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Fauna Of The Marquesas Islands
The Marquesas Islands have a diverse aquatic zoology, and a rather limited endemic terrestrial zoology. Ocean fauna Unlike most of the warm-water islands of the South Pacific, the Marquesas are not protected by coral reefs, and therefore do not have the wide array of reef denizens found in neighboring archipelagos such as the Tuamotus and Society Islands. The one exception to this is the island of Motu One in the extreme north of the group, which is a small atoll, and the only low island in the Marquesas. Aside from Motu One, coral growths are found in several protected bays, especially on the northern and western sides of several of the islands, especially on Nuku Hiva. Sharks are common in the offshore waters. Seabirds Nineteen species of seabirds breed in the Marquesas, and a number of other species visit the islands, including: * Sternidae – terns ** Black noddy (''Anous minutus'') ** Blue-grey noddy (''Procelsterna cerulea'') ** Brown noddy (''Anous stolidus' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marquesas Islands
The Marquesas Islands ( ; or ' or ' ; Marquesan language, Marquesan: ' (North Marquesan language, North Marquesan) and ' (South Marquesan language, South Marquesan), both meaning "the land of men") are a group of volcano, volcanic islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in the southern Pacific Ocean. Their highest point is the peak of Mont Oave, Mount Oave () on Ua Pou island, at 1,230 m (4,035 ft) above sea level. Archaeological research suggests the islands were colonized in the 10th century AD by voyagers from West Polynesia. Over the centuries that followed, the islands have maintained a "remarkably uniform culture, biology and language". The Marquesas were named after the 16th-century Spanish Viceroy of Peru, the García Hurtado de Mendoza, 5th Marquis of Cañete, Marquis of Cañete (), by navigator , who visited them in 1595. The Marquesas Islands constitute one of the administrative divisions of French Polynesia, five administrative di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sulidae
The bird family Sulidae comprises the gannets and boobies. Collectively called sulids, they are medium-large coastal seabirds that plunge-dive for fish and similar prey. The 10 species in this family are often considered congeneric in older sources, placing all in the genus ''Sula''. However, ''Sula'' (true boobies) and ''Morus'' (gannets) can be distinguished via morphological, behavioral, and DNA sequence characters. Abbott's booby (''Papasula'') is given its own genus, as it stands apart from both in these respects. It appears to be a distinct and ancient lineage, maybe closer to the gannets than to the true boobies.Kennedy, Martyn; Spencer, Hamish G. & Gray, Russell D. (1996): Hop, step and gape: do the social displays of the Pelecaniformes reflect phylogeny? ''Animal Behaviour'' 51(2): 273-291. (HTML abstract) Erratum: ''Animal Behaviour'' 51(5): 1197. Description Sulids measure about in length and have a wingspan around . They have long, narrow, and pointed wings, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wedge-tailed Shearwater
The wedge-tailed shearwater (''Ardenna pacifica'') is a medium-large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. It is one of the shearwater species that is sometimes referred to as a muttonbird, like the sooty shearwater of New Zealand and the short-tailed shearwater of Australia. It is found throughout the Tropics, tropical Pacific and Indian Oceans, roughly between latitudes 35°N and 35°S. It breeds on the islands off Japan, on the Islas Revillagigedo, the Hawaiian Islands, the Seychelles, the Northern Mariana Islands, and off Eastern and Western Australia. Taxonomy The wedge-tailed shearwater was Species description, formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's ''Systema Naturae''. He placed it with the petrels in the genus ''Procellaria'' and coined the binomial nomenclature, binomial name ''Procellaria pacifica''. Gmelin based his description on the "Pacific petrel" that had been des ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tropical Shearwater
The tropical shearwater (''Puffinus bailloni'') is a seabird in the family Procellariidae formerly considered conspecific with Audubon's shearwater (''Puffinus lherminieri''). Subspecies There are five listed subspecies of the tropical shearwater: * ''Puffinus bailloni nicolae'' – ( Jouanin, 1971): breeds on islands in the northwest Indian Ocean. * ''Puffinus bailloni colstoni'' – ( Shirihai & Christie, 1996): breeds in the Aldabra Islands in the Seychelles. * ''Puffinus bailloni bailloni'' – ( Bonaparte, 1857): Mauritius, Réunion & Europa Island. * ''Puffinus bailloni dichrous'' – ( Finsch & Hartlaub, 1867): Central Pacific islands. * ''Puffinus bailloni gunax'' – ( Mathews, 1930): Vanuatu. Range The tropical shearwater is found in the tropical parts of the western Indian Ocean from East Africa to southern India and in similar regions of the Pacific from just to the southeast of Japan to French Polynesia. Population The total population has not been definitiv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tahiti Petrel
The Tahiti petrel (''Pseudobulweria rostrata)'' is a medium-sized, dark brown and white seabird found across the Pacific Ocean. The species comprises two subspecies: ''P. r. rostrata'' which breeds in the west-central Pacific Ocean, and ''P. r. trouessarti'' which breeds in the tropical and subtropical Pacific Ocean. The Tahiti petrel belongs to the Procellariidae family and is the most studied member of the ''Pseudobulweria'' genus which comprises three critically endangered species. Similarly, the Tahiti petrel is considered near threatened by the 2018 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Threats include introduced rats, feral cats, pigs, dogs, nickel mining, and light pollution. Taxonomy In 1848, Peale collected and described the first specimen of this species in Tahiti. Then, in 1917, the Tahiti petrel was separated into two subspecies: ''rostrata'' and ''trouessarti'', due to ''trouessarti'''s more robust bill. Not only is there a physiological difference between the two, t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phoenix Petrel
