Illa Conillera is an island of the north west

seaboard Seaboard is a synonym for coastline. It can also refer to: * Seaboard, North Carolina, a small town in the United States * Seaboard, Virginia, an unincorporated community and coal town in the United States * Seaboard Corporation, an international a ...

of the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

island of

Ibiza Ibiza (natively and officially in ca, Eivissa, ) is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, in Spain. Its l ...

. The island is also known as Conejera or Sa Conillera. The island is west of the town of

Sant Antoni de Portmany Sant Antoni de Portmany (, es, San Antonio Abad) or San Antonio is a town on the western coast of Ibiza. It is the second-largest town and municipality in Ibiza; an island described by ''Time Out'' magazine as "arguably the clubbing capital ...

and is one of the smaller islands of the Balearic

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Archi ...

Description

The island has an area of approximately and is an elongated shape running north to south of a distance of . The island is mostly surrounded by deep water with a steep coastal perimeter.

Lighthouse

The lighthouse on ''Illa Conillera'' was built in 1857. The tower sits above a circular building, the two rooms to the side are extensions added to the main structure in the year 1908. It is at the north west end of the island and the lantern is above sea level. Under normal condition the light has a range of . The appearance of the light is of a group of four bright flashes every 20 seconds. During the day the lighthouse is seen as an tall white washed tower.

Ecology

Flora

The land is rocky and arid which supports very little vegetation apart from such shrubs and herbs as

Rosemary ''Salvia rosmarinus'' (), commonly known as rosemary, is a shrub with fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves and white, pink, purple, or blue flowers, native plant, native to the Mediterranean Region, Mediterranean region. Until 2017, it was kn ...

Thyme Thyme () is the herb (dried aerial parts) of some members of the genus ''Thymus'' of aromatic perennial evergreen herbs in the mint family Lamiaceae. Thymes are relatives of the oregano genus ''Origanum'', with both plants being mostly indigenou ...

and

Rue ''Ruta graveolens'', commonly known as rue, common rue or herb-of-grace, is a species of '' Ruta'' grown as an ornamental plant and herb. It is native to the Balkan Peninsula. It is grown throughout the world in gardens, especially for its bl ...

, which grow in abundance here. The island is also sparsely covered with

Mastic Mastic may refer to: Adhesives and pastes *Mastic (plant resin) *Mastic asphalt, or asphalt, is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid *Mastic cold porcelain, or salt ceramic, is a traditional salt-based modeling clay. *Mastic, high-grade cons ...

, Stunted pines and

Juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arcti ...

(Sabina), many of which the wind has beaten into shrubby forms which dot this harsh landscape with green patches.

Fauna

There have been several endemic species recorded as living on the island. There is a type of cicada, whose monotonous, rattle snake like chirping can be heard all over the island. There is also a sub-species.Info on Sub-species of wall lizards
of the Ibizan wall lizard on the island. It is also home to a colony of the endangered bird of prey called Eleonora's falcon. The island also has a large population of

gull Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari. They are most closely related to the terns and skimmers and only distantly related to auks, and even more distantly to waders. Until the 21st century, m ...

s and

cormorant Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the IOC adopted a consensus taxonomy of seven ge ...

. By far the most numerous inhabitants of the island are the rabbits from which the island gets the name ''Rabbit Island''.

The Hannibal legend

There is a legend attached to the island that claims that the Carthaginian General

Hannibal Hannibal (; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, ''Ḥannibaʿl''; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Puni ...

was born on the island.Diario de Ibiza (Spanish)
/ref> The story is that Hannibal's father

Hamilcar Barca Hamilcar Barca or Barcas ( xpu, 𐤇𐤌𐤋𐤒𐤓𐤕𐤟𐤁𐤓𐤒, ''Ḥomilqart Baraq''; –228BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman, leader of the Barcid family, and father of Hannibal, Hasdrubal and Mago. He was also father-in-l ...

and his wife were aboard a warship and as they passed around the coast of Ibiza they were caught out by a particularly bad storm. Hamilcar ordered his captain to find a safe haven to ride out the storm. The ship sought shelter in an inlet on the south side of the island. Hamilcar's heavily pregnant wife was taken ashore and the party took shelter in a cave within the cliffs of the island. Within a short time, and at the will of the gods,

Tanit Tanit ( Punic: 𐤕𐤍𐤕 ''Tīnīt'') was a Punic goddess. She was the chief deity of Carthage alongside her consort Baal-Hamon. Tanit is also called Tinnit. The name appears to have originated in Carthage (modern day Tunisia), though it doe ...

and Bes, she gave birth to Hannibal. The cave on the southern side of the island is called ''sa Casa d'Annibal'' to this day.

Pirates

Several years ago three skeletons were found on the islands. They were carbon dated to the early part of the sixteenth century and are believed to be the remains of pirates who had been taken to the island for execution. One of the skeletons had a lead bullet lodged in his spine whilst the other two showed signs of other torture. One of the torture victims had been beheaded, but his skull appeared nowhere on the island.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Conillera, Illa Islets of Ibiza Uninhabited islands of Spain