Fauna of Europe
The Holocene extinction drastically reduced numbers and distribution of megafauna and continues to (such as with wolves and bears).
The formation of the European fauna began in the Mesozoic with the splitting of the Laurasian supercontinent and was eventually separated from both North America and Asia in the Eocene.
Asian animal species then colonized Europe in large numbers, and many endemic European lineages (e.g. primates) died out ("grande coupure").
The cyclic changes of the Pleistocene between cold and warm periods resulted in antagonistic responses within two different groups of organisms: one expanding during the warm periods and retracting during the cold phases and another with opposed responses (the latter group is composed of so-called arctic and alpine species).
[1] Glaciation during the most recent ice age and the presence of man affected the distribution of European fauna.
[2] Insects, on the other hand, shifted their ranges with the climate, maintaining consistency in species for the most part throughout the period (Coope 1994).
Their high degree of mobility allowed them to move as the glaciers advanced or retreated, maintaining a constant habitat despite the climatic oscillations.
Brown bears, for instance, moved quickly from refugia with the receding glaciers, becoming one of the first large mammals to recolonize the land.
Cod, haddock, whiting, saithe, plaice, sole, mackerel, herring, pouting, sprat, and sandeel are common and target of commercial fishing.
[6] Of crustaceans, Norway lobster, and deep-water prawns and brown shrimp are commercially fished.
Tens of millions of birds make use of the North Sea for breeding, feeding, or migratory stopovers every year.
Populations of northern fulmars, black-legged kittiwakes, Atlantic puffins, northern gannets, razorbills, and a variety of species of petrels, seaducks, loons, cormorants, gulls, auks, and terns, and other seabirds make these coasts popular for birdwatching.
Some typical animals include reindeer, Arctic fox, brown bear, ermine, lemmings, partridges, snowy owl and many insects.
There are no native reptiles or amphibians on the island, but a rich marine fauna live in the ocean waters around it.
The cutting down of the pre-agricultural forest habitat has caused major disruptions to the original animal ecosystems, and only few corners of mainland Europe have not been grazed by livestock at some point in time.
Characteristic are some small mammals (golden jackal, voles, European ground squirrel, Russian desman among others).
Among the other peculiarities of the Pyrenean fauna are blind insects in the caverns of Ariège (Anophthalmus, Adelops).
The Apennine Mountains provide habitat to Marsican brown bear and the Italian wolf.
The loss of native forests had significant impact on biodiversity, with some 90% of the endemic mammalian genera of the Mediterranean becoming extinct after the development of agriculture.
[10] An invasion of Indian Ocean species has begun via the Suez Canal (see Lessepsian migration).
[15] Scorpions are mainly found in southern parts of Europe (Euscorpius, Belisarius, Iurus).
An estimated 18% of all European butterfly species are considered to be vulnerable to or imminently faced with extinction.
[20] Another diverse group are the Perciformes (European perch, zander, ruffe, sand goby).
The Holarctic has four other endemic bird families: the divers or loons (Gaviidae), grouse (Tetraoninae), auks (Alcidae), and waxwings (Bombycillidae).
The more common of these include larks (skylark, crested lark, woodlark), swallows (barn swallow, sand martin, house martin), Motacillidae (tree pipit, meadow pipit, white wagtail, yellow wagtail), shrikes (red-backed shrike, great grey shrike), golden oriole, European starling, crows (magpie, jackdaw, hooded crow, rook, Eurasian jay), white-throated dipper, dunnock, Eurasian wren, Eurasian nuthatch, goldcrest, several warblers (reed warbler, sedge warbler, great reed-warbler, icterine warbler, Cetti's warbler, garden warbler, blackcap, whitethroat, chiffchaff), Old World flycatchers (pied flycatcher, spotted flycatcher, northern wheatear, whinchat, European stonechat), finches (common chaffinch, goldfinch, siskin, Eurasian bullfinch, greenfinch, common crossbill, linnet), sparrows (house sparrow, tree sparrow), buntings, (corn bunting, ortolan bunting, reed bunting, yellowhammer), tits (great tit, blue tit, coal tit).
[25] European mammal fauna consists of 270 species, 78 of them endemic to Europe[19] (15% of them are threatened with extinction and 27% have been identified as declining).
The brown bear lives primarily in the Balkan peninsula, Scandinavia and Russia; a small number also persist in other countries across Europe (Austria, Pyrenees etc.).
Biodiversity is protected in Europe through the Bern Convention, which has been signed by the European Community as well as non-European states.
