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About North Cyprus · Nature

Flora and fauna of North Cyprus

As of 23 October 2026, the sources reviewed describe North Cyprus as a mix of maquis shrubland, open dwarf scrub, pine and cypress woodland on the Kyrenia (Beşparmak) range, and dunes and coastal lagoons on the Karpaz peninsula. Maquis, called maki in Turkish, is a Mediterranean vegetation of shrubs and small trees. This page lists plants, flowers and animals that university, conservation and encyclopedic sources report for the north or for Cyprus as a whole, and it says which sources place a species in the north.

Checked 23 October 2026 against the sources named in the text and listed below. Positions of parties are attributed to them.

Maquis and the vegetation zones of North Cyprus. AI visual concept
AI visual concept

Maquis and the vegetation zones of North Cyprus

The University of Hohenheim's Institute of Botany (seminar slides, January 2019) describes maquis as vegetation made mostly of shrubs and small trees that does not grow higher than about 3 to 5 metres, with Greek strawberry tree, Styrax officinalis and Pistacia species as typical members. Turkish Wikipedia defines maki as shrubland of Mediterranean-climate regions, usually 1 to 2 metres tall, that develops where forest is degraded by cutting, burning and grazing.

For the north, the same Hohenheim material says the drier southern side of the Kyrenia (Beşparmak) range carries mainly maquis or phrygana, while the wetter northern side has more extensive woodland that degrades to maquis after fires or clearing. The One Earth ecoregion profile (UNEP-WCMC authors, 2020) places garrigue and maquis of olive, carob and Phoenician juniper in the dry lowlands of Cyprus.

Hohenheim also lists the Mesaoria plain, now mostly cultivated with olive, carob or citrus terraces at its edges, sandy coasts, and the Karpaz peninsula with dunes, coastal lagoons and Posidonia beds. Where grazing continues, forest can degrade to maquis and then to phrygana, a cover of small shrubs and herbs about half a metre high.

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Trees and shrubs. AI visual concept
AI visual concept

Trees and shrubs

Hohenheim (2019) names Turkish pine, Pinus brutia, as the main tree of the Beşparmak forests. It is spread across the island, grows from low ground up to about 1,300 metres, reaches 12 to 25 metres on dry calcareous soil and flowers from March to May. The One Earth profile (2020) uses the name Calabrian pine for the main pine and says Mediterranean cypress grows mainly in the Kyrenia range.

Hohenheim lists companion shrubs and small trees of the Beşparmak forests and maquis: Greek strawberry tree, terebinth, Styrax officinalis, azarole and Mediterranean buckthorn. It adds that Calicotome villosa grows on soils exposed by deforestation or fire. Şekerciler and Ketenoğlu (2019) describe a juniper maquis community on the Karpaz peninsula. Places such as St Hilarion and Buffavento are covered in castles of North Cyprus.

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Wild flowers and orchids. AI visual concept
AI visual concept

Wild flowers and orchids

Hohenheim (2019) lists Ornithogalum divergens, Allium neapolitanum and the Persian buttercup, Ranunculus asiaticus, as spring plants of the Beşparmak phrygana. It says all three occur on plains and in higher regions. It also names hollow-stemmed asphodel on cultivated or fallow land, and a shrub of the family Cistaceae, Cistus salviifolius, that spreads fast after fires.

Orchids are mentioned for the Karpaz peninsula: the management-plan summary in the Hohenheim presentation lists Ophrys kotschyi among 22 endemic plant species of the Karpaz protected area. On sandy shores the same university lists Eryngium maritimum, Medicago marina, Cakile maritima and Pancratium maritimum as typical plants. Seasonal weather context is on weather and seasons.

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Plants endemic to Cyprus. AI visual concept
AI visual concept

Plants endemic to Cyprus

Endemic means found on Cyprus and nowhere else; the sources below place the plants on the island as a whole, and the records cited here are mostly from the Kyrenia range. Gücel and Yıldız (Near East University, Pakistan Journal of Botany, 2008) cite 121 endemic species for Cyprus, 19 of which they describe as endemic to North Cyprus, citing Meikle and Viney. Hohenheim (2019) gives a different count for the island, about 142, and the figures are not from the same year.

