capra-aegagrus-creticus.html Cretan Ibex, by Alexandros Roniotis] CretanBeaches.com</ref><ref>[http://www.cretanbeaches.com/en/fauna-of-crete/mammals-of-crete/929-cretan-wildcat-felis-silvestris-cretensis.html Cretan wildcat] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110211151554/http://www.cretanbeaches.com/en/fauna-of-crete/mammals-of-crete/929-cretan-wildcat-felis-silvestris-cretensis.html |date=11 February 2011 }} CretanBeaches.com</ref><ref>[https://archive.today/20120908021709/http://www.cretanbeaches.com/en/fauna-of-crete/mammals-of-crete/932-crete-spiny-mouse-acomys-minous.html Cretan spiny mouse] CretanBeaches.com</ref> Other terrestrial mammals include subspecies of the Cretan marten, the Cretan weasel, the Cretan badger, the Cretan wildcat,<ref>{{cite web |date=13 February 2023 |title=Fauna and Flora of Crete |url=https://www.crete.org.uk/animals-fauna.html}}</ref> the [[long-eared hedgehog]], and the [[edible dormouse]].<ref>[http://www.cretanbeaches.com/en/fauna-of-crete/mammals-of-crete.html Terrestrial mammals of Crete] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110207014141/http://www.cretanbeaches.com/en/fauna-of-crete/mammals-of-crete.html |date=7 February 2011 }} CretanBeaches.com</ref>

The [[Cretan shrew]], a type of [[white-toothed shrew]] is considered [[endemic species|endemic]] to the island of Crete because this species of shrew is unknown elsewhere. It is a [[relic species]] of the ''Crocidura'' shrews of which [[fossil]]s have been found that can be dated to the [[Pleistocene]] era. Today it can only be found in the highlands of Crete.<ref>{{cite book |title=Atlas of terrestrial mammals of the Ionian and Aegean islands |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y4J0Hzo0o4gC&pg=PA43 |publisher=De Gruyter |page=43|isbn = 9783110254587|date = 30 October 2012}}</ref> It is considered to be the only surviving remnant of the endemic species of the Pleistocene Mediterranean islands.<ref>{{cite book |title=Evolution of Island Mammals |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JmSsNuwMAxgC&pg=PT35 |publisher=Wiley |page=35|isbn = 9781444391282|date = 14 February 2011}}</ref>

Bat species include: [[Blasius's horseshoe bat]], the [[lesser horseshoe bat]], the [[greater horseshoe bat]], the [[lesser mouse-eared bat]], [[Geoffroy's bat]], the [[whiskered bat]], [[Kuhl's pipistrelle]], the [[common pipistrelle]], [[Savi's pipistrelle]], the [[serotine bat]], the [[long-eared bat]], [[Schreibers' bat]] and the [[European free-tailed bat]].<ref name=icw>[http://www.intocrete.net/features/wildlife.asp Wildlife on Crete] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231003150811/https://www.intocrete.net/features/wildlife.asp |date=3 October 2023 }} IntoCrete.com</ref>

<gallery mode=packed>
File:Kri-kri 1.jpg|The [[kri-kri]] (the Cretan ibex) lives in protected natural parks at the gorge of Samaria and the island of Agios Theodoros.
File:Male Cretan ibex.jpg|Male Cretan ibex
File:Kritikos Lagonikos 02.jpg|[[Cretan Hound]] or ''Kritikos Lagonikos'', one of Europe's oldest hunting dog breeds
</gallery>

====Birds====
Varieties of birds include eagles (can be seen in [[Lasithi]]), swallows (throughout Crete in the summer and year-round in the south of the island), [[pelican]]s (along the coast), and [[common crane]]s (including [[Gavdos]] and [[Gavdopoula]]). The Cretan mountains and gorges are refuges for the endangered [[lammergeier]] vulture. Bird species include: the [[golden eagle]], [[Bonelli's eagle]], the [[bearded vulture]] or lammergeier, the [[griffon vulture]], [[Eleonora's falcon]], [[peregrine falcon]], [[lanner falcon]], [[European kestrel]], [[tawny owl]], [[little owl]], [[hooded crow]], [[alpine chough]], [[red-billed chough]], and the [[Eurasian hoopoe]].<ref>[http://www.we-love-crete.com/birds-of-crete.html Birds of Crete] We-love-crete.com</ref><ref>[http://www.cretewww.com/birds/list.htm Checklist and Guide to the Birds of Crete] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130529010744/http://www.cretewww.com/birds/list.htm |date=29 May 2013 }}</ref> The population of griffon vultures in Crete is the largest insular one of the species in the world and consists of the majority of the griffon vulture population in Greece.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Xirouchakis |first1=Stavros M. |last2=Mylonas |first2=Moysis |title=Status and structure of the griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus) population in Crete |journal=European Journal of Wildlife Research |date=December 2005 |volume=51 |issue=4 |pages=223–231 |doi=10.1007/s10344-005-0101-4|bibcode=2005EJWR...51..223X |s2cid=24900498 }}</ref>

====Reptiles and amphibians====
Tortoises can be seen throughout the island. Snakes can be found hiding under rocks. Toads and frogs reveal themselves when it rains.

