Fauna of Ireland - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The fauna
Fauna
Fauna or faunæ is all of the animal life of any particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is flora.Zoologists and paleontologists use fauna to refer to a typical collection of animals found in a specific time or place, e.g. the "Sonoran Desert fauna" or the "Burgess shale fauna"...

of Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

comprises all the animal

Animal

Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and...

species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

inhabiting the island and surrounding waters.

Mammals

Only 26 land mammal

Mammal

Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...

species are native to Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

, because it was isolated from the European mainland by rising sea levels after the Midlandian Ice Age

Wisconsin glaciation

The last glacial period was the most recent glacial period within the current ice age occurring during the last years of the Pleistocene, from approximately 110,000 to 10,000 years ago....

. In the Ice age

Ice age

An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...

(which include warm spells) mammals include the Woolly Mammoth

Woolly mammoth

The woolly mammoth , also called the tundra mammoth, is a species of mammoth. This animal is known from bones and frozen carcasses from northern North America and northern Eurasia with the best preserved carcasses in Siberia...

, Wild Horse

Wild Horse

The wild horse is a species of the genus Equus, which includes as subspecies the domesticated horse as well as the undomesticated Tarpan and Przewalski's Horse. The Tarpan became extinct in the 19th century, and Przewalski's Horse was saved from the brink of extinction and reintroduced...

, Giant Deer, Brown Bear

Brown Bear

The brown bear is a large bear distributed across much of northern Eurasia and North America. It can weigh from and its largest subspecies, the Kodiak Bear, rivals the polar bear as the largest member of the bear family and as the largest land-based predator.There are several recognized...

, Spotted Hyena

Spotted Hyena

The spotted hyena also known as laughing hyena, is a carnivorous mammal of the family Hyaenidae, of which it is the largest extant member. Though the species' prehistoric range included Eurasia extending from Atlantic Europe to China, it now only occurs in all of Africa south of the Sahara save...

, Arctic Lemming

Arctic Lemming

The Arctic Lemming is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae.It is found only in The Arctic Biomes in Russia and Canada.-References:...

, Norway Lemming

Norway lemming

The Norway lemming , Lemmus lemmus, is a common species of lemming found in northern Scandinavia and adjacent areas of Russia. It is the only vertebrate species endemic to the region. The Norway lemming dwells in tundra and fells, and prefers to live near water. Adults feed primarily on...

, Arctic Fox

Arctic fox

The arctic fox , also known as the white fox, polar fox or snow fox, is a small fox native to Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere and is common throughout the Arctic tundra biome. The Greek word alopex, means a fox and Vulpes is the Latin version...

, European Beaver

European Beaver

The Eurasian beaver or European beaver is a species of beaver, which was once widespread in Eurasia, where it was hunted to near extinction both for fur and for castoreum, a secretion of its scent gland believed to have medicinal properties...

, Wolf

Irish wolf

Wolves were once an integral part of the Irish countryside and culture. The earliest radiocarbon date for Irish wolf remains come from excavated cave sites in Castlepook Cave, north of Doneraile, county Cork, and date back to 34,000BP...

, Eurasian Lynx

Eurasian Lynx

The Eurasian lynx is a medium-sized cat native to European and Siberian forests, South Asia and East Asia. It is also known as the European lynx, common lynx, the northern lynx, and the Siberian or Russian lynx...

and Reindeer

Reindeer

The reindeer , also known as the caribou in North America, is a deer from the Arctic and Subarctic, including both resident and migratory populations. While overall widespread and numerous, some of its subspecies are rare and one has already gone extinct.Reindeer vary considerably in color and size...

flourished or migrated depending on the degree of cold.

Some species, such lah as the red fox

Red Fox

The red fox is the largest of the true foxes, as well as being the most geographically spread member of the Carnivora, being distributed across the entire northern hemisphere from the Arctic Circle to North Africa, Central America, and the steppes of Asia...

, European hedgehog

European Hedgehog

The European Hedgehog , Common hedgehog or just Hedgehog in the anglophone parts of Europe, is a hedgehog species found in northern and western Europe. It is about 20 to 30 cm in length. Adult mass typically ranges from 600 to up to 1,200 g ; occasionally, it may reach as much as...

, stoat

Stoat

The stoat , also known as the ermine or short-tailed weasel, is a species of Mustelid native to Eurasia and North America, distinguished from the least weasel by its larger size and longer tail with a prominent black tip...

, otter

European Otter

The European Otter , also known as the Eurasian otter, Eurasian river otter, common otter and Old World otter, is a European and Asian member of the Lutrinae or otter subfamily, and is typical of freshwater otters....

, pygmy shrew

Eurasian pygmy shrew

The Eurasian Pygmy Shrew , often known simply as the Pygmy Shrew, is a widespread shrew of northern Eurasia. It is the only shrew native to Ireland....

and badger

Eurasian Badger

The European Badger is a species of badger of the genus Meles, native to almost all of Europe. It is classed as Least Concern for extinction by the IUCN, due to its wide distribution and large population....

are common, whereas others, like the Irish hare

Mountain Hare

The Mountain Hare , also known as Blue Hare, Tundra Hare, Variable Hare, White Hare, Alpine Hare and Irish Hare, is a hare, which is largely adapted to polar and mountainous habitats. It is distributed from Fennoscandia to eastern Siberia; in addition there are isolated populations in the Alps,...

