A rich archipelago – Northern Sporades

While most island groups in Greece (e.g. the Cyclades and the Dodecanese) have been well-studied in the past, the Northern Sporades have not received as much attention. With a total of 4 inhabited islands, as well as more than 40 smaller, uninhabited islands and islets, the Sporades are a place of wealthy biodiversity and a large selection of habitats and herpetofaunal taxa, while each island subgroup bears a distinct species composition. My research is deeply tied with this archipelago, and I have been studying the herpetofauna of these islands, in cooperation with academic herpetologists, local management authorities and NGOs since 2019.

So far, we have visited most of the archipelago and have made several new island records, re-discoveries and interesting ecological observations. A large, 8-year long study of the Sporades' herpetofauna was also published in July 2024. Currently, we are planning to shift our focus towards the conservation of local amphibian populations.

Foufopoulos J., Roussos S., Kalogiannis S., Kalb S., Strachinis I. & Brock K.M., 2024. The herpetofauna of the Sporades islands (Aegean Sea, Greece): New discoveries and a review of a century of research. Herpetozoa, 37: 231–256 [full text]

Kalogiannis S. & Stefanopoulos P. 2024. Like pieces in a puzzle: first record of Hierophis gemonensis (Laurenti, 1867) (Reptilia Colubridae) on Skiathos island (Northern Sporades, Greece). Biodiversity Journal 15(4): 957–962 [full text]