'Muñona' vuelve al mar

 'Muñona' returns to the sea

Well, like all turtles that recover, a subcutaneous chip has been inserted so that if it is ever treated again, the date and place where it was first recovered can be known.

The loggerhead sea turtle is the one that transits the Strait of Gibraltar the most and the one that CECAM recovers the most in collaboration with the Almadraba de Ceuta.

There is certain evidence that the Strait of Gibraltar is a passage for four species of sea turtles out of the seven that exist.

These are in order of size:

'Lute'. It is the largest sea turtle in the world, reaching a length of 2.3 meters and a weight of more than 600 kilograms. A male individual weighed 916 kilograms, although turtles of this size are rare.

In the last few days we have had news of the discovery of a dead 'lute' entangled in a net on a beach in Marbella. This represents a great loss for marine biodiversity and for the conservation of seas and oceans.

'Green'. It is large in size (smaller than the leatherback), with two distinct populations in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The common name of the species derives from the green color of its fat and not from the color of its shell

'Caretta caretta'. It is usually called 'boba' because of the ease with which fishermen caught it floating on the surface. This year it has nested on the Spanish Mediterranean coast 29 times, giving birth to a total of approximately 2,329 baby turtles, which thanks to the work of the associations and their volunteers have reached and will continue to reach the sea.

'Olivacea or Olive Ridley'. It is the smallest of the sea turtles. It measures up to 70 cm and weighs around 40 kilos. It feeds on a wide variety of marine invertebrates. Widely distributed in the world with the exception of the North Atlantic.

It is considered vulnerable just like the 'Caretta Road', the 'Leather' and the 'Green' Highway in danger of extinction by the IUCN.

Insects in Ceuta

 Insects in Ceuta

Until now, the National Catalogue was made up of a large number of species from the Iberian Peninsula, the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands, collecting many endemic species from these areas; but the unique species present in the Autonomous Cities of Ceuta and Melilla had been ignored. The Autonomous City of Ceuta, because it is located in North Africa  and in one area, the Tingitana Peninsula, with its high biodiversity, it is home to numerous exclusively North African taxa and several endemic Tingitans. Thus, in the Spanish State and the entire European Union, this group of species is only present in the territory of the Autonomous City of Ceuta.

The three species of insects included correspond to beetles and are: Chasmatopterus zonatus, Carabus riffensis and Dorysthenes forficatus; the first is only known worldwide from Ceuta (cliffs of Monte Hacho), the second from forested areas of Ceuta and western Rif and the third from palm heart areas of Ceuta and northwestern Morocco. The first two have been listed as "vulnerable" and the third as "of special interest". These three taxa show high  scientist interest.

MORE INFORMATION HERE: Obimase

Three new species of butterflies in Ceuta

Three new species of butterflies in Ceuta

A team of members of the Spanish Association for the Protection of Butterflies and their Environment expands the list of species

Already in 2019 it was reported that the "Maghreb harlequin" (Zerynthia africana) and the "Maghreb aurora" (Anthocharis belia) are part of the Spanish fauna, due to the existence of populations in Ceuta. A recent study provides novel information on three endemic species of the Maghreb that also exist in Ceuta. These are the "Maghrebi ocellada" (Coenonympha arcanioides), the "Maghrebi sertorium" (Spialia ali) and the "Maghrebi sea bream" (Thymelicus hamza)

The five Maghrebi species whose presence in Ceuta has been confirmed, extend the Spanish list of diurnal butterflies to reach the impressive figure of 258, the highest of the EU states, after Italy.

The study undertaken in Ceuta is making it possible to learn about the species of butterflies present at the northern end of the Tangier peninsula, since until now no scientific work had been carried out there on this group of invertebrates.

Ants

                                             The Ants

 Insects are invertebrate animals of the arthropod phylum. A team of scientists discovers 50 species of ants in Ceuta

They comprise the most diverse group of animals on Earth, of which approximately one million different species are known, each of them with a very abundant number of members.

To date we have found 50 species, something that has surprised us a lot for the area of Ceuta.

                                                                                    VIDEO 

• Restless and voracious, army ant colonies are like nature's Mongolian hordes. They kill and devour everything in their path and even digest it while tearing it apart. Images from the program “The Most Dangerous”.

 

Ants contribute to the control of the olive moth pest

Ants are essential species to maintain the functionality of soil ecosystems, since they are capable of changing their role in the trophic or food chain depending on the characteristics of each place.