, red deer

Red Deer

The red deer is one of the largest deer species. Depending on taxonomy, the red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Asia Minor, parts of western Asia, and central Asia. It also inhabits the Atlas Mountains region between Morocco and Tunisia in northwestern Africa, being...

and pine marten

Pine Marten

The European Pine Marten , known most commonly as the pine marten in Anglophone Europe, and less commonly also known as Pineten, baum marten, or sweet marten, is an animal native to Northern Europe belonging to the mustelid family, which also includes mink, otter, badger, wolverine and weasel. It...

are less common and generally seen only in certain national parks and nature reserves around the island. Some introduced species have become thoroughly naturalised, e.g. the European rabbit

European Rabbit

The European Rabbit or Common Rabbit is a species of rabbit native to south west Europe and north west Africa . It has been widely introduced elsewhere often with devastating effects on local biodiversity...

, gray squirrel

Eastern Gray Squirrel

The eastern gray squirrel is a tree squirrel in the genus Sciurus native to the eastern and midwestern United States, and to the southerly portions of the eastern provinces of Canada...

and brown rat

Brown Rat

The brown rat, common rat, sewer rat, Hanover rat, Norway rat, Brown Norway rat, Norwegian rat, or wharf rat is one of the best known and most common rats....

. In addition, ten species of bat

Bat

Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...

are found in Ireland.

Reptiles

See also List of reptiles of Ireland

Only one land reptile

Reptile

Reptiles are members of a class of air-breathing, ectothermic vertebrates which are characterized by laying shelled eggs , and having skin covered in scales and/or scutes. They are tetrapods, either having four limbs or being descended from four-limbed ancestors...

is native to the country, the viviparous lizard

Viviparous lizard

The viviparous lizard or common lizard is a Eurasian lizard. It lives farther north than any other reptile species, and most populations are viviparous , rather than laying eggs as most other lizards do.-Identification:The length of the body is less than...

it is common in National Parks particularly in the Wicklow Mountains

Wicklow Mountains

The Wicklow Mountains form the largest continuous upland area in Ireland. They occupy the whole centre of County Wicklow and stretch outside its borders into Counties Carlow, Wexford and Dublin. Where the mountains extend into County Dublin, they are known locally as the Dublin Mountains...

. Slow-Worm's

Anguis fragilis

Anguis fragilis, or slow worm, slow-worm or slowworm, is a limbless reptile native to Eurasia. It is also sometimes referred to as the blindworm or blind worm, though the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds considers this to be incorrect.Slow worms are semi-fossorial lizards spending much...

are common in parts of The Burren

The Burren

The Burren is a karst-landscape region or alvar in northwest County Clare, in Ireland. It is one of the largest karst landscapes in Europe. The region measures approximately 250 square kilometres and is enclosed roughly within the circle made by the villages Ballyvaughan, Kinvara, Tubber, Corofin,...

area in County Clare

County Clare

-History:There was a Neolithic civilisation in the Clare area — the name of the peoples is unknown, but the Prehistoric peoples left evidence behind in the form of ancient dolmen; single-chamber megalithic tombs, usually consisting of three or more upright stones...

, they are not a native species. Five marine turtle

Turtle

Turtles are reptiles of the order Testudines , characterised by a special bony or cartilaginous shell developed from their ribs that acts as a shield...

species appear regularly off the west coast, Leatherback

Leatherback Sea Turtle

The leatherback sea turtle is the largest of all living sea turtles and the fourth largest modern reptile behind three crocodilians. It is the only living species in the genus Dermochelys. It can easily be differentiated from other modern sea turtles by its lack of a bony shell. Instead, its...

, Green

Green Sea Turtle

The Green sea turtle or green turtle is a large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in the genus Chelonia. Its range extends throughout tropical and subtropical seas around the world, with two distinct populations in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans...

, Hawksbill

Hawksbill turtle

The hawksbill sea turtle is a critically endangered sea turtle belonging to the family Cheloniidae. It is the only extant species in its genus. The species has a worldwide distribution, with Atlantic and Pacific subspecies. E. imbricata imbricata is the Atlantic subspecies, while E...

, Loggerhead

Loggerhead sea turtle

The loggerhead sea turtle , or loggerhead, is an oceanic turtle distributed throughout the world. It is a marine reptile, belonging to the family Cheloniidae. The average loggerhead measures around long when fully grown, although larger specimens of up to have been discovered...

and the Kemp's ridley

Kemp's Ridley

Kemp's ridley sea turtle , or Atlantic ridley sea turtle is the rarest sea turtle and is critically endangered. It is one of two living species in the genus Lepidochelys Kemp's ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii), or Atlantic ridley sea turtle is the rarest sea turtle and is critically...

