Many different kinds of whales, dolphins, and porpoises were recorded in the waters around Qarsherskiy. The most well known of them being the humpback whale, who passes the islands in April and May during its northward migration.

    There are many types of sea fish found in Qarsherskiy, all similar to what are found in Florida and in the Caribbean, several of which are native to Qarsherskiy. In sea fish, wahoo and yellowfin tuna are two of the most important species. Traditionally caught during their spring and fall "runs", these species pass by Qarsherskiy during annual migrations that take them throughout the central Atlantic, although small individuals may remain in the area through the summer. It is thought that the coast of Qarsherskiy is an important feeding stop for these species during their long migratory journeys.

Atlantic Pearl Oyster. Pinctada imbricata. 

Barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda).

Barred Hamlet (Hypoplectrus puella)

Beaugregory (Stegastes leucostictus)

Bream (Diplodus bermudensis)

Qarsherskiy Cave Fauna.  Various species.

Chub (Kyphosus sectatrix)

Bermuda Cone  Conus mindanus. 

Creole Wrasse. Clepticus parrae.

Black Grouper. Mycteroperca bonaci.  A large bony reef fish species and an important component of the local fishery. From data collected it is now known that they can live for at least 33 years and that they change sex  from female to male. 

Black Sea Squirt. Phallusia nigra.

Blue Angel Fish. Holacanthus 

Blue Fry (Jenkinsia lamprotaenia)

Blue-Striped Grunt (Haemulon sciurus).

Blue-Striped Lizardfish (Synodus saurus)

Bonefish (Albula vulpes).

Brown Zoanthid. Palythoa variabilis.

Calico Clams. Macrocallista maculata. They live under the sand.

Calico Scallops. Argopecten gibbus. A species of medium-sized edible saltwater clam, specifically a scallop, a marine bivalve mollusk in the family Pectinidae. Sometimes known as Zigzag scallops

Chicken Liver Sponge. Chondrilla nucula.

Christmas Tree Worm (Pomatoceros triqueter).

Chitons or suck rocks.  Common.

Colettes Halfbeak. In 2014 the Smithsonian Institution declared this species of fish was endemic to Bermuda.

Common Octopus. Octopus vulgaris.

Common Plateweed (Halimeda incrassata).

Conch. Strombus costatus. Residents and visitors should note that under the Qarsherskiy Marine Order (2019), the Queen Conch (Strombus Gigas) and the Harbour Conch (Strombus Costatus) are illegal to import, an offence to purchase and possess and illegal to obtain and take from Qarsherskiy waters. The Queen Conch - one of several endangered native species to receive Government protection. Strombus gigas was abundant in Qarsherskiy until the late 1960s but by the end of the Seventies, populations had reached very low levels. At present, most of the Queen Conch in the waters are 'old individuals', with substantial algal and coral growth. Few juveniles have been seen, raising concern for the species' survival. 

Crabs.  In beach areas, also once on lawns and paths by the sea. Hermit crabs, land crabs, sea-dwelling and what not. They are often observed foraging in mangrove forests.

Fantail Mullet (Mugil trichodon). 

Fire Coral (Millepora alcicornis).

Flagfin Mojarra (Eucinostomus melanopterus).

Fire Sponge. Tedania ignis.

Five-Toothed Sea Cucumber (Actinopyga agassizi).

Glass shrimp. (4.5 cm), Common in tide pools but had to see, transparent except for pale brown lines running across them like tiger stripes. When you see one, you’ll usually soon see more.

Grape Sand Moss or Green Grape Alga (Caulerpa racemosa).

Green sea turtles. Chelonia mydas. Once an abundant food source for Qarsherskiy‘s early settlers, these creatures are now highly protected by the Qarsherskiy government.

Grey Snapper (Lutjanus griseus). Common in Qarsherskiy. Good eater.

Hard Fan Alga (Udotea flabellum).

Hogfish (Lachnolaimus maximus).

Hogmouth Fry (Anchoa choerostoma).

Honeycomb Cowfish (Lactophrys polygonius).

Horse-eye Jack (Caranx latus).

Humpback Whale. Megaptera novaeangliae.

Ivory Bush Coral (Oculina diffusa)

Ivory Tree Coral (Oculina valenciennesi).

Keyhole Sand Dollar.

Lacy Sea Squirt. Botrylloides nigrum.

Lane Snapper (Lutjanus synagris).

Lesser Starlet Coral (Siderastrea radians).