The Phoenix petrel (''Pterodroma alba'') is a medium-sized tropical seabird, measuring up to long, with a wingspan of . It has a dark brown upperparts plumage, white below and whitish throat. The sexes are similar. The Phoenix petrel is found throughout oceans and coastal areas in the central Pacific Ocean. Their colonies can be found on Phoenix, Tonga, Kiritimati, Tuamotu, Marquesas and Pitcairn Island. Females lay one white egg on the ground surface. The diet consists mainly of squid, fish and crustaceans. Due to ongoing habitat loss, small population size, predation by invasive species and human exploitation, the Phoenix petrel is evaluated as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Taxonomy The Phoenix petrel was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's ''Systema Naturae''. He placed it with the other petrels in the genus ''Procellaria'' and coined the binomial name ''Pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bulwer's Petrel
Bulwer's petrel (''Bulweria bulwerii'') is a small petrel in the family Procellariidae that is found in tropical and subtropical regions of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is named after the English naturalist James Bulwer. Taxonomy Bulwer's petrel was formally described in 1828 by the naturalists Jardine and Selby who coined the binomial name ''Procellaria bulwerii''. The specific epithet was chosen to acknowledge the artist and naturalist James Bulwer who had collected the type specimen on the island of Madeira. Bulwer's petrel is now placed in the genus ''Bulweria '' that was introduced in 1843 by the French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised. Description This very long-winged petrel is in length with a wingspan. It has mainly brown plumage and a long pointed tail. It has a buoyant twisting flight as it picks planktonic food items from the ocean surface. Distribution and habitat The species has a wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Procellariidae
The family (biology), family Procellariidae is a group of seabirds that comprises the fulmarine petrels, the gadfly petrels, the diving petrels, the prion (bird), prions, and the shearwaters. This family is part of the bird order (biology), order Procellariiformes (or tubenoses), which also includes the albatrosses and the storm petrels. The procellariids are the most numerous family of tubenoses, and the most diverse. They range in size from the giant petrels with a wingspan of around , that are almost as large as the albatrosses, to the diving petrels with a wingspan of around that are similar in size to the little auks or dovekies in the family Alcidae. Male and female birds are identical in appearance. The plumage color is generally dull, with blacks, whites, browns and grays. The birds feed on fish, squid and crustacea, with many also taking Discards, fisheries discards and carrion. Whilst agile swimmers and excellent in water, petrels have weak legs and can only shuffle o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
White Tern
The white tern or common white tern (''Gygis alba'') is a small seabird found across the tropical oceans of the world. It is sometimes known as the fairy tern, although this name is potentially confusing as it is also the common name of ''Sternula nereis''. Other names for the species include angel tern and white noddy in English, and manu-o-Kū in Hawaiian language, Hawaiian. In the Cook Islands, it is known as the kakaia. Taxonomy The white tern was first Species description, formally described by the Swedish naturalist Anders Sparrman in 1786 under the binomial name ''Sterna alba''. The genus ''Gygis'' was introduced by the German zoologist Johann Georg Wagler in 1832. The name ''Gygis'' is from the Ancient Greek for a mythical bird and the specific is Latin for "white". Molecular phylogenetic studies have shown that the white tern is more closely related to the Anous, noddies (''Anous'') than it is to the other terns. This implies that "white noddy" would be a more appropri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sooty Tern
The sooty tern (''Onychoprion fuscatus'') is a tern in the family Laridae. It is a seabird of the tropical oceans, and remarkably, has evolved the ability to fly for years at a time, skimming the sea surface for food, and returning to land only to breed, on islands throughout the equatorial zone. Taxonomy The sooty tern was described by Carl Linnaeus in 1766 as ''Sterna fuscata'', bearing this name for many years until the genus ''Sterna'' was split up; it is now classified in the genus ''Onychoprion'' as ''Onychoprion fuscatus''. The genus name is from ancient Greek , "claw" or "nail", and , "saw". The species name ''fuscatus'' is Latin for "dark". The sooty tern has little interspecific variation, but it is usually divided into six to eight allopatric subspecies. Some recent authors further subdivide the Indopacific population into up to eight subspecies altogether, but much of the variation is clinal. The affinities of eastern Pacific birds (including ''O. f. manutarus'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brown Noddy
The brown noddy or common noddy (''Anous stolidus'') is a seabird in the family Laridae. The largest of the noddies, it can be told from the closely related black noddy by its larger size and plumage, which is dark brown rather than black. The brown noddy is a tropical seabird with a worldwide distribution, ranging from Hawaii to the Tuamotu Archipelago and Australia in the Pacific Ocean, from the Red Sea to the Seychelles and Australia in the Indian Ocean and in the Caribbean to Tristan da Cunha in the Atlantic Ocean. The brown noddy is colonial, usually nesting on elevated situations on cliffs or in short trees or shrubs. It only occasionally nests on the ground. A single egg is laid by the female of a pair each breeding season. In India, the brown noddy is protected in the PM Sayeed Marine Birds Conservation Reserve. Taxonomy The first formal description of the brown noddy was by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his ''Systema Naturae' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