, but they very rarely come ashore.

Amphibians

Three amphibian

Amphibian

Amphibians , are a class of vertebrate animals including animals such as toads, frogs, caecilians, and salamanders. They are characterized as non-amniote ectothermic tetrapods...

s are found in Ireland, the common European brown frog, the smooth newt

Smooth Newt

The Smooth Newt, also known as the Common Newt, Lissotriton vulgaris is the most common newt species of the Lissotriton genus of amphibians. L...

and the natterjack toad

Natterjack Toad

The Natterjack Toad is a toad native to sandy and heathland areas of Europe. Adults are 60–70 mm in length and are distinguished from Common Toads by a yellow line down the middle of the back...

. There are questions over whether the frog is actually native to Ireland, with some historic accounts telling that the frog was introduced in the 18th century. The natterjack toad is only found in a few localised sites in County Kerry and west Cork. For atlases see Atlases of the flora and fauna of Britain and Ireland

Atlases of the flora and fauna of Britain and Ireland

The biodiversity of Great Britain and Ireland is probably the most well-studied of any geographical area of comparable size anywhere in the world. This work has resulted in the publication of distribution atlases for many taxonomic groups...

Birds

About 400 bird

Bird

Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...

species have been recorded in Ireland. Many of these species are migratory. There are Arctic birds, which come in the winter, and birds such as the swallow

Barn Swallow

The Barn Swallow is the most widespread species of swallow in the world. It is a distinctive passerine bird with blue upperparts, a long, deeply forked tail and curved, pointed wings. It is found in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas...

, which come from Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

in the summer to breed.Many birds which are common residents in Britain and continental Europe are rare or unusual in Ireland, examples include the Tawny Owl

Tawny Owl

The Tawny Owl or Brown Owl is a stocky, medium-sized owl commonly found in woodlands across much of Eurasia. Its underparts are pale with dark streaks, and the upperparts are either brown or grey. Several of the eleven recognised subspecies have both variants...

, Willow Tit

Willow Tit

The Willow Tit is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is a widespread and common resident breeder throughout temperate and subarctic Europe and northern Asia. It is more of a conifer specialist than the closely related Marsh Tit, which explains it breeding much further north...

, Marsh Tit

Marsh Tit

The Marsh Tit Poecile palustris is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae and genus Poecile, closely related to the Willow, Père David's and Songar Tits. It is small with a black crown and nape, pale cheeks, brown back and greyish-brown wings and tail. Between 8 and 11 subspecies are recognised...

, Nuthatch

Nuthatch

The nuthatches are a genus, Sitta, of small passerine birds belonging to the family Sittidae. Characterised by large heads, short tails, and powerful bills and feet, nuthatches advertise their territory using loud, simple songs...

and all woodpecker species except the recently established Great Spotted Woodpecker

Great Spotted Woodpecker

The Great Spotted Woodpecker , Dendrocopos major, is a bird species of the woodpecker family . It is distributed throughout Europe and northern Asia, and usually resident year-round except in the colder parts of its range...

. These are birds which do not move great distances and their absence may be due to Irelands early isolation but also Ireland's mild weather means early breeding and choice of best habitats which gives residents an advantage over visitors.

Although Ireland has fewer breeding species than Britain and Continental Europe (because there are fewer habitat types, fewer deciduous woodlands, Scots pine forests, heaths and high mountain ranges), there are important populations of species which are in decline elsewhere. Storm Petrels (largest breeding numbers in the world) Roseate Tern

Roseate Tern

The Roseate Tern is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. This bird has a number of geographical races, differing mainly in bill colour and minor plumage details....

, Chough

Chough

The Red-billed Chough or Chough , Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax, is a bird in the crow family; it is one of only two species in the genus Pyrrhocorax...

and Corncrake. Four species of bird have Irish subspecies

Subspecies

Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...

. These are the Coal Tit

Coal Tit

The Coal Tit, Periparus ater, is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is a widespread and common resident breeder throughout temperate to subtropical Eurasia and northern Africa. The Spot-winged Tit The Coal Tit, Periparus ater, is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is a...

(Parus ater hibernicus), Dipper

Dipper

Dippers are members of the genus Cinclus in the bird family Cinclidae, named for their bobbing or dipping movements. They are unique among passerines for their ability to dive and swim underwater.-Description:...

(Cinclus cinclus hibernicus), Jay

Eurasian Jay

The Eurasian Jay is a species of bird occurring over a vast region from Western Europe and north-west Africa to the Indian Subcontinent and further to the eastern seaboard of Asia and down into south-east Asia...

(Garrulus glandarius hibernicus) and Red Grouse

Red grouse

The Red Grouse is a medium sized bird of the grouse family which is found in heather moorland in Great Britain and Ireland. It is usually classified as a subspecies of the Willow Grouse but is sometimes considered to be a separate species Lagopus scoticus...

( Lagopus lagopus hibernicus).