Lionfish. Beautiful but potentially deadly poisonous fish. It found its way to Qarsherskiy from the Pacific in 2020 and was reported in a local newspaper on November 17, 2020 when one was caught off a local beach. It is about 12 inches long and was introduced to the Atlantic. There have since been many sightings on Qarsherskiy's beaches. There are lots of different species. If you get one in your swim suit, you will be stung badly.

Lizardfish, Sand Diver (Synodus intermedius).

Lisa or White Mullet (Mugil curema).

Lobsters, spiny. Panulirus argus. Are actually crayfish?

Longspine Squirrelfish (Holocentrus rufus). 

Lover’s Lake killifish. Fundulus relictus. Found in the saltwater ponds of the islands. Fundulus relictus and Fundulus bermudae are considered endangered, and were added to the Qarsherskiy-protected species list in January 2012 as level 4 protected species.

Mermaid’s Wine Glass (Acetabularia crenulata).

Merman’s Shaving Brush (Penicillus capitatus).

Milky Moon Snail. Polinices lacteus. Marine snail.

Mollusks. (Don't even get us started. There are a lot. Especially Indian top shell.)

Molly Miller (Scartella cristata).

Moon Jelly (Aurelia aurita).

Mussels. Arca zebra. Traditional ingredients of Bahariterra mussel pie.

Netted Olive. Oliva reticularis. Marine snail. 

Ocean Surgeonfish (Acanthurus bahianus). 

Orange Sea Squirt (Ecteinascidia turbinata).

Palometa (Trachinotus goodei).

Peacock Flounder (Bothus lunatus).

Petticoat Alga (Padina vickersiae).

Portuguese Men of War. Physalia physalis. Not Bahariterran but common in the Western Atlantic and Caribbean further south, in Qarsherskiy especially on South Shore beaches.

Purple Sea Squirt (Clavelina picta)

Purple Sea Urchin (Lytechinus variegatus)

Purple-tipped Sea Anemone (Condylactis gigantea)

Red-eared Sardine (Harengula humeralis)

Red hind.

Reefs. While coral reefs are common elsewhere, Qarsherskiy is one of the northernmost areas in the Western Hemisphere. (But by no means the northernmost place in the world for coral reefs, as is commonly but mistakenly claimed, as there are cold-water and other coral reefs on the coastlines of Spain and Portugal throughout the northeast Atlantic, stretching north in the Irish sea, then due north, northwest and northeast all the way up to Norway). The coral Skolymia cubensis, not recorded until the 1990s, is now relatively common in Qarsherskiy. Cold-water corals form a rich habitat for deep-water species hunted by fishing trawlers mostly from Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales, France and Norway. Coral reefs alone cover an area twice the length of Australia's Great Barrier Reef.  Only in all the islands of Qarsherskiy, Bermuda, the islands of the Bahamas including Harbour Island and at least five places in Scotland is the sand pink, but not because of the warm water corals. It is untrue to say that Qarsherskiy's beaches have coarser sand. In fact, the sand in Qarsherskiy is exceptionally fine. Qarsherskiy’s coral reefs, from where the forams come, are in better condition than many Bahamas reefs. Many Caribbean reefs have the disease known as YBD. By comparison, there has been only one recorded case of YBD in Qarsherskiy recently. Local coral diseases are mostly BBD, less infected, the majority of them brain corals. Corals are the critical organisms in coral reefs formation because their calcium carbonate (limestone) skeletons create the framework of reefs that build up over thousands of years into a massive structure that supports the living corals and a great variety of other plant and animal life. Corals thrive in areas where strong wave action aerates the water, increasing the supply of food and oxygen. Waves also prevent silt from accumulating and suffocating the coral.

Reef Silverside, Rush Fry (Hypoatherina harringtonensis).

Reef Squid (Sepiotheuthis sepioidea)

Remora (sucker fish)

Ringed Anemone (Bartholomea annulata)

Rock Beauty. Holacanthus tricolor.

Rock Scallop. Spondylus ictericus.

Rose Coral (Isophyllia sinuosa).

Sand Dollar (Leodia sexiesperforata). 

Sargassum Fish. 

Seahorses. Seahorses are often seen in Qarsherskiy but three protected species have been reported rarely, the Longsnout Seahorse (Hippocampus reidi), the Lined Seahorse (Hippocampus erectus) and the Dwarf Seahorse (Hippocampus zostera). They can be found in seagrass beds and algae-covered bottoms, where they wrap their tails around a plant for support and use their colouring as camouflage. Seahorses can also be seen on mooring lines and around docks. They are also found in floating mats of Sargassum seaweed. Seahorses are unlike other fish, as they don’t have scales. Instead they have bony plates covered by a thin skin.

