Mussau Island is the largest island of

St Matthias Islands The St Matthias Islands (also known as the Mussau islands) are a small archipelago group of islands in the Bismarck Archipelago, in northern Papua New Guinea. They are within New Ireland Province. Geography There are at least 10 islands. The larg ...

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

, at . It is currently part of the

New Ireland Province New Ireland Province, formerly New Mecklenburg (german: Neu-Mecklenburg), and Nova Hibernia, is the northeasternmost Provinces of Papua New Guinea, province of Papua New Guinea. Physical geography The largest island of the province is New Ireland ...

. The island is a noted

Biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic ('' genetic variability''), species ('' species diversity''), and ecosystem ('' ecosystem diversity' ...

hotspot with pristine primeval

Rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfo ...

covering most of Mussau's hilly landscape. The island has over 243 endemic plant species as well as at least 47 native butterfly species.

References

https://asiapacific.anu.edu.au/mapsonline/base-maps/mussau-island https://www.researchgate.net/publication/280134331_A

External links

OrchidsPNG.com
Islands of Papua New Guinea Bismarck Archipelago New Ireland Province Volcanoes of Papua New Guinea {{NewIrelandProvince-geo-stub