List of species on Caroline Island
Although it remains unclear whether or not the coconut crab is endangered, Caroline Island hosts a substantial population of the arthropod.
Species recorded on Caroline Island, one of the Line Islands in the south-central Pacific Ocean:
Flora[]
Trees[]
Groves of Pisonia grandis cover the central portions of many islets.
- Calophyllum
- Cocos nucifera
- Cordia subcordata
- Hibiscus tiliaceus
- Morinda citrifolia
Although not native, coconut palms were planted on many of Caroline's islets in the 1920s and earlier, but are now largely gone.
Shrubs[]
Large stretches of Heliotropium foertherianum shrub cover many of Caroline's islets.
- Heliotropium foertherianum
- Scaevola taccada
- Suriana maritima
- Ximenia americana
Herbs[]
- Heliotropium anomalum
- Ipomoea violacea
- Lygodium microphyllum
- Phyllanthus amarus
- Phymatosorus scolopendria
- Portulaca lutea
- Psilotum nudum
- Sida fallax
- Tacca leontopetaloides
- Tribulus cistoides
Fauna[]
Nesting seabirds[]
- Black noddy (Anous minutus)
- Blue-grey noddy (Procelsterna cerulea) (Kepler)
- Brown booby (Sula leucogaster)
- Brown noddy (Anous stolidus)
- Great frigatebird (Fregata minor)
- Lesser frigatebird (Fregata ariel)
- Masked booby (Sula dactylatra)
- Red-footed booby (Sula sula)
- Red-tailed tropicbird (Phaethon rubricauda) (Kepler)
Caroline Island is a major nesting site for the sooty tern.
- Sooty tern (Onychoprion fuscata)
- White tern (Gygis alba)
Other birds[]
- Bristle-thighed curlew (Numenius tahitiensis)
The bristle-thighed curlew is among the vulnerable species which occasionally visit Caroline Atoll.
- Lesser golden-plover (Pluvialis dominica) (Kepler)
- Long-tailed cuckoo (Eudynamis taitensis)
- Pacific golden plover (Pluvialis fulva)
- Reef heron (Egretta sacra) (Kepler)
- Ruddy turnstone (Arenaria interpres) (Kepler)
- Sanderling (Crocethia alba) (Kepler)
- Short-eared owl (Asio flammeus ponapensis)[1]
- Wandering tattler (Tringa incana)
Lizards[]
- Azure-tailed skink (Emoia cyanura) (Kepler)
- Emoia impar (Kepler)
- Moth skink (Lipinia noctua) (Kepler)
- Mourning gecko (Lepidodactylus lugubris) (Kepler)
- (Gehyra oceanica) (Kepler)
Six species of lizards, including Cryptoblepharus poecilopleurus, have been noted on Caroline Island.
- Snake-eyed skink (Cryptoblepharus poecilopleurus) (Kepler)
Mammals[]
- Pacific bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops gilli) (Kepler)
- Polynesian rat (Rattus exulans) (Kepler)
Turtles[]
The green sea turtle is believed to nest on the beaches of Caroline Island.
- Green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas)
Crabs[]
- Coconut crab (Birgus largo)
- (Carpilius maculatus) (Kepler)
- (Cornobita perlatus) (Kepler)
Polychaetes[]
- Calcareous tubeworm (Serpula tetratropia)[2]
Notes[]
- ^ "Short-eared Owl ssp ponapensis - Asio flammeus ponapensis". Observation.org. Retrieved 2021-01-12.
- ^ P.A. Hutchings (ed) (1984). "Harry A. ten Hove (1984). Towards a phylogeny in serpulids (Annelida; Polychaeta)". Proceedings of the first International Polychaete Conference. Sydney: The Linnean Society of New South Wales. pp. 181–196. ISBN 0-9590535-0-6.
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References[]
- Kepler, A.K.; C.B. Kepler (February 1994). "The natural history of the Caroline Atoll, Southern Line Islands". Atoll Research Bulletin. 397–398. Archived from the original on 2007-03-11.
Categories:
- Caroline Island
- Flora of Micronesia
- Flora of the south-central Pacific
- Lists of biota of Kiribati
- Lists of plants
- Lists of animals by location
- Oceanian realm flora
- Oceanian realm fauna
- Lists of species by location