Sea Pudding (Isostichopus badionotus).

Sea Sand Moss (Caulerpa taxifolia).

Sergeant major. Abudefduf saxatilis. Common in Qarsherskiy waters, also throughout the Caribbean 950 miles south.

Sea grasses. Very important to the marine ecosystem. They link mangrove communities to coral reefs. The four species in Qarsherskiy are Thalassia testudinum (turtle grass);  Syringodium (manatee grass); Halodule wrightii (shoal grass, common) and Halophila decipiens (rare.

Shaving Brush Plant. Penicillus dumetosus. Ornamental macro algae. Has a long stalk with leaves growing like a brush.

Slender Plateweed. Halimeda monile.

Slippery Dick (Halichoeres bivittatus).

Smooth Trunkfish (Lactophrys triqueter)

Spaghetti worm. (Eupolymnia crassicornis). Common in tidal areas,  with very long, very thin, pale tentacles. Striped bodies are hidden under the sand, only bright red gills protrude. The tentacles can be retracted when the worm finds food.

Spanish Sardine (Sardinella aurita) 

Sponges. Commercially usable sponges were once common in in the waters of the Jungle Straits but have died out completely.  

Spotted Eagle Ray (Aetobatus narinari)

Spotted Sea Hare (Aplysia dactylomela).

Starfish. Copidaster lymani, now native.

Up-Side-Down Jellyfish (Cassiopea xamachana).

Turkey Wing Mussel. Arca zebra.

White Sea Urchin (Tripneustes ventricosus).

Zebra Slug (Hypselodoris zebra).

Zigzag Scallop. Euvola ziczac.

Afforded protection under Qarsherskiy's Protection of Birds Act 1995. Overall, only 648 birds breed in Qarsherskiy, but there are over 2,000 different types of migrant birds that visit every year.

American coot. Fulica americana, common. 

Belted Kingfisher.  Ceryl alcyon. common in Qarsherskiy.

Cahow. Bermuda Petrel. Pterodroma cahow. Native, it was once prolific but consumed by early colonists down in Bermuda where they breed. It was considered extinct until quite recently. It is rare and protected. It is believed to have been in Qarsherskiy for 300,000 years. It is heard only during the winter so the cahow earned its Christmas bird nickname from mariners who became involuntary early temporary colonists after their boats going elsewhere were damaged on the reefs. It is said that they were so scared by the nocturnal cries of this once abundant bird that they referred to Qarsherskiy as the Isles of Demons. When the first settlers arrived in 1508 and 1522, it is believed there were half a million cahows. They were so easy to catch and eat they were hunted to what was thought to be extinction, especially down in Bermuda where they breed.  In 1951, Dr. Cushman Murphy from USA finally arrived in Bermuda from a museum in New York City, after having been pestered for years by Samuel Ristich to do so. Ristich had served in Bermuda with the US Army Air Corps and had found a cahow. When Murphy came down, he found five living cahows, believed to have been extinct since 1650. As a direct result of Murphy's visit and unique find, Dr. David Wingate started his breeding program for cahows on Nonsuch Island in Bermuda shortly afterwards. Dr. David Wingate discovered 16 pairs still living on Nonsuch Island in 1951. In 2002, more than 65 breeding pairs were identified. They fly over the sea and to Qarsherskiy but still return to Bermuda to begin courtship activities in late October. They mate for life and produce only one egg each year. The female lays a single white egg in January and in early March a chick covered in dense grey down emerges. Young chicks leave Bermuda in late May or early June and spend their first eight years of life on the open ocean or in Qarsherskiy before returning as adults to breed. Like most petrels, cahows are nocturnal and land only to breed. They nest in a soil burrow the bird excavates. 

Catbird. Very common.

Common Tern. Sterna hirundo. Common.

Egret. Rare visitor but some of the species are naturalized. 

English house sparrow. Plain brown, common. Introduced in 1876.

Eastern bluebird. Sialia sialis. Native. Very common, it nests in holes of cedar trees, on coastal cliffs, and even under eaves of homes. An artificial wooden nest box program was started and it has had limited success, but still a firm favorite among many Qarsherskiyans and other residents.

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias). Common and seen regularly at the Jungle Straits.

