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List Of Islets Of Caroline Island
The approximately 39 small islets of Caroline Island, a crescent-shaped atoll located some south of the Hawaiian Islands in the central Pacific, surround a shallow central lagoon. Caroline Island's islets, which only rise a few meters above sea level, share a common geologic origin and consist of sand deposits and limestone rock set atop a coral reef. Three large islets — Nake, Long, and South Islets — make up 68 percent of the land area. The remaining assembly of small islets, divided into four groupings, was surveyed during a 1988 ecological survey, conducted by Angela and Cameron Kepler; at that time, many of the thus-far-unnamed islets were given names of Polynesian derivation. Several of the smallest islets have been observed to appear or disappear entirely following major storms, and the shapes of some larger islets have changed significantly over the past century. Flora, the most distinguishing feature of each islet, varies as a function of both islet size ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sooty Tern
The sooty tern (''Onychoprion fuscatus'') is a seabird in the family Laridae. It is a bird of the tropical oceans, 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 known as ''Onychoprion fuscatus''. The genus name is from ancient Greek , "claw" or "nail", and , "saw". The specific ''fuscatus'' is Latin for "dark". Colloquially, it is known as the wideawake tern or just wideawake. This refers to the incessant calls produced by a colony of these birds, as does the Hawaiian name ''ʻewa ʻewa'' which roughly means " cacophony". In most of Polynesia its name is ''manutara'' or similar – literally "tern-bird", though it might be better rendered in English as "the tern" or "common tern". This refers to the fact that wherever Polynesian seafarers went on their long voyages, they usua ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black Noddy
The black noddy or white-capped noddy (''Anous minutus'') is a seabird from the family Laridae. It is a medium-sized species of tern with black plumage and a white cap. It closely resembles the lesser noddy (''Anous tenuirostris'') with which it was at one time considered conspecific. The black noddy has slightly darker plumage and dark rather than pale lores. Taxonomy The black noddy was first formally described by German naturalist and lawyer Friedrich Boie in 1844 under its current binomial name. The genus name ''Anous'' is ancient Greek for "stupid" or "foolish". The specific name ''minutus'' is the Latin for "small". There are seven subspecies: *''A. m. worcesteri'' (McGregor, 1911) – Cavilli Island and Tubbataha Reef (Sulu Sea) *''A. m. minutus'' Boie, 1844 – northeast Australia and New Guinea to Tuamotu Archipelago *''A. m. marcusi'' (Bryan, 1903) – Marcus and Wake Islands through Micronesia to the Caroline Islands *''A. m. melanogenys'' Gray, 1846 – Hawaiian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sea Cucumbers
Sea cucumbers are echinoderms from the class Holothuroidea (). They are marine animals with a leathery skin and an elongated body containing a single, branched gonad. Sea cucumbers are found on the sea floor worldwide. The number of holothurian () species worldwide is about 1,717, with the greatest number being in the Asia-Pacific region. Many of these are gathered for human consumption and some species are cultivated in aquaculture systems. The harvested product is variously referred to as '' trepang'', ''namako'', ''bêche-de-mer'', or ''balate''. Sea cucumbers serve a useful role in the marine ecosystem as they help recycle nutrients, breaking down detritus and other organic matter, after which bacteria can continue the decomposition process. Like all echinoderms, sea cucumbers have an endoskeleton just below the skin, calcified structures that are usually reduced to isolated microscopic ossicles (or sclerietes) joined by connective tissue. In some species these can someti ... [...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. The little white tern (''Gygis microrhyncha''), previously considered a subspecies of the white tern (''Gygis alba microrhyncha''), is now recognised as a separate species. Taxonomy The white tern was first 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 noddies than it is to the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Masked Booby
The masked booby (''Sula dactylatra''), also called the masked gannet or the blue-faced booby, is a large seabird of the booby and gannet family, Sulidae. First described by the French naturalist René-Primevère Lesson in 1831, the masked booby is one of six species of booby in the genus ''Sula (genus), Sula''. It has a typical sulid body shape, with a long pointed yellowish bill, long neck, aerodynamic body, long slender wings and pointed tail. The adult is bright white with black wings, a black tail and a dark face mask; at long, it is the largest species of booby. The sexes have similar plumage. This species ranges across tropical oceans, except in the eastern Atlantic and eastern Pacific. In the latter, it is replaced by the Nazca booby (''Sula granti''), which was formerly regarded as a subspecies of masked booby. Nesting takes place in Bird colony, colonies, generally on islands and atolls far from the mainland and close to deep water required for foraging. Territorial w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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