The Wren

Winter Wren

The Winter Wren is a very small North American bird and a member of the mainly New World wren family Troglodytidae. It was once lumped with Troglodytes pacificus of western North America and Troglodytes troglodytes of Eurasia under the name Winter Wren.It breeds in coniferous forests from British...

, Robin

European Robin

The European Robin , most commonly known in Anglophone Europe simply as the Robin, is a small insectivorous passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family , but is now considered to be an Old World flycatcher...

, Blackbird and Chaffinch

Chaffinch

The Chaffinch , also called by a wide variety of other names, is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae.- Description :...

are the most widespread species, occurring in 90% of the land area. These and the Rook

Rook (bird)

The Rook is a member of the Corvidae family in the passerine order of birds. Named by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, the species name frugilegus is Latin for "food-gathering"....

, Starling

Starling

Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Sturnidae. The name "Sturnidae" comes from the Latin word for starling, sturnus. Many Asian species, particularly the larger ones, are called mynas, and many African species are known as glossy starlings because of their iridescent...

, Great Tit

Great Tit

The Great Tit is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is a widespread and common species throughout Europe, the Middle East, Central and Northern Asia, and parts of North Africa in any sort of woodland. It is generally resident, and most Great Tits do not migrate except in extremely...

and Blue Tit

Blue Tit

The Blue Tit is a 10.5 to 12 cm long passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is a widespread and common resident breeder throughout temperate and subarctic Europe and western Asia in deciduous or mixed woodlands...

are among the most numerous and commonly seen. Over the period 1997-2007, populations of pigeons, warblers, tits, finches and buntings have remained stable or shown an increase (there were massive declines during the 1970s).Kestrel

Kestrel

The name kestrel, is given to several different members of the falcon genus, Falco. Kestrels are most easily distinguished by their typical hunting behaviour which is to hover at a height of around over open country and swoop down on prey, usually small mammals, lizards or large insects...

, Common Swift

Common Swift

The Common Swift is a small bird, superficially similar to the Barn Swallow or House Martin. It is, however, completely unrelated to those passerine species, since swifts are in the separate order Apodiformes...

, Skylark

Skylark

The Skylark is a small passerine bird species. This lark breeds across most of Europe and Asia and in the mountains of north Africa. It is mainly resident in the west of its range, but eastern populations are more migratory, moving further south in winter. Even in the milder west of its range,...

and Mistle Thrush

Mistle Thrush

The Mistle Thrush is a member of the thrush family Turdidae.It is found in open woods and cultivated land over all of Europe and much of Asia...

have
continued to decline due to changes in agricultural practices such as increased use of pesticides and fertiliser. Climate change has also played a role.
For atlases see Atlases of the flora and fauna of Britain and Ireland

Atlases of the flora and fauna of Britain and Ireland

Ireland has a rich marine avifauna

Bird

, with many large seabird

Seabird

Seabirds are birds that have adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same environmental problems and feeding niches have resulted in similar adaptations...

colonies dotted around its coastline such as those on the Saltee Islands

Saltee Islands

The Saltee Islands are a pair of small islands lying 5 kilometres off the southern coast of County Wexford in Ireland. The two islands are Great Saltee and Little Saltee . They have been uninhabited since the early 20th century...

, Skellig Michael

Skellig Michael

Skellig Michael , also known as Great Skellig, is a steep rocky island in the Atlantic Ocean about 9 miles from the coast of County Kerry, Ireland. It is the larger of the two Skellig Islands...

and the Copeland Islands

Copeland Islands

The Copeland Islands is a group of three islands in the north Irish Sea, north of Donaghadee, County Down, Northern Ireland consisting of Lighthouse, Mew and Copeland Island.-Area of Special Scientific Interest :...

. Also of note are golden eagles, recently reintroduced after decades of extinction (Golden Eagle Reintroduction Programme in County Donegal

County Donegal

County Donegal is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Donegal. Donegal County Council is the local authority for the county...

). Another conservation effort is habitat management to encourage the Red-necked Phalarope

Red-necked Phalarope

The Red-necked Phalarope, Phalaropus lobatus, is a small wader. This phalarope breeds in the Arctic regions of North America and Eurasia. It is migratory, and, unusually for a wader, winters at sea on tropical oceans....

.

South-eastern Wexford is an important site for birds - the north side of Wexford Harbour

Wexford Harbour

Wexford Harbour in County Wexford, Ireland is the natural harbour at the mouth of the River Slaney. The estuary originally was about ten miles wide at its widest point, with large mud flats on both sides. These were known as the North Slob and the South Slob from the Irish word slab, meaning mud...

, the North Slob

North Slob

The North Slob, also known as the Wexford Wildfowl Reserve, is an area of mud-flats at the estuary of the River Slaney at Wexford Harbour, Ireland. The North Slob is an area of 1,000 hectares that was reclaimed in the mid-19th century by the building of a sea wall...