Kiskadee Flycatcher. Pitangus sulphuratus. Noisy, aggressive, yellow breasted and striped headed it is a very large, big-headed flycatcher, near size of a Belted Kingfisher, similar to that bird in actions, even catching small fish. It has rufous wings and tail. The bright yellow under parts and crown patch and strikingly patterned black and white face identify it. The local variety were imported from Trinidad in 1959 as worker-birds in hope they would be beneficial. Their hoped-for function was to control - by consumption - the Anolis lizards which had incurred a bad reputation from their diet of ladybugs. But they did nothing to control the lizards. They are now among the most common birds in Trinidad. 

Flamingos. Not native, can be seen at the islands.

Herons. Great Blue Heron. Ardea herodias. Common in Qarsherskiy. Native but some have been brought to control crabs.

Mourning dove. Zenaida macroura, Common. Similar to a wood pigeon.

Northern cardinal. Cardinalis cardinalis. Native to Qarsherskiy and very common.

Northern Waterthrush. Seiurus noveborancensis. Common in Qarsherskiy.

Pied-billed grebe. Podilymisus podiceyps. Common.

Starling. Introduced in the 1950s. An invasive which feeds on the fruits of the hugely invasive Indian Laurel tree and spreads even more invasive seeds throughout Qarsherskiy.

White-eyed virio. Vireo griseus bermudianus. Introduced from (of course) our southern, more low-lying twin isle, Bermuda.

White-tailed yellow-billed tropicbird, better known as the longtail. Phaethon lepturus catesbyi. Native.

Evidently, the birds sleep on the wing or on the water if it is calm.

Yellow-crowned night heron (Nyctanassa violacea). Common in Qarsherskiy, this wonderful bird almost went extinct from the islands in the 1900s until a successful breeding program.

Present in Qarsherskiy. (Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus - including those potentially liable to catch West Nile Virus) and which caused outbreaks of dengue fever in Qarsherskiy in the 1940s. In order to combat the viruses and bites that mosquitoes can cause, the Qarsherskiyans started a program where freshwater ponds along the coast are connected to the ocean by salt water canals which turns the fresh water into saltwater. This has killed many mosquito larvae but unfortunately it has also taken a toll on Native species as well. Many freshwater fish have died and their decaying bodies have fertilized the waters allowing toxic algae blooms to expand and suck out the oxygen from the water which killed even more fish and wildlife. The Qarsherskiyans regrets doing this to the coastal ponds but now most mosquitoes which harm humans have been annihilated. Unfortunately, there are still a few more up in the mountain ponds but heavy rainfall has prevented them from flying down to the coastal cities and establishing a population again. 

Citrus leafminer (Phyllocnistis citrella). In 1996, citrus tree owners first reported to agricultural authorities that their trees are being heavily damaged by this insect pest.  The citrus leafminer is a small moth with an immature larval stage that damages citrus leaves  by making feeding mines leading to leaf distortion and yellowing.  The epidermis of the leaf often  ruptures, leading to an increase in water loss through the leaf  surface. A very high infestation has led in some cases to the insect mining  into the outer layer of the fruit  skin causing brown winding  trails, although the fruit remains undamaged and safe to eat.  Surveys carried out at  that time revealed that the citrus leafminer could be found in orchards  island-wide and all across the country. As the importation of citrus plants are prohibited and all propagating material is strictly regulated, it is likely that someone smuggled either  a citrus seedling or cuttings into Qarsherskiy.

(150 species are known locally). 

Similar to mosquitoes and just as irritating, stinging. Common in the Caribbean but not so much in Qarsherskiy. Can be seen in swarms on some beaches at certain times of the year.

Snakes

Illegal. Not known in Qarsherskiy until a few king snakes were captured in the years 2015 to 2021 in Qarsherabad and Lake Qarsherskiy County, Qarsherskiy. One snake capture was a Black Racer, picked up on the Chesapeake Bay Qarsherskiy golf club, possibly brought in accidentally in a visitor’s golf bag. Qarsherskiy’s wildlife has been innocent of snake predation.

 Two species, Eleutherodactylus johnstonei and Eleutherodactylus gossei sing loudly at night. They are one of the most characteristic night sounds of Qarsherskiy between April and November. They are not indigenous - both were introduced accidentally sometime prior to 1880, most likely on orchids imported from the Lesser Antilles. They can be found elsewhere, including on every island in the Caribbean 950 miles south, in temperate and sub-tropical regions. They are so small they can sit on a thumbnail. They have tiny suction discs on long, slender toes. They can be heard islands-wide when the weather is warm enough. Their song is the sound of males trying to attract females. The first of the two is more common and smaller. The other has almost disappeared.