Biology:List of species on Caroline Island

Short description: none

Although it remains unclear whether or not the coconut crab is endangered, Caroline Island hosts a substantial population of the arthropod.

Species recorded on Caroline Island, one of the Line Islands in the south-central Pacific Ocean:

Flora

Trees

Groves of Pisonia grandis cover the central portions of many islets.

• Calophyllum
• Cocos nucifera
• Cordia subcordata
• Hibiscus tiliaceus
• Morinda citrifolia

Although not native, coconut palms were planted on many of Caroline's islets in the 1920s and earlier, but are now largely gone.

• Pandanus tectorius
• Pisonia grandis
• Thespesia populnea

Shrubs

Large stretches of Heliotropium foertherianum shrub cover many of Caroline's islets.

• Heliotropium foertherianum
• Scaevola taccada
• Suriana maritima
• Ximenia americana

Herbs

• Achyranthes canscens
• Boerhavia repens
• Heliotropium anomalum
• Ipomoea macrantha
• Ipomoea violacea
• Laportea ruderalis
• Lepidium bidentatum
• Lepturus repens
• Lygodium microphyllum
• Phyllanthus amarus
• Phymatosorus scolopendria
• Portulaca lutea
• Psilotum nudum
• Sida fallax
• Tacca leontopetaloides
• Tribulus cistoides

Fauna

Nesting seabirds

• Black noddy (Anous minutus)
• Blue-grey noddy (Procelsterna cerulea) (Kepler)
• Brown booby (Sula leucogaster)
• Brown noddy (Anous stolidus)
• Great frigatebird (Fregata minor)
• Lesser frigatebird (Fregata ariel)
• Masked booby (Sula dactylatra)
• Red-footed booby (Sula sula)
• Red-tailed tropicbird (Phaethon rubricauda) (Kepler)

Caroline Island is a major nesting site for the sooty tern.

• Sooty tern (Onychoprion fuscata)
• White tern (Gygis alba)

Other birds

• Bristle-thighed curlew (Numenius tahitiensis)

The bristle-thighed curlew is among the vulnerable species which occasionally visit Caroline Atoll.

• Lesser golden-plover (Pluvialis dominica) (Kepler)
• Long-tailed cuckoo (Eudynamis taitensis)
• Pacific golden plover (Pluvialis fulva)
• Reef heron (Egretta sacra) (Kepler)
• Ruddy turnstone (Arenaria interpres) (Kepler)
• Sanderling (Crocethia alba) (Kepler)
• Short-eared owl (Asio flammeus ponapensis)
• Wandering tattler (Tringa incana)

Lizards

• Azure-tailed skink (Emoia cyanura) (Kepler)
• Emoia impar (Kepler)
• Moth skink (Lipinia noctua) (Kepler)
• Mourning gecko (Lepidodactylus lugubris) (Kepler)
• Polynesian gecko (Gehyra oceanica) (Kepler)

Six species of lizards, including Cryptoblepharus poecilopleurus, have been noted on Caroline Island.

• Snake-eyed skink (Cryptoblepharus poecilopleurus) (Kepler)

Mammals

• Pacific bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops gilli) (Kepler)
• Polynesian rat (Rattus exulans) (Kepler)

Turtles

The green sea turtle is believed to nest on the beaches of Caroline Island.

• Green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas)

Crabs

• Coconut crab (Birgus largo)
• Red spotted crab (Carpilius maculatus) (Kepler)
• Scarlet crab (Cornobita perlatus) (Kepler)

Polychaetes

• Calcareous tubeworm (Serpula tetratropia)

References

• Kepler, A.K.; C.B. Kepler (February 1994). "The natural history of the Caroline Atoll, Southern Line Islands". Atoll Research Bulletin 397-398. Archived from the original on 2007-03-11. https://web.archive.org/web/20070311030022/http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/duffy/arb/397-398/.