Carnaza is a

barangay The barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as ''barrio'', is the smallest Administrative divisions of the Philippines, administrative division in the Philippines. Named after the Precolonial barangay, precolonial po ...

in the Philippines located on the island of the same name. The turtle-shaped island is located north of

Malapascua Island Malapascua is a Philippine island situated in the Visayan Sea, across a shallow strait from the northernmost tip of Cebu Island. Administratively, it is part of the peninsular barangay of Logon, Daanbantayan, Cebu. Malapascua is a small island, ...

which itself is north of mainland

Cebu Cebu ( ; ), officially the Province of Cebu (; ), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 surrounding islands and islets. The coastal zone of Cebu is identified as a ...

. Carnaza is then the northernmost offshore island and barangay of the municipality of

Daanbantayan Daanbantayan, officially the Municipality of Daanbantayan (; ), is a municipality in the province of Cebu, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 93,502 people. Daanbantayan celebrates its annual fiesta along with ...

. The island is bordered on all sides by the

Visayan Sea The Visayan Sea is a sea in the Philippines surrounded by the islands of the Visayas. It is bounded by the islands Masbate to the north, Panay to the west, Leyte to the east, and Cebu and Negros to the south. The sea is connected to severa ...

Topography

The island's topography includes coastal plains, mangrove swamps, lagoons and semi-rounded hills. Its coastal plain constitutes about 9.7% while semi-rounded hills constitute the biggest portion of the island covering about 14.4% of the total area. The mangrove forest has an area of about 10.1 hectares or % of the island. The highest point was measured at above sea level. Within the small island are the

sitio A ''sitio'' ( Spanish for "site") in the Philippines is a territorial enclave that forms part of a barangay. Typically rural, a ''sitios location is usually far from the center of the barangay itself and could be its own barangay if its popu ...

s of Candionesio, Carnaza, Daanbaryo, Linao, Liogliog and Pantao.

Flora

The dominant upland vegetation is

ipil-ipil ''Leucaena leucocephala'' is a small fast-growing mimosoid tree native to southern Mexico and northern Central America (Belize and Guatemala) and is now naturalized throughout the tropics including parts of Asia. Common names include white lea ...

(''Leucaena leucocephala''), which covered most of the slopes. Agricultural crops like coconuts, cassava, banana, sugarcane, corn and breadfruit, among others, are present in some areas.

Fauna

On a paper report on the survey conducted on the island on July 16–20, 1990, a total of 18 species of birds representing 7 orders and 15 families were identified and reported. The most common species were

grey-rumped swiftlet The grey-rumped swiftlet (''Collocalia marginata'') or grey-rumped swiftlet, is a small bird in the swift family Apodidae. It is endemic to the Philippines where it is found on most islands except Mindanao. Its natural habitat is tropical moist ...

s (''Collocalia marginata''), white-collared kingfishers (''Halcyon chloris''),

pied triller The pied triller (''Lalage nigra'') is a species of bird in the cuckooshrike family Campephagidae. It is found in Brunei, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. Taxonomy In 1760 the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques ...

s (''Lalage nigra''),

black-naped oriole The black-naped oriole (''Oriolus chinensis'') is a passerine bird in the oriole family that is found in many parts of Asia. There are several distinctive populations within the wide distribution range of this species and in the past the slende ...

s (''Oriolus chinensis''), Philippine magpie robins (''Copsychus saularis''), Malaysia fantails (''Rhipidura javanica''),

white-breasted woodswallow The white-breasted woodswallow (''Artamus leucoryn'') is a medium-sized passerine bird which breeds from the Andaman Islands east through Indonesia and northern Australia. The name " woodswallow" is a misnomer as they are not closely related to ...

s (''Artamus leucorhynchus''), glossy starlings (''Aplonis panayensis''), yellow-breasted sunbirds (''Nectarinia jugularis'') and

Eurasian tree sparrow The Eurasian tree sparrow (''Passer montanus'') is a passerine bird in the sparrow family with a rich chestnut crown and nape and a black patch on each pure white cheek. The sexes are similarly plumaged, and young birds are a duller version o ...

s (''Passer montanus''). For the rest of the species, either only one or two individuals were seen or only either calls were heard. The islanders reported that the ''tabon'' bird (

dusky megapode The dusky megapode (''Megapodius freycinet''), also known as dusky scrubfowl or common megapode, is a medium-sized, approximately 41 cm (16 in) long, blackish bird with a short pointed crest, bare red facial skin, dark legs, brown irises, and a ...

, ''Megapodius freycinet'') used to be numerous in Carnaza Island. Also listed on the report are the orders

Cephalopoda A cephalopod is any member of the molluscan class Cephalopoda ( Greek plural , ; "head-feet") such as a squid, octopus, cuttlefish, or nautilus. These exclusively marine animals are characterized by bilateral body symmetry, a prominent head, ...

Gastropoda Gastropods (), commonly known as slugs and snails, belong to a large Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, freshwater, and fro ...

and Pelecypoda. Two genera of cephalopods were identified, namely; '' Sepia'' and ''

Sepioteuthis ''Sepioteuthis'', commonly known as reef squids or oval squids, is a genus of pencil squid. Reef squids are easily recognizable by their large rounded fins that extend along almost the entire length of their mantle (mollusc), mantles, giving them ...

''. A total of 36 species belonging to 19 families of gastropods have been listed. Further study is needed to make a complete listing.

References

{{reflist Islands of Cebu Barangays of Cebu