, is home to 10,000 Greenland White-Fronted Geese each winter (roughly one third of the entire world's population), while in the summer Lady's Island Lake

Lady's Island Lake

Lady's Island Lake is a brackish lake in the south of County Wexford, Ireland.The lake is technically a back-barrier seepage lagoon, one of only two in Ireland. The other is nearby Tacumshin Lake . The lake has no outlet, but is separated from the Atlantic Ocean at the southern end by a sand and...

is an important breeding site for terns, especially the Roseate Tern

Roseate Tern

The Roseate Tern is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. This bird has a number of geographical races, differing mainly in bill colour and minor plumage details....

.
Three quarters of the world population of Pale Bellied Brent Geese

Brent Goose

The Brant or Brent Goose, Branta bernicla, is a species of goose of the genus Branta. The Black Brant is an American subspecies. The specific descriptor bernicla is from the same source as "barnacle" in Barnacle Goose, which looks similar but is not a close relation.-Appearance:The Brant Goose is...

winter in Strangford Lough

Strangford Lough

Strangford Lough, sometimes Strangford Loch, is a large sea loch or inlet in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is separated from the Irish Sea by the Ards Peninsula. The name Strangford is derived ; describing the fast-flowing narrows at its mouth...

in Co. Down.

In 2001 the Golden Eagle

Golden Eagle

The Golden Eagle is one of the best known birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. Once widespread across the Holarctic, it has disappeared from many of the more heavily populated areas...

was Reintroduced

Reintroduction

Reintroduction is the deliberate release of a species into the wild in zones formerly inhabited by said species but where it has disappeared from for a number of reasons, from captivity or relocated from other areas where the species still survives in...

into Glenveagh National Park after a 90 year absence from Ireland. A total of 46 Golden Eagles have been released in Ireland since 2001, In 2007 the first Golden Eagle Chick hatched in Ireland since re-introduction. In 2006 30 Red Kite

Red Kite

The Red Kite is a medium-large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards, and harriers. The species is currently endemic to the Western Palearctic region in Europe and northwest Africa, though formerly also occurred just...

bird's originally from Wales were released in the Wicklow Mountains

Wicklow Mountains

, Six weeks later one was shot dead, it was found to have 8 shotgun pellets in it. The first Red Kite

Red Kite

Chick hatched in 2010. In 2007, the White-tailed Eagle

White-tailed Eagle

The White-tailed Eagle , also known as the Sea Eagle, Erne , or White-tailed Sea-eagle, is a large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae which includes other raptors such as hawks, kites, and harriers...

returned to Ireland, 6 young birds were released in Killarney National Park

Killarney National Park

Killarney National Park is located beside the town of Killarney, County Kerry, Ireland. It was the first national park established in Ireland, created when Muckross Estate was donated to the Irish state in 1932...

after an absence of over 200 years from Ireland. 15 have been released in total. There are plans for the Common Crane

Common Crane

The Common Crane , also known as the Eurasian Crane, is a bird of the family Gruidae, the cranes.It is a large, stately bird and a medium-sized crane at 100–130 cm long, with a 180–240 cm wingspan and a weight of 4.5–6 kg...

to also return to Ireland in the Future. While the Osprey

Osprey

The Osprey , sometimes known as the sea hawk or fish eagle, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and across the wings...

and Marsh Harrier

Marsh harrier

The marsh harriers are birds of prey of the harrier subfamily. They are medium-sized raptors and the largest and broadest-winged harriers. Most of them are associated with marshland and dense reedbeds...

have slowly returned to Ireland naturally.

Insects and other invertebrates

There are an estimated 11,500 species of insect recorded in Ireland (11,422 actual at October 2010: in wellknown groups 1,400 of these moths, 33 species of dragonflies/damselflies and 34 species of butterfly). Many more remain to be found. Four checklists of the Irish insect fauna have been published to date-Coleoptera, Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera is a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies . It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies...

Diptera

Diptera , or true flies, is the order of insects possessing only a single pair of wings on the mesothorax; the metathorax bears a pair of drumstick like structures called the halteres, the remnants of the hind wings. It is a large order, containing an estimated 240,000 species, although under half...

and Hymenoptera

Hymenoptera

Hymenoptera is one of the largest orders of insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees and ants. There are over 130,000 recognized species, with many more remaining to be described. The name refers to the heavy wings of the insects, and is derived from the Ancient Greek ὑμήν : membrane and...

Spiders are represented by 378 species
Literature on other Irish land invertebrates can be accessed on using the key words search facility.The site is regularly updated but gaps still exist.

For atlases See Atlases of the flora and fauna of Britain and Ireland

Atlases of the flora and fauna of Britain and Ireland

Notable Irish species include the freshwater pearl mussel

Freshwater pearl mussel

The freshwater pearl mussel, scientific name Margaritifera margaritifera, is an endangered species of freshwater mussel, an aquatic bivalve mollusc in the family Margaritiferidae....

, diving bell spider

Diving bell spider

The diving bell spider or water spider, Argyroneta aquatica, is the only species of spider known to live entirely under water.Argyroneta aquatica is found in northern and central Europe and northern Asia up to latitude 62°N. It is the only spider known to spend its whole life under water...