Hohenheim (2019) names Arabis cypria, Delphinium caseyi and Brassica hilarionis on the Beşparmak range. Gücel and Yıldız (2008) describe ten further endemic taxa from the range as under threat from habitat degradation, forest fires and quarrying. Cyprus cyclamen is treated by the Cyprus Center for Environmental Research and Education (2017) as occurring from the Akamas and Troodos to Pentadaktylos.

  • Kıbrıs siklameni (Cyprus cyclamen, Cyclamen cyprium)
    Ziegler175 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

    Flower

    Kıbrıs siklameni (Cyprus cyclamen, Cyclamen cyprium)

    CYCERE (2017): the only one of three Cyprus cyclamens endemic to the island, found from Akamas and Troodos to Pentadaktylos at 50 to 1,100 m. The Cyclamen Society gives wild flowering as September to January.

    Source: kykpee.org

  • Plant

    Arabis cypria

    Hohenheim (2019): a perennial of shady limestone rocks on the alkaline soils of the Beşparmak range, described as a rare endemic species in North Cyprus with an endangered habitat.

    Source: botanik.uni-hohenheim.de

  • Plant

    Delphinium caseyi

    Hohenheim (2019) names this endemic plant among those of the Beşparmak range; it grows on rocky cliffs or in cracks of limestone boulders, very local near St Hilarion castle, and IUCN categorises it as Critically Endangered.

    Source: botanik.uni-hohenheim.de

  • Brassica hilarionis
    Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

    Plant

    Brassica hilarionis

    Hohenheim (2019): a hairless perennial of calcareous rocky slopes, strictly protected, described as endemic to the western Beşparmak mountains, growing on rock faces at 400 to 850 m.

    Source: botanik.uni-hohenheim.de

  • Plant

    Pimpinella cypria

    Gücel and Yıldız (2008) collected it near Girne on north slopes at about 750 to 820 m and at St Hilarion castle at 800 m, and describe it as distributed only on the Beşparmak mountains.

    Source: pakbs.org

  • Plant

    Salvia veneris

    Gücel and Yıldız (2008) collected it above Değirmenlik lake on sandstone hills at about 200 m, one of ten endemic taxa they list for the Beşparmak mountains.

    Source: pakbs.org

  • Sideritis cypria
    Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

    Plant

    Sideritis cypria

    Gücel and Yıldız (2008) collected it on rocky places at 700 to 850 m near Alevkayası, Buffavento castle and St Hilarion castle, and name it among the taxa threatened by habitat degradation.

    Source: pakbs.org

  • Plant

    Teucrium cyprium subsp. kyreniae

    Gücel and Yıldız (2008) collected it on rocky slopes at 500 to 800 m near Buffavento, Boğazköy and Geçitkale, and list it among ten endemic taxa of the Beşparmak mountains.

    Source: pakbs.org

  • Cyprus tulip and Loch's glory-of-the-snow
    Aliosha Bielenberg · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

    Flower

    Cyprus tulip and Loch's glory-of-the-snow

    One Earth (2020) names both, with Cyclamen cyprium, as endemic flora of the Cyprus ecoregion. The source does not say whether they occur in the north.

    Source: oneearth.org

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Mammals, reptiles and insects

Benda and colleagues (National Museum, Prague, and Near East University; Lynx, 2018) report at least 451 records of 21 bat species from Northern Cyprus, from fieldwork mainly in 2018. They state that the complete known bat fauna of the island, except for one doubtful species, was documented in the north, and that the Egyptian fruit bat roosts were smaller than in the mid-2000s. Roaming donkeys of the Karpaz are covered on family days out.

The Cyprus spiny mouse, described from the Kyrenia Mountains, has a population there. For snakes, a 2009 study in Animal Biology (Göçmen and colleagues) examined 66 specimens of eleven species from northern Cyprus. Hohenheim (2019) lists two endemic butterflies in the Karpaz protected area. The sources opened report no Cyprus whip snake from the Kyrenia range.

