H2O Magazine

It was one of these early and calm afternoons during the summer months, somewhere at a dive site entry along the fringing reefs of South Sinai. The near-shore reef flat area at this site was covered with rounded boulders and smaller stones derived from ancient, massive river floods which once transported these materials there from the mountainous hinterland, many thousands of years ago. All these rocky surfaces were more or less overgrown by turf algae, partly seaweed, and who knows which variety and amount of invertebrates found shelter and feeding substrate at this very location.

Endemic marine lives are those that occur only at the RED SEA and nowhere else in the world. The intention of this series of article is to spot the attention of the Red Sea lovers for this kind of rare animals to do their best to protect them, as this is the only realm at which you can only find.

CAUSES OF ENDEMISM The changing world - the theory of continental drift suggests that between 200 and 80 million years ago the single 'supercontinent' Pangea broke up into areas now recognizable as our modern continents.

Once areas became isolated from each other, their animal and plant life evolved indifferent way. The end of the Red Sea (Bab el Mandeb) the channel that separates it from the Gulf of Aden is narrow and shallow. This restricts the flow of water between the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean and hence restricts the movement of reef fish. The consequence is that many fish species in the Red Sea, particularly reef fish such as butterfly fish, have evolved in relative isolation from their cousins outside. This results in distinct species that are endemic to the area. More than 1000 species of fish can be found in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, these are all considered here as Red Sea endemics.
Lets give you two example from fishes and corals.