, Marsh Fritillary Butterfly

Marsh Fritillary

The Marsh Fritillary, Euphydryas aurinia, is a butterfly of the Nymphalidae family.It is widespread in the Palaearctic region from Ireland in the West to Yakutia in the East, and to North-west China and Mongolia in the South.E. aurinia is represented by many subspecies.The most widely accepted...

, Kerry slug

Kerry Slug

The Kerry slug or Kerry spotted slug, scientific name Geomalacus maculosus, is a rare species of medium-sized to large air-breathing land slug...

, Semilimax pyrenaicus
Semilimax pyrenaicus
Semilimax pyrenaicus is a species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Vitrinidae.-Distribution:This species is known to occur in:* Ireland* France-References:* AnimalBase info at:...

, freshwater crayfish

Austropotamobius pallipes

Austropotamobius pallipes is an endangered European freshwater crayfish, and the only species of crayfish native to the British Isles. Its common names include white-clawed crayfish and Atlantic stream crayfish.-Distribution and ecology:...

, the White Prominent

Leucodonta bicoloria

The White Prominent is a moth from the family Notodontidae. This species is likely extinct in Britain but a population was recently rediscovered in Ireland. Though the moth can be found in most parts of Eurasia, in the western parts of the range it is a local and rare species...

moth and Roesel's bush-cricket

Roesel's bush-cricket

Roesel's bush-cricket is a European bush-cricket, named after August Johann Rösel von Rosenhof, a German entomologist.Its song is very similar to that of Savi's Warbler.-Morphology:-Adult insects:...

Aquatic

Ireland has 375 fish species in its coastal waters 40 freshwater species in its rivers and lakes. Most of these are pelagic

Pelagic fish

Pelagic fish live near the surface or in the water column of coastal, ocean and lake waters, but not on the bottom of the sea or the lake. They can be contrasted with demersal fish, which do live on or near the bottom, and reef fish which are associated with coral reefs.The marine pelagic...

. There are many aquatic mammals too, such as bottlenose dolphin

Bottlenose Dolphin

Bottlenose dolphins, the genus Tursiops, are the most common and well-known members of the family Delphinidae, the family of oceanic dolphins. Recent molecular studies show the genus contains two species, the common bottlenose dolphin and the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin , instead of one...

s, killer whales and harbour porpoise

Harbour Porpoise

The harbour porpoise is one of six species of porpoise. It is one of the smallest marine mammals. As its name implies, it stays close to coastal areas or river estuaries, and as such, is the most familiar porpoise to whale watchers. This porpoise often ventures up rivers, and has been seen...

s. Sea turtle

Sea turtle

Sea turtles are marine reptiles that inhabit all of the world's oceans except the Arctic.-Distribution:...

s are also common off the western seaboard, and the walrus

Walrus

The walrus is a large flippered marine mammal with a discontinuous circumpolar distribution in the Arctic Ocean and sub-Arctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. The walrus is the only living species in the Odobenidae family and Odobenus genus. It is subdivided into three subspecies: the Atlantic...

has also been found around the Irish coasts, but is very rare with only a handful of sightings. The cool temperate waters around Ireland contain a huge variety of marine invertebrates

Marine invertebrates

Marine invertebrates are animals that inhabit a marine environment and are invertebrates, lacking a vertebral column. In order to protect themselves, they may have evolved a shell or a hard exoskeleton, but this is not always the case....

Some of this diversity can be observed in tide pool

Tide pool

Tide pools are rocky pools by oceans that are filled with seawater. Many of these pools exist as separate entities only at low tide.Tide pools are habitats of uniquely adaptable animals that have engaged the special attention of naturalists and marine biologists, as well as philosophical...

24 species of cetacean and five species of sea turtles have been recorded in Irish waters. The Giant Squid

Giant squid

The giant squid is a deep-ocean dwelling squid in the family Architeuthidae, represented by as many as eight species...

has been recorded on five occasions

The Porcupine Abyssal Plain

Porcupine Abyssal Plain

The Porcupine Abyssal Plain , located in international waters, is adjacent to the Irish continental margin. The PAP lies beyond the Porcupine Bank's deepest point and is southwest of it. It is a muddy seabed, with scattered abyssal hills that covers an area approximately half the size of Europe's...

which has an average Depth of 4774 m is on the continental margin

southwest of Ireland.It is the habitat for many Deep sea fish

Deep sea fish

Deep sea fish is a term for any fish that lives below the photic zone of the ocean. The lanternfish is, by far, the most common deep sea fish. Other deep sea fish include the flashlight fish, cookiecutter shark, bristlemouths, anglerfish, and viperfish....

and was first investigated in the summers of 1868 and 1869 by Charles Wyville Thomson

Charles Wyville Thomson

Sir Charles Wyville Thomson was a Scottish zoologist and chief scientist on the Challenger expedition.-Career:...

s H.M.S. Porcupine expedition. Other notable fish include the Basking Shark

Basking shark

The basking shark is the second largest living fish, after the whale shark. It is a cosmopolitan migratory species, found in all the world's temperate oceans. It is a slow moving and generally harmless filter feeder and has anatomical adaptations to filter feeding, such as a greatly enlarged...

