| FishBase | Complete | Literature | Reference | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Species | Families | Species | Families | |||
| Marine | 345 | 159 | No | |||
| Freshwater | Yes | Vatova, A., 1975 | ||||
| Total | 347 | 159 | No | |||
| Conservation | The following information is to be sought: - Status of knowledge of the freshwater fauna; - Existence of conservation plans; - Information on major aquatic habitats or sites within the country; - Current major threats to species; - Future potential threats to species; - Contact(s) for further information. |
| Geography and Climate |
Libya (with a surface area of 1,759,540 sq. km.) consists almost entirely of desert plateau except for a narrow cultivated coastal strip.
Summer temperature in the interior are intense. The coastal strip is cooler and more humid, with rains occurring from December to February.
The economy is based on oil export. There are several desert irrigation projects and most of the water used is derived from groundwater sources. There are no perennial rivers and the rainfall patterns result in both flash floods and severe drought being common. Ref. Vanden Bossche, J.-P. and G.M. Bernacsek, 1990 |
| Hydrography |
Lakes: there are only a few small saline desert lakes.
Rivers, floodplains and swamps: only short seasonal rivers.
Reservoirs: two small impoundments: Wadi ghan (0.021 sq. km.) and Wadi Zart (2.94 sq. km.).
Coastal lagoons: there is no true inland lagoon of any significant size. Farwa Lagoon, described in Lemoalle (1987) (Ref. 12122), is widely open to the sea (salinity over 40%) and cannot, therefore, be included in the inland waters. Ref. Vanden Bossche, J.-P. and G.M. Bernacsek, 1990 |