Turkish Cypriot media use the name Gufi for the viper of Cyprus. Kıbrıs Postası (15 May 2019) quotes Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nazım Kaşot of the Environmental Protection Foundation (ÇEKOVA), who says it occurs in Northern Cyprus, is the only one of three venomous snake species considered potentially dangerous to people, and that killing snakes is an offence. Gündem Kıbrıs (2024) reports a Taşkent Nature Park statement describing the Cyprus viper, Macrovipera lebetina lebetina, as a subspecies endemic to the island. English Wikipedia lists kufi as a common name, from the Greek word for deaf.

Sources describe the viper's range at different scales. Wikipedia lists the Cypriot subspecies simply as Cyprus. A 2018 paper (Jestrzemski and Kuzyakova, Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins) states that the nominate subspecies occurs only on Cyprus and was surveyed near Polis Chrysochous in the Republic's Paphos district. A 2006 case report in the Turkish Journal of Parasitology (Göçmen and colleagues) describes a specimen collected in northern Cyprus. Cyprus Mail (26 April 2025) reports eight snake species on the island, three venomous.

The Cyprus mouflon is described as endemic to the island of Cyprus, not to the north. English Wikipedia places it in the mountains of Paphos District and reports about 1,200 animals counted in 1997. Gündem Kıbrıs (3 April 2025), citing Cyprus Mail, gives an estimate of about 3,000 and credits breeding programmes. Wikipedia gives Ovis gmelini a species-level IUCN rating of Near Threatened (Michel and Ghoddousi, 2020), not a rating for Cyprus alone, and notes CITES Appendix I listing since November 2019. Yenidüzen (2015) and Kıbrıs Postası (2022) report occasional animals in the north.

  • Bats of Northern Cyprus (21 species, including Rousettus aegyptiacus)
    מינוזיג - MinoZig · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

    Mammal

    Bats of Northern Cyprus (21 species, including Rousettus aegyptiacus)

    Benda et al. (2018): at least 451 records of 21 bat species from the north, with Rousettus aegyptiacus recorded at 26 localities and smaller colonies than in the mid-2000s.

    Source: publikace.nm.cz

  • Mammal

    Cyprus spiny mouse (Acomys nesiotes)

    Wikipedia: endemic to Cyprus, with one population in the Kyrenia Mountains and one in the Troodos; described in 1903 from the Kyrenia Mountains. IUCN lists it as Data Deficient (2024 assessment).

    Source: en.wikipedia.org

  • Kıbrıs muflonu (Cyprus mouflon, Ovis gmelini ophion; Greek Cypriot name agrino)
    WoodsAndrew · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

    Mammal

    Kıbrıs muflonu (Cyprus mouflon, Ovis gmelini ophion; Greek Cypriot name agrino)

    English Wikipedia calls it endemic to Cyprus and gives the name agrino. Turkish Cypriot press (Yenidüzen, 2015; Kıbrıs Postası, 2022) reports single animals at Yeşilırmak and Lefke, while Gündem Kıbrıs (2025) places mouflons in the Troodos mountains and near Paphos.

    Source: yeniduzen.com

  • Reptile

    Cyprus whip snake (Hierophis cypriensis)

    Baier, Nicolaou and Rödder (Herpetological Journal, 2014): endemic to Cyprus, with suitable habitat largely in the Troodos Range; it has not been reported from forested areas of the Kyrenia Range in the north.

    Source: thebhs.org

  • Reptile

    Snakes of Northern Cyprus

    Göçmen et al. (Animal Biology, 2009) examined 66 snake specimens of eleven species from northern Cyprus; three specimens belonged to the viper family. The abstract page does not name the species.

    Source: avesis.mcbu.edu.tr

  • Cyprus endemic lizards (Laudakia cypriaca, Phoenicolacerta troodica)
    Charles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

    Reptile

    Cyprus endemic lizards (Laudakia cypriaca, Phoenicolacerta troodica)

    Svana et al. (Ecologia Balkanica, 2025) record eleven lizard species on Cyprus, two of them endemic species and four endemic subspecies. The text read does not place these two species specifically in the north.