, Ocean Sunfish

Ocean sunfish

The ocean sunfish, Mola mola, or common mola, is the heaviest known bony fish in the world. It has an average adult weight of . The species is native to tropical and temperate waters around the globe. It resembles a fish head with a tail, and its main body is flattened laterally...

, Conger Eel, Hagfish

Hagfish

Hagfish, the clade Myxini , are eel-shaped slime-producing marine animals . They are the only living animals that have a skull but not a vertebral column. Along with lampreys, hagfish are jawless and are living fossils whose next nearest relatives include all vertebrates...

,
Boarfish

Caproidae

Boarfishes are a small family, Caproidae, of marine fishes comprising two genera and twelve species. They are usually placed in the order Zeiformes with the dories, but this placement is uncertain, since boarfishes have many perciform characters, for instance in the caudal skeleton...

(Capros aper), Large-eyed rabbitfish

Large-eyed rabbitfish

The large-eyed rabbitfish is a species of fish in the Chimaeridae family. It is found in several areas of the Atlantic Ocean.-References:* Dagit, D.D. 2005. . Downloaded on 11 January 2009.* at FishBase....

, Lumpsucker

Lumpsucker

Lumpsuckers or lumpfish are mostly small scorpaeniform marine fish of the family Cyclopteridae. They are found in the cold waters of the Arctic, North Atlantic, and North Pacific oceans...

, Cuckoo wrasse

Cuckoo wrasse

Labrus mixtus is a medium size wrasse living in rocky areas in Atlantic waters.-Description:The male and female have different colouration....

and the Thresher Shark.

In a study of the marine fauna of the Celtic Sea

Celtic Sea

The Celtic Sea is the area of the Atlantic Ocean off the south coast of Ireland bounded to the east by Saint George's Channel; other limits include the Bristol Channel, the English Channel, and the Bay of Biscay, as well as adjacent portions of Wales, Cornwall, Devon, and Brittany...

based on 61 beam trawl

Trawling

Trawling is a method of fishing that involves pulling a fishing net through the water behind one or more boats. The net that is used for trawling is called a trawl....

catches the Common Dragonet

Callionymus lyra

Callionymus lyra, the Common Dragonet, is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus Callionymus....

and the hermit crab Pagurus prideaux
Pagurus
Pagurus is a genus of hermit crabs in the family Paguridae. Like other hermit crabs, their abdomen is not calcified and they use snail shells as portable homes. These marine decapod crustaceans are omnivorous, but mostly prey on small animals and scavenge carrion...

were the most ubiquitous species.

The aquatic insect fauna is listed by Ashe et al.

Extinctions

Species that have become extinct in Ireland in historic times include the great auk

Great Auk

The Great Auk, Pinguinus impennis, formerly of the genus Alca, was a large, flightless alcid that became extinct in the mid-19th century. It was the only modern species in the genus Pinguinus, a group of birds that formerly included one other species of flightless giant auk from the Atlantic Ocean...

, the European beaver

European Beaver

and the Wildcat

European Wildcat

The European Wildcat is a subspecies of the wildcat that inhabits forests of Western, Central, Eastern and Southern Europe, as well as Scotland, Turkey and the Caucasus Mountains; it has been extirpated from Scandinavia, England, and Wales. Some authorities restrict F. s...

. The last grey wolf in Ireland was killed by John Watson of Ballydarton, County Carlow

County Carlow

County Carlow is a county in Ireland. It is part of the South-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Carlow, which lies on the River Barrow. Carlow County Council is the local authority for the county...

in 1786. Many Bird of prey

Bird of prey

Birds of prey are birds that hunt for food primarily on the wing, using their keen senses, especially vision. They are defined as birds that primarily hunt vertebrates, including other birds. Their talons and beaks tend to be relatively large, powerful and adapted for tearing and/or piercing flesh....

species including the Golden Eagle

Golden Eagle

, White-tailed Eagle

White-tailed Eagle

and Red Kite

Red Kite

have been re-introduced to National Parks after absences of between 90–200 years.

Zoology museums

These are the Natural History Museum Dublin

Natural History Museum (Ireland)

Ireland's Natural History Museum , often called the Dead Zoo a branch of the National Museum of Ireland, is housed on Merrion Street in Dublin, Ireland...

which opened in 1856 and the Ulster Museum

Ulster Museum

The Ulster Museum, located in the Botanic Gardens in Belfast, has around 8,000 square metres of public display space, featuring material from the collections of fine art and applied art, archaeology, ethnography, treasures from the Spanish Armada, local history, numismatics, industrial...

in Belfast which opened in 1929. Ireland's universities hold smaller collections.

Research

In 2000, scientists in Ireland commenced a research programme called "Ag-Biota", concerning the impact of modern agriculture on biodiversity.

