Glossy black with 13 red spots on the back — hence its Italian name, malmignatte. Smaller than American black widow but with similar venom.

Alpha-latrotoxin causes severe muscle spasms, abdominal cramping, hypertension, and sweating ('latrodectism'). Antivenom available; before its development, mortality was 4–5%.

Dry steppes, vineyards, abandoned buildings, and stone piles across southern Europe and the Balkans.

Builds tangled webs near the ground. Female bites only when pressed against skin — typically when moving rocks or harvesting grapes.

Black with silver-white stripes, 5–10 mm. Invasive species from Southeast Asia, arrived in Europe in 1979. Now established in 13 EU countries; with climate warming spreading north every year.

Vector for dengue, chikungunya, Zika, West Nile, and yellow fever. France logged 228 locally-acquired chikungunya cases in summer 2025 alone — 7x previous 14-year total. Aggressive day-biter, unlike most other mosquitoes.

Established in Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Croatia, Albania, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovenia, Switzerland, southern Germany, Hungary. Spreading to Belgium, Netherlands, UK.

Bites by day (dawn and dusk peaks). Breeds in tiny pools of water — flowerpots, gutters, bottle caps. One female lays 100+ eggs per cycle.

Light brown spider 7-10 mm with a violin-shaped marking on the head. Six eyes (most spiders have eight). Increasingly common in southern European homes.

Cytotoxic venom causes 'loxoscelism' — necrotic skin lesions that can rot for weeks. Confirmed deaths in Italy and Spain in recent years.

Walls, attics, woodpiles, behind furniture in homes across Italy, Spain, Portugal, southern France, Greece, Croatia, Cyprus, Malta.

Reclusive — bites only when pressed against skin (e.g., in clothes or bedding). Active at night hunting other arthropods.

Tiny (2–3 mm) hairy fly that looks like a fuzzy mosquito. Active at dusk in Mediterranean coasts. Despite size, vectors a horrifying parasitic disease.

Transmits Leishmania parasites causing leishmaniasis: cutaneous form creates flesh-eating skin ulcers; visceral form (kala-azar) attacks organs and kills if untreated. Several thousand cases per year in Mediterranean Europe.

Mediterranean coast — Spain, Portugal, southern France, Italy, Greece, Croatia, Albania, Cyprus, Malta. Hides in cracks, animal burrows, rubbish.

Silent flight — no buzz like a mosquito. Bites at dusk and dawn. Cannot fly far so spreads disease by hopping between hosts in close range.

Small purple-pink jellyfish that forms huge swarms in the Mediterranean. Bell only 10 cm but tentacles extend up to 3 m.

Sting causes intense burning pain, blistering, scarring lasting weeks. Allergic reactions can cause anaphylaxis. Closes beaches across Spain, France, Italy in summer.

Open Mediterranean and Atlantic. Drifts inshore in summer with currents.

Bioluminescent — glows when disturbed at night. Stings even after death — washed-up bells on beaches remain active for hours.

Yellow-brown, up to 8 cm. Found in Spain, southern France, Italy, the Balkans. The largest scorpion in Europe.

Sting is intensely painful — comparable to a wasp — and can cause swelling, fever, vomiting. Healthy adults recover in 24 hours; risk for children and allergics.

Dry rocky terrain, vineyards, ruins, and old stone walls of the Mediterranean.

Nocturnal. Hides under stones and bark by day. Stings when stepped on, sat on, or while putting on shoes left outside overnight.

Small sandy-brown fish — up to 15 cm — that buries itself in shallow sand with only its eyes and dorsal spine showing. Found at swimming depth.

Stepping on it drives a venomous spine into the foot, causing severe pain for 2–24 hours. Rarely fatal but ER visits common — UK alone reports 1,000+ stings per year.

Sandy shallows of the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts of France, UK, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Italy.

Buries in sand at low tide. Strikes only defensively. Most stings occur on popular beaches in summer at low water.

Up to 1.5 m, brown-yellow with dark mottling. Lurks in rock crevices on Mediterranean reefs. Two sets of jaws — including a second set in the throat.

Powerful bite that won't let go. Serrated teeth cause ragged wounds; saliva carries bacteria causing severe infection. Numerous diver injuries each year.

Rocky reefs and shipwrecks of the Mediterranean Sea down to 80 m depth.

Ambush predator. Hunts at night for fish, octopus, and crustaceans. Aggressive when its hole is approached or when fed by divers.

Up to 17 cm long. Yellow-orange body with dark bands. The largest centipede native to Europe, found across the Mediterranean.

Bite delivers venom via modified front legs (forcipules) — extremely painful, causes swelling, fever, occasionally vomiting. Not fatal but agonizing.

Under stones, logs, leaf litter across Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, France (south), Croatia, Cyprus, Malta, southern Ukraine, Crimea.

Nocturnal predator hunting insects, spiders, even small lizards. Aggressive when handled — flips and grabs with multiple legs.

Disc-shaped ray up to 1.4 m wide with a long whip-like tail bearing a serrated venomous spine.

Stings only defensively when stepped on. Spine drives deep, often breaking off. Fatal cases involve chest strikes — Steve Irwin's death is a textbook example.

Sandy and muddy bottoms of the Mediterranean, Black Sea, and northeast Atlantic up to 200 m depth.

Buries itself in sand on shallow seabeds. The 'stingray shuffle' — sliding feet along the bottom — prevents most stings.

Slender, deep-blue shark up to 3.8 m. The most commonly seen large shark in the Mediterranean and northeast Atlantic.

Attacks on humans are rare but documented — about 13 fatal attacks worldwide. Will investigate divers and survivors of shipwrecks.

Open ocean and coastal waters of the Atlantic, Bay of Biscay, and Mediterranean Sea.

Migratory and curious. Often investigates boats and divers. Aggressive only when food is present or in feeding frenzy.

Glossy black sea urchin with thick, sharp spines up to 3 cm. Common across Mediterranean rocky shorelines.

Spines break off in skin and cause persistent pain, infection, and inflammation. Not life-threatening but extremely common cause of beach injuries.

Rocky Mediterranean coastlines, especially in shallow tidal zones.

Grazes on algae at night. Wedges into rock crevices. Most injuries occur when swimmers step on submerged urchins.