    Source: eb.bio.uni-plovdiv.bg

  • Cyprus Meadow Brown (Maniola cypricola) and Paphos Blue (Glaucopsyche paphos)
    purperlibel · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

    Insect

    Cyprus Meadow Brown (Maniola cypricola) and Paphos Blue (Glaucopsyche paphos)

    Hohenheim (2019), citing management plans: both are listed as endemic butterflies in the fauna of the Karpaz protected area, which covers the tip of the Karpaz peninsula.

    Source: botanik.uni-hohenheim.de

  • Gufi (küt burunlu engerek; Cypriot blunt-nosed viper, Macrovipera lebetina lebetina; also written kufi)
    Musa geçit · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

    Reptile

    Gufi (küt burunlu engerek; Cypriot blunt-nosed viper, Macrovipera lebetina lebetina; also written kufi)

    Turkish Cypriot press uses the name Gufi for the Cyprus viper. A Çekova speaker quoted in Kıbrıs Postası (2019) says it occurs in Northern Cyprus and that snakes are protected by law. Taşkent Nature Park calls it a subspecies endemic to the island of Cyprus.

    Source: kibrispostasi.com

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Birds

BirdLife Cyprus lists three bird species that breed only on Cyprus: the Cyprus wheatear, the Cyprus warbler and the Cyprus scops owl, plus endemic subspecies mostly in the Troodos forests. The Hohenheim presentation (2019) reports important nesting colonies of the wheatear and warbler in the Karpaz protected area, and nesting colonies of Audouin's gull, the Mediterranean shag subspecies, the roller and the masked shrike.

The Wikipedia article on wildlife of Cyprus describes the island as lying on migration routes between Africa, Europe and western Asia and gives more than 380 recorded species. Hohenheim adds that some species listed in EU annexes pass through the Karpaz area in spring and autumn.

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Sea and coast life

Hohenheim (2019), citing Karpaz management plans, says green turtles and loggerhead turtles nest on nine beaches in the Karpaz protected area and that monk seals are resident. It lists coastal lagoons, Posidonia beds and coastal dunes with juniper as three priority habitats of the EU Habitats Directive in that area, among 17 habitat types.

Turtle season and the protected coast are covered on beaches and coast. The coastal zones and districts are described area by area on the areas page, and these listings stay general because the sources read do not give beach-by-beach species records.

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Protected areas and visiting responsibly

Hohenheim (2019) summarises the framework: boundaries for a Karpaz National Park of 9,486 hectares were defined in 2004, but the presentation says the legal basis is insufficient and the area is not treated as a national park. The Karpaz protected area covers the tip of the peninsula and is one of three Special Environmental Protected Areas, with Tatlısu and South Karpaz.

The same presentation says there are seven potential Natura 2000 sites in the north that cannot be designated while Natura 2000 is limited to EU countries, and that there were no official conservation areas within the Beşparmak mountains. Gücel and Yıldız (2008) suggest the area between St Hilarion and Yayla mount as a special protection area. Check the current status of any area with the responsible authority.

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Practical notes

  • The Hohenheim Institute of Botany sources are student seminar presentations from January 2019 that cite management plans and floras; protection statuses may have changed since.
  • Endemic counts differ by source and date: 121 for Cyprus (Gücel and Yıldız, 2008), about 142 (Hohenheim, 2019) and about 128 (Wikipedia, undated); this page quotes none as current.
  • Maquis height differs: about 3 to 5 metres (Hohenheim, 2019) versus usually 1 to 2 metres (Turkish Wikipedia).
  • Turkish names are shown only where a source opened gives them (Turkish Wikipedia, FAO AGROVOC); many species have no Turkish name in those sources.
  • The One Earth profile (2020) calls the main pine Calabrian pine, while Hohenheim (2019) calls Pinus brutia Turkish pine.
  • Sources describe the Gufi (Cyprus viper) and the Cyprus mouflon as endemic to the island of Cyprus, not to the north.
  • Gufi in the north: ÇEKOVA (2019) says it occurs in Northern Cyprus without naming districts; a 2006 case report describes a specimen collected in northern Cyprus.
  • Mouflon: sources place it mainly in the Troodos and Paphos area; occasional single animals are reported in the north (Yeşilırmak 2015, Lefke 2022).
  • Protection wording differs between sources: ÇEKOVA (2019) says snakes are protected by law in Northern Cyprus; a 2018 paper says the viper was not legally protected in Cyprus.
  • Snake species counts depend on the territory (Cyprus Mail: eight on the island; ÇEKOVA: nine by literature and six by records for Northern Cyprus).
  • The mouflon's scientific name is written Ovis orientalis ophion in one source and Ovis gmelini ophion in others.