Reptiles include the [[Aegean wall lizard]], [[Balkan green lizard]], [[common chameleon]], [[Chalcides ocellatus|ocellated skink]], [[snake-eyed skink]], [[Moorish gecko]], [[Turkish gecko]], [[Kotschy's gecko]], [[spur-thighed tortoise]], and the [[Caspian turtle]].<ref name=icw/><ref name=natrep>[http://www.aquaworld-crete.com/rep1.html Native Reptiles of Crete at Aquaworld] Aquaworld Aquarium.</ref>

There are four species of snake on the island and these are not dangerous to humans. The four species include the [[leopard snake]] (locally known as ''ochendra''), the [[Balkan whip snake]] (locally called ''dendrogallia''), the [[dice snake]] (called ''nerofido'' in Greek), and the only venomous snake is the nocturnal [[European cat snake|cat snake]] which has evolved to deliver a weak venom at the back of its mouth to paralyse geckos and small lizards, and is not dangerous to humans.<ref name=icw/><ref name=snakes>[http://www.cretegazette.com/archive/2005-11-snakes.php The Snakes of Crete by John McClaren] CreteGazette.com</ref>

Sea turtles include the [[green turtle]] and the [[loggerhead turtle]] which are both threatened species.<ref name=natrep/> The loggerhead turtle nests and hatches on north-coast beaches around Rethymno and Chania, and south-coast beaches along the gulf of Mesara.<ref name=turtle>[https://books.google.com/books?id=KVYFI9NzLz0C&pg=PA68 Crete p. 69], by Victoria Kyriakopoulos</ref>

Amphibians include the [[European green toad]], [[American bullfrog]] (introduced)<!-- not American toad (not introduced anywhere in Europe) -->, [[European tree frog]], and the [[Cretan marsh frog]] ([[Endemism|endemic]]).<ref name=icw/><ref name=natrep/><ref>{{cite book | author=Dufresnes, C. | year=2019 | title=Amphibians of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East: A Photographic Guide | publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing | isbn=978-1-4729-4137-4 }}</ref>

====Arthropods====
[[Cicada]]s, known locally as ''tzitzikia'', make a distinctive repetitive ''tzi tzi'' [http://www.cicadasong.eu sound] that becomes louder and more frequent on hot summer days. Butterfly species include the [[swallowtail butterfly]].<ref name=icw/> Moth species include the [[hummingbird moth]].<ref>[http://www.picturenation.co.uk/view/info/77283/hummingbird-moth-flower?s=hummingbird&page=1 Feeding time for a hummingbird moth] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314022813/http://www.picturenation.co.uk/view/info/77283/hummingbird-moth-flower?s=hummingbird&page=1 |date=14 March 2012 }} PictureNation.co.uk</ref> There are several species of scorpion such as ''[[Euscorpius carpathicus]]'' whose venom is generally no more potent than a mosquito bite.

====Crustaceans and molluscs====
River crabs include the semi-terrestrial ''[[Potamon potamios]]'' crab.<ref name=icw/> Edible snails are widespread and can cluster in the hundreds waiting for rainfall to reinvigorate them.

====Sealife====
[[File:Loggerhead sea turtle.jpg|thumb|250px|The [[loggerhead sea turtle]] nests and hatches along the beaches of [[Rethymno]] and [[Chania]] and the gulf of Messara.]]

Apart from terrestrial mammals, the seas around Crete are rich in large marine mammals. The endangered [[Mediterranean monk seal]] lives in almost all the coasts of the country. The area south of Crete, known as the Greek Abyss, hosts  [[whale]]s, [[sperm whale]]s, [[dolphin]]s and [[porpoise]]s.<ref>[http://www.cretanbeaches.com/en/fauna-of-crete/marine-mammals.html Marine mammals of Crete] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110207014311/http://www.cretanbeaches.com/en/fauna-of-crete/marine-mammals.html |date=7 February 2011 }} CretanBeaches.com</ref> The Minoan frescoes depicting dolphins in Queen's Megaron at Knossos indicate that Minoans were well aware of and celebrated these creatures. [[Squid]], [[octopus]], [[sea turtle]]s and [[hammerhead shark]]s live or traverse along the coast.

Some of the fish of the waters around Crete include: [[scorpion fish]], [[dusky grouper]], east Atlantic peacock [[wrasse]], five-spotted wrasse, [[weever fish]], [[common stingray]], [[brown ray]], [[Mediterranean black goby]], [[pearly razorfish]], [[star-gazer]], [[painted comber]], [[damselfish]], and the [[flying gurnard]].<ref>[http://www.aquaworld-crete.com/fish.html Fish from Crete at Aquaworld] Aquaworld Aquarium</ref>

The [[Cretaquarium]] and the [[Aquaworld Aquarium]], are two of the three aquariums in Greece. They are located in [[Gournes]] and [[Hersonissos]] respectively.<ref>[http://www.cretaquarium.gr/indexen.php Cretaquarium] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110626193821/http://www.cretaquarium.gr/indexen.php|date=26 June 2011}} Cretaquarium.gr</ref><ref name="scot">[http://www.britsincrete.net/john_mclaren_aquaworld.html Great Britons in Crete, John Bryce McLaren] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110319012949/http://www.britsincrete.net/john_mclaren_aquaworld.html|date=19 March 2011}} BritsinCrete.net</ref>