History

An early (1180) account of the fauna is given by Gerald of Wales in Topographia Hibernica

Topographia Hibernica

Topographia Hibernica , also known as Topographia Hiberniae, is an account of the landscape and people of Ireland written by Gerald of Wales around 1188, soon after the Norman invasion of Ireland...

and in 1652 Gerard Boate

Gerard Boate

Gerard Boate was a Dutch physician, known for his Natural History of Ireland.-Life:...

's Natural History of Ireland was published. The Clare Island Survey

Clare Island Survey

The Clare island Survey was a multidisciplinary survey of Clare Island an island off the West coast of Ireland....

(1909–11) organised by Robert Lloyd Praeger

Robert Lloyd Praeger

-Life:Of a Unitarian background, he was born in Holywood, County Down, and grew up in that town where he was educated, first in the school of the Rev McAlister and then at nearby Sullivan Upper School. He worked in the National Library of Ireland in Dublin from 1893 to 1923. He co-founded and...

was the first comprehensive biological survey carried out in the world. It became a model for studies elsewhere.

The Composition of the Fauna

Details of the composition of the Irish fauna by group are given by Ferriss, S. E., Smith, K. G. and Inskipp, T. P.(editors), 2009 Irish Biodiversity: a taxonomic inventory of fauna. Online here: http://www.npws.ie/en/media/NPWS/Publications/IrishWildlifeManuals/IWM38.pdf. Not up to date for all taxa

Taxon

|thumb|270px|[[African elephants]] form a widely-accepted taxon, the [[genus]] LoxodontaA taxon is a group of organisms, which a taxonomist adjudges to be a unit. Usually a taxon is given a name and a rank, although neither is a requirement...

Scientific Journals

Bulletin of the Irish Biogeographical Society
Bulletin of the Irish Biogeographical Society
The Bulletin of the Irish Biogeographical Society publishes many scientific papers on entomology and also entomological catalogues as Occasional Supplements . A full indexed list is provided on the website....
Irish Naturalists' Journal
Irish Naturalists' Journal
The Irish Naturalists' Journal covers all aspects of Natural History and has been published since 1925....
Irish Bird Report
Proceedings Royal Irish Academy

External links

Biodiversity Ireland
National Parks and Wildlife Service
Habitas Ulster Museum Note some parts of this extensive website relate to Northern Ireland only.
Fauna Europaea Some parts are more complete than others.Northern Ireland and Ireland are separated.
Colonisation of Ireland by the stoat http://www.studenec.ivb.cz/download.php?dir=Files/PDF/&file=106&ext=pdf Provides a useful overview of post glacial colonisation.
Irish Bees
Water Beetles of Ireland
Dragonflies of Ireland
NPWS Irish Syrphidae
Freshwater Fish of Ireland
Fishbase Marine fish of Ireland

The species list accesses an account of the species in Ireland.For more go to the species page.Click on the photo here for more photos

MarLIN Marine Life Information Network for Britain and Ireland
Marine Life Information Network
The Marine Life Information Network is an information system for marine biodiversity for Great Britain and Ireland.MarLIN was established in 1998 by the Marine Biological Association together with the environmental protection agencies and academic institutions in Britain and Ireland.The MarLIN...

.
World Register of Marine Species
Commons Red Deer Page Extensive illustration.
Irish Species Register
Biological Records Centre UK organisation but Atlas maps include Ireland.
NIEA (SSI
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...

s, SAC
Special Area of Conservation
A Special Area of Conservation is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive , also known as the Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora...

s, NR
Nature reserve
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...

s, MNR
Marine Nature Reserve
Marine Nature Reserve is a British conservation designation officially awarded by the government to a marine reserve of national significance....

s, Ramsar sites
Ramsar Convention
The Ramsar Convention is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands, i.e., to stem the progressive encroachment on and loss of wetlands now and in the future, recognizing the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their economic, cultural,...

and SPA
Special Protection Area
A Special Protection Area or SPA is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds.Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and certain particularly threatened birds.Together with Special...

s)
Biodiversity-Fauna-Purcell
Earthtrends Ireland profile
Invasive Species
MothsIreland Species lists (Micromoths separate). Maps.
Eugenie Regan, Brian Nelson, Stephen McCormack, Robert Nash and James P. O’Connor 2010 Countdown to 2010: Can we assess Ireland's insect species diversity and loss Biology and Environment: Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, Vol. 110B, No. 2, 109–117
BHL Forbes, A.E., 1905 Gaelic names of beasts (Mammalia), birds, fishes, insects, reptiles, etc. in two parts: 1. Gaelic-English.- 2. English-Gaelic. Part 1. contains Gaelic names or terms for each of the above, with English meanings. Part 2. contains all the English names for which Gaelic is given in Part 1 Edinburgh, Oliver and Boyd.
EU-Nomen Pan-European Species Directories Infrastructure

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Mammals

Reptiles

Amphibians

Birds

Insects and other invertebrates

Aquatic

Extinctions

Zoology museums

Research

History

The Composition of the Fauna

Further reading

Scientific Journals

See also

External links