Frequently asked questions

What is the vegetation of North Cyprus (KKTC'de bitki örtüsü nedir)?

Sources describe a mosaic: maquis and dwarf scrub on lower slopes and dry lowlands, Turkish pine and Mediterranean cypress woodland on the Kyrenia range, cultivated land on the Mesaoria plain, and dunes and lagoons on the Karpaz peninsula. The main sources are Hohenheim (2019) and One Earth (2020).

What is maquis (maki)?

Maquis, maki in Turkish, is Mediterranean shrubland of shrubs and small trees. Hohenheim (2019) gives a height up to about 3 to 5 metres, Turkish Wikipedia 1 to 2 metres. Hohenheim says it can occur naturally or follow grazing, while Turkish Wikipedia describes it as arising from degraded forest.

Which plants are endemic to Cyprus?

Sources name Cyprus cyclamen, Cyprus tulip, Arabis cypria, Delphinium caseyi, Brassica hilarionis and Pimpinella cypria, among others; the last four have records on the Kyrenia range. Gücel and Yıldız (2008) count 121 endemic species for Cyprus, 19 of them restricted to the north.

Which animals live in North Cyprus?

Sources record 21 bat species, the Cyprus spiny mouse in the Kyrenia Mountains, Cyprus wheatear and Cyprus warbler colonies on the Karpaz peninsula, green and loggerhead turtles nesting on nine beaches, resident monk seals and two endemic butterflies in the Karpaz protected area.

When do wild flowers bloom in North Cyprus?

Sources give flowering times for some species only. Hohenheim (2019) lists Ornithogalum divergens, Allium neapolitanum and Persian buttercup as spring plants of the Kyrenia range, and the Cyclamen Society gives September to January for wild Cyprus cyclamen. No source read gives a full bloom calendar.

Are there snakes in North Cyprus?

A 2009 study in Animal Biology examined 66 snakes of eleven species from northern Cyprus; three belonged to the viper family. Çekova's Nazım Kaşot (Yenidüzen, 2019) says Northern Cyprus has nine snake species by the literature and six by records, three venomous, and that only the Gufi is considered potentially dangerous to people.

Where is the Karpaz National Park?

Svana et al. (2025) place the Karpasia peninsula in the northeast of the island, and Hohenheim (2019) says the Karpaz protected area covers its tip. Park boundaries of 9,486 hectares were defined in 2004, but the presentation says the area is not treated as a national park. See [areas](/areas).

What is the gufi snake?

Gufi is the Turkish Cypriot name for the Cyprus viper, Macrovipera lebetina lebetina, according to Kıbrıs Postası and Gündem Kıbrıs. Taşkent Nature Park calls it a subspecies endemic to the island of Cyprus. Çekova says it is the one snake in Northern Cyprus considered potentially dangerous to people and that snakes are protected by law.

Is the Cyprus mouflon found in North Cyprus?

Sources describe it as endemic to the island of Cyprus, not to the north. Yenidüzen (2015) and Kıbrıs Postası (2022) report occasional animals at Yeşilırmak and Lefke, and Turkish Wikipedia says mouflons live mostly in the Troodos Mountains and sometimes cross to the north. Gündem Kıbrıs (2025) places them in Troodos and near Paphos.

Are there venomous snakes in North Cyprus?

Çekova's Nazım Kaşot (Yenidüzen, 2019) says three of the snake species in Northern Cyprus are venomous, and that only the Gufi is considered potentially dangerous to people. Cyprus Mail (26 April 2025) reports eight snake species on the island, three of them venomous. The two counts refer to different territories and are not combined here.

Sources

Questions about North Cyprus?

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