The Bishop and Clerk Islets are a group of
islet
An islet is a very small, often unnamed island. Most definitions are not precise, but some suggest that an islet has little or no vegetation and cannot support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/or hard coral; may be permanen ...
s, lying south of
Macquarie Island
Macquarie Island is an island in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, about halfway between New Zealand and Antarctica. Regionally part of Oceania and politically a part of Tasmania, Australia, since 1900, it became a Tasmanian State Reserve in 197 ...
in the southwestern
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...
. They are, with
Macquarie Island
Macquarie Island is an island in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, about halfway between New Zealand and Antarctica. Regionally part of Oceania and politically a part of Tasmania, Australia, since 1900, it became a Tasmanian State Reserve in 197 ...
, part of the Australian state of
Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
.
The group consists of Bishop Islet, 24 smaller islets, and various rocks and reefs. Bishop Islet has an area of and is mostly rock with some shallow patches of soil. Its highest elevation is .
The Bishop and Clerk Islets are part of the
Australian state of
Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
. They are the
southernmost terrestrial point of both Australia (excluding the
Australian Antarctic Territory
The Australian Antarctic Territory (AAT) is a part of East Antarctica claimed by Australia as an external territory. It is administered by the Australian Antarctic Division, an agency of the federal Department of Climate Change, Energy, the En ...
) and Tasmania. The islets are within the
Macquarie Island Nature Reserve, managed by the
Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service and along with Macquarie Island and the
Judge and Clerk Islets, were inscribed in 1997 on the
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
World Heritage Area
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
,
and form a Special Management Area within the nature reserve.
They are very infrequently visited and are free of introduced animals and plants.
History
Three known landings have been made on the islets, all by ship-assisted helicopter. The first, in 1965, was on a rock from Bishop Isle. The following two, in 1976 and 1993, were on Bishop Islet itself.
Ecology
Macquarie shag
The Macquarie shag (''Leucocarbo purpurascens''), Macquarie Island shag or Macquarie Island cormorant, is a marine cormorant native to Macquarie Island in the Southern Ocean, about halfway between Australia and Antarctica.
Taxonomy
The Macquarie ...
s have been recorded nesting at the Bishop and Clerk Islets. A colony of
black-browed albatross
The black-browed albatross (''Thalassarche melanophris''), also known as the black-browed mollymawk,Robertson, C. J. R. (2003) is a large seabird of the albatross family Diomedeidae; it is the most widespread and common member of its family.
T ...
es was discovered in 1965.
The only
vascular plant
Vascular plants (), also called tracheophytes () or collectively Tracheophyta (), form a large group of land plants ( accepted known species) that have lignified tissues (the xylem) for conducting water and minerals throughout the plant. They ...
recorded on Bishop Islet is ''
Colobanthus muscoides'', while two varieties of
lichens have also been noted.
See also
*
Judge and Clerk Islets
*
List of Antarctic and sub-Antarctic islands
*
List of islands of Tasmania
Tasmania is the smallest and southernmost state of Australia. The Tasmanian mainland itself is an island, with an area of - 94.1% of the total land area of the state. The other islands have a combined area of , for a cumulative total of 99.75% o ...
References
Protected areas of Tasmania
Macquarie Island
Islands of Tasmania
Islands of the Pacific Ocean
Macquarie Island
Macquarie Island is an island in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, about halfway between New Zealand and Antarctica. Regionally part of Oceania and politically a part of Tasmania, Australia, since 1900, it became a Tasmanian State Reserve in 197 ...
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