Black Sea fauna and flora

Among the largest marine animals in the Black Sea are the dolphins, of which, if you are lucky, you might notice two species: short-beaked common dolphin (Delphinus delphis ponticus) and Black Sea bottlenose dolphin (Turpsiops truncatus ponticus).


Whenever you see a black back and a dolphin-like fin, you might also see a member of the Phocoenidae family instead, the porpoise (Phocoena phocoena relicta).

These marine mammals are unfortunately perceived as competition by fishermen and that causes a lot of deaths among the dolphins and porpoises. A study regarding this issue illustrates how unfortunate their relation with humans is: Marine Mammals in the Black Sea.

Another mammal that used to populate the shores of the Black Sea was the Mediterranean Monk Seal. The last specimen has been seen there in 1990, so the species is considered to be extinct from the Black Sea.

The largest living creatures ever found in the Black Sea are sturgeons that can weigh up to a ton and reach 9 meters long (the beluga, or European sturgeon - Huso huso - ), although some might argue that that species is now extinct from the Black Sea.

The beluga is definitely critically endangered worldwide, as all sturgeons seem to be.

There also are other sturgeons in the Black Sea, like starry sturgeon (Acipenser stellatus)



and the Russian sturgeon (Acipenser güldenstaedti) which can reach lenghts, weights and ages less impressive of those the beluga can.

Other important fish are: the spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias), the thornback ray (Raja clavata), the common stingray (Trygon pastinaca), the flathead mullet (Mugil cephalus), the bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix), the European sprat (Sprattus sprattus phalericus), the Mediterranean horse mackerel (Trachurus mediterraneus ponticus), the European anchovy (Engraulis engrasicholus ponticus), the Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus), the big-scale sand smelt (Atherina mochon pontica), the European eel (Anguilla anguilla),
garfish (Belone belone), the Black-Sea Turbot or Kalkan (Rhombus maeoticus), the European flounder (Pleuronectes flesus), snouted sole (Solea nasuta), sea horse (Hippocampus hippocampus)

sea needle ((Syngnathus tenuirostris) , swordfish (Xyphias gladius),

grass goby (Gobius ophiocephalus),

tub gurnard (Trigla lucerna), the greater weever (Trachinus draco),



stargazer (Uranoscopus scaber), black scorpionfish (Scorpaena porcus) and some more others.

The largest jelly (up to 10 kilos and 60 centimeters) and most colored is the Rhizostoma pulmo - so called barrel jellyfish,

followed by the moon jellyfish



the sea walnut (Mnemiopsis leidyi) - which has caused an ecological disaster in the '80s, before the arrival of Beroe ovata,
another comb jelly that helped establishing a new balance.

Read more about jellyfish in the Black Sea

The mollusks world has witnessed another ecological disaster after the arrival of the rapa veined whelk, which had few (if any) enemies and managed to bring to extinction some mollusk species and seriously threaten some others.

Read a detailed guide about bivalves and other mollusks in the Black Sea.

Besides the groups already mentioned, there are the other 90% that I can't possibly cover in one lens.

Hermit crabs, actinias



sea sponges and many more others make sure that your diving experience will be very rewarding.

Above and on the shore of the Black Sea you can sea numerous gull species: (Larus genei), (Larus marinus), (Larus cachinnans), (Larus Melanocephalus), (Larus michahellis), (Larus argentatus), (Larus canus), (Larus glaucoides), (Larus ichthyaetus), (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), cormorants, coots. Occasionally swans, pelicans, ducks and other migratory birds stop by during their migrations.


During the winter the Manx Shearwater (Puffinus puffinus) is sometimes spotted.
During the summer, the little (Sternula albifrons) and sandwich tern (Sterna sandvicensis) have a great time at the Black Sea,
and so does the Caspian tern (Hydroprogne caspia), too.

Another summer guest is the gull-billed tern (Gelochelidon nilotica), but also the (Hydrocoloeus minutus),
Sometimes even the (Xema sabini) can be seen.

Green brown and even red are the colors with whom the algae enrich the look and the contents of the Black Sea.

Brown algae: Cladostephus spongiosus, Cystoseira barbata, Cystoseira crinita, Punctaria latifolia.

Red algae: Acrochaetium savianum (Auduinella saviana), Callithamnion corymbosum, Ceramium diaphanum, Ceramium virgatum, Phyllophora crispa, Phyllophora pseudoceranoides, Polysiphonia denudata, Porphyra leucosticta.

Green algae: Porphyra leucosticta, Cladophora laetevirens, Cladophora sericea, Cladophora vagabunda, Ulva intestinalis, Ulva rigida.

Diatoms cannot be easily seen, but form the phytoplankton, and the many animals feeding with them are happy to find them.

The landscape is completed by populations of